IDRPSTF,

that is a valid point. but it is not Bush's fault that he won according to the system that was already in place, and it is not ritht o claim that his "plan b" is what got him into office.
oh and i wasnt old enough to vote in the last election so i think i can manage explaining it to someone who just got their right to vote.
It will be interesting if the system changes, but i dont think that will happen for a while.
plus TV, emails etc can be very biased and only further misinform voters then actually help them decide. but that has been debated on athother thread. since you cleared up your point i take back my statement about having no credibility and not knowing how the system works, even though i will probably diagree with most of what you say. no isults intended.

back to Biodiesel now. everyone who uses a diesel truck to tow should only use biodiesel or a biodiesel blend. its available at over 200 stations inthe US and if use rises so will the # of stations. it may only be a drop in the bucket, but its a start.

www.biodiesel.org

disclaimer:
i have no affiliation with the NBB and am not an envirionmental extremist

This on a site full of people who strive to run more high octain fuel as fast as they can through multiple engines for the thill, the sound, and the power.
Im not knocken you lostibostin, I just think its ironic.
In CA last week there was a trucker protest. Four trucks just stopped in rush hour traffic and the drivers walked away. I think its good to draw attention to these prices and ask why.

If mixed right biodiesel can offer an INCREASE in performance because it has a much higher lubricity then regular diesel and contains oxygen. plus it can be made for $0.60 thats 60 cents a gallon. if you make it yourself. just some food for thought for all you performance fanatics out there. yes im included in that.

Yea but make it yourself you won't. You wouldn't be allowed to make anything the government can't tax. Plus the government would mandate that 17 different additives be mixed for clean air in 17 different localities in the US. Got enough room in your back yard for that? They would add their usual 40 cents per dollar tax then what will that do to the price is your biodiesel? Yeahaha that is what I thought. Unless you want to bring back the moonshine era with fuel then keep forking over big $$$ for the highly taxed clean burning imported fuel

Roby

I asked earlier why it is I pay 1.60 right now in the Richmond area and others are peying over 2.00 for the same gas in their area?

You are the first to answer it. Well done!!!

The gas price issue, like most is not so cut and dry. There is much more than simply spouting "It's W's fault".

That may make someone feel better that already doesn't like the man but it has no bearing on the current situation.

Remember, Gore wanted to tax gas an additional 50 cents a gallon to discourage people from buying SUV's and the like. Now, Kerry says he doesn't believe that is a good idea but he did at one time, not so long ago....when he wasn't running for president.

Like I said, this is a very complex issue but if you want to understand it, the info is readily accessible.

Or, perhaps it is just easier to keep the evil Bush thoughts rolling?

Its up to the individual.

1. High world crude oil prices. These prices are partly the consequence of conscious OPEC supply constriction to raise price. OPEC’s ability to do so is typically constrained by three interrelated factors: the world demand for oil, cheating on the part of smaller OPEC members, and production from non-OPEC countries like Russia, Norway and Mexico. Economic growth, particularly in Asia, is shifting out the demand for oil according to this Ft. Worth Star-Telegram article:

Strong demand for oil in Asia is one reason for higher crude prices in recent months, although analysts also said that aggressive bets by large commodity speculators have contributed to the recent run-up in oil markets. Much of the attention on Asian oil supplies is related to the fast-growing economies of China and India.

Sales of diesel fuel in India, which account for about 40 percent of the oil sold in that country, soared 10 percent in February from the same month a year earlier; automobile sales in India grew 31 percent in the last year. India's oil imports are forecast to continue to climb as its economy grows 8 percent this year.

This Investor’s Business Daily article points to the other two aspects of this dynamic: Saudi Arabia is still the “swing producer” because of the scale of its reserves relative to other producers, and some OPEC members have not curtailed production to meet the targets OPEC set in their 1 February meeting. Saudi Arabia’s production is the primary determininant of the world price, and with rising demand the growth in production in Russia and in Iraq has not been sufficient to change that fact. And small OPEC producers are riding the crest of this high price, not restricting their output.

No current discussion of OPEC is complete without reference to the horrendous state of affairs in Venezuela. Their low production adds substantially to the high prices we are currently experiencing.

OPEC is currently discussing whether or not to continue its output restrictions at the end of the month, and today’s news suggests that they are fighting internal battles over whether to pursue output restrictions when their benchmark price is $4 above the high end of their usual benchmark range.



Existing environmental regulations making supply more inelastic. Petroleum refiners in the US must meet the EPA’s federal fuel oxygenate requirement from Title II of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, which mandates a 2% oxygen content in fuel in ozone non-attainment urban areas. Furthermore, refiners are required to drain all of the winter fuel from their tanks before replacing it with summer fuel, which in most markets must have inventory built up to start sales on 1 April. On top of that, states can choose to implement their own fuel formulation requirements to address their specific geographic and climatologic conditions that lead to different local air quality conditions. As a result, the US now has over 40 fuel formulation requirements at different times and places.

Think about what this does physically and economically. People continue driving in March, and continue to use winter-blend fuel while the inventory of winter-blend fuel falls, ideally to zero at midnight on 31 March. Inventory storage costs are very high for petroleum, so keeping a buffer of winter fuel through March and over the summer is very expensive (this point is in response to a question from Virginia Postrel on storage). Not only do people generally not want new refineries built near them, they also do not want new tank farms built near them. So storage capacity is a binding constraint.

So of course the seasonal fragmentation that the oxygenate requirement introduces into fuel supply would cause prices to rise in March, all other things equal. This temporal fragmentation exacerbates the balkanization of fuel markets, because of the 40+ fuel formulations in effect. Note especially that this fragmentation across both time and place makes the supply of gasoline more inelastic. Confront that with an inelastic demand for gasoline, and one that shifts out and becomes more inelastic in the spring and summer months, and you have a policy-driven exacerbation of the potential for price spikes.

The California prices are also driven by the switch from MTBE as fuel oxygenate to ethanol, a switch that is taking full effect for the first time in 2004. Ethanol, a corn-based additive, is not produced in California, cannot be shipped from the Midwest to California in oil pipelines, and is highly water soluble, so it can only be added to the fuel at the rack (basically, right before it ships out to gas stations). And Senator Boxer wonders why the price of gasoline in California has gone up to $2.18/gallon? I suggest that she review Title II, Section 211 of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. You can also read my testimony to a Congressional hearing on the MTBE/ethanol transition in California from July 2003 for more background.

3. New air quality regulations taking effect in 2004. The EPA’s Tier 2 sulfur control regulations, leading to the co-development of low-sulfur fuels and vehicles optimized to the use of low-sulfur fuel, took effect in January 2004. This program to reduce sulfur content in fuel will be phased in over three years, and 2004 is the first year in which refiners will be required to meet overall sulfur content regulations, according to this EPA fact sheet on the Tier 2 regulations:

Beginning in 2004, the nation’s refiners and importers of gasoline will have the flexibility to manufacture gasoline with a range of sulfur levels as long as all of their production is capped at 300 parts per million (ppm) and their annual corporate average sulfur levels are 120 ppm.

More information on the regulations is available at the EPA OTAG Tier 2 website. The Tier 2 regulations can be found in the Federal Register from 2000.

These new regulations, while likely to deliver improvements in air quality, are going to increase gas prices, at least in the short run. Refiners are having to engage in research, in reconfiguration of their production processes, and in equipment installation to meet the new low-sulfur requirements. For example, Valero is building a new desulfurization unit in one of its Louisiana refineries, precisely to aid compliance with the Tier 2 sulfur regulations.

These factors have combined to raise the current, and expected future, prices of gasoline. The new low-sulfur requirements are not likely to exacerbate the seasonality/inelasticity problem, but they will increase fuel prices.

In December of 2002, the following could be found on the US Gov. DOE website. This was refering to back when we feared gas prices were going head toward $2.00 per gallon, and would thus jump start inflation.
(Note: These paragraphs have since been removed and replaced.)


"On September 22, 2000, President Clinton directed the Department of Energy to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, America's emergency oil stockpile, to bolster oil supplies, especially the critically low inventories of heating oil that many families need in winter. It is the first time a large scale use of the Reserve has been directed by the President to help avert a possible supply shortage since President George Bush ordered its use during Operation Desert Storm."
http://www.fe.doe.gov/spr/exchange/index.shtml

"You are correct about the antiquated system of electoral votes."

Personally, I like the electoral system the way it is, it keeps the west coast and east coast from runnin roughshod over the hicks like me in the midwest and south!

The whole thing is a crock of $hit. There isn't a politician out the that gives a flyin' fig about us. They are looking out for themselves. This is followed by major corporations and their CEOs...$crew the little guy , damn the torpedos and full speed ahead

I find it interesting that those wishing to demonize Bush on this issue aren't saying a thing about the democrats constant filibuster of the energy bill, thus doing NOTHING to help combat the situation. It wouldn't be difficult to come to the conclusion that the democrats are happy the prices are high so they can demagogue the issue and blame it on Bush. I am sure the democrat supporters are only too willing to go along with the charade.

But then again, that is simply an opinion as I have no facts to back it up.