If you people want to spend less on gasoline....

Big oil bids on jobs based on fee for service.. If Exxon bids 23% and Synopec bid 17%.. guess who gets the job?

You think the people of Atlanta are stupid?

Atlanta just put a solar cap on a huge landfill that will lie fallow for 30 years. That's innovation as opposed to squalling.

 

As I said, Big Oil has so much money that they can outcompete everyone in terms of investment and buy-overs. That's dangerous. They have wayyyy too much control over energy IMO. We need to find alternatives, that are renewable, right now.

The main problem right now is oil prices, in terms of the energy crisis. So nuclear vs. coal isn't the biggest issue right now.

We need to first start obtaining oil sources here in the U.S. more. The U.S. has a lot of fossil fuels that we aren't allowed to get because of government regulations. We then need to find an alternative to petroleum, eventually; sooner than later hopefully. Most likely, this would be along the lines of an economically mass-producible artificial combustible liquid.

 

Oil prices are currently inflated about 15% because of nerves over the Israel-Iran situation... so oil should be at about $95 a barrel if you want to recoup exploration and drilling costs in the US ..

Additionally, the value of the dollar has gone down in the past decade.

What you fail to understand is that if the ppb goes down, US oil and gas production will collapse.

 

Why not invest in alternatives then, that don't suffer from all these problems that oil stabs us with?

 

If this goverment was really interested in innovation why would they drastically neuter the one goverment agency that has brought us more break throughs in innovative cutting edge technology, not to mention medicine, weather and numerous other areas, this agency would be NASA.
They are not serious about energy, its all about the growth of goverment and the accumulation of power.

 

Oil isn't just used for fuel.. its also used in making plastics, tires, autobody parts, fertilizer, cosmetics and hundreds of other products.

 

I'm all in support of petroleum being used for those things. But as an energy source, it's starting to SUCK. We need to find viable alternatives!!

 

Because of my job, my family moves into a different home about every two years, so I want a vehicle with a large cargo bed and substantial carrying capacity.

And ocean power and solar panels will do nothing to power a smaller vehicle or any vehicle for that matter so why is it an issue?

 

Actually, that is essentially ONE car: the Metro replaced the Sprint. The Firefly was simply what GM-Canada called the Metro...the cars were identical. They sold like coldcakes.

 

Good. I have ExxonMobil's stock in my 401k. I hope they make a fortune!

 

You may do well.. I had 600 shares of Exxon during the Iranian Revolution.. Everyone was screaming sell.. I didn't.. and the stock split.

 

The NIMBY and BANANA sheep (we have a couple on this site) see the word "nuclear" and immediately scream "THE SKY IS FALLING!"

 

I'm quite a while from retirement...I hope E-M continues making profits!

 

so go tell THEM to buy little bitty cars.

 

That's more about electricity generation. As for replacing gasoline for ground transportation, we need to focus on hydrogen fuel and/or other combustible liquids as an alternative to unreproducible fossil fuels.

 

My point is that if you partisan hacks that always blame the president for high gas prices want to pay less for gas, buy "little bitty cars" and you won't have to worry about it as much.

Increasing global demand is what's causing the increases; at least, that's probably the largest individual factor.

 

Hydrogen is an energy SINK. It requires more energy to produce than it contains.

 

and you think that there are viable alternatives out there but the big oil people are somehow preventing them from coming to market?

you're kidding, right?

they invented the electric car before they invented the gas car. It was a big hit....until the gas car came along.

wishing for something and getting something is two different things, there is no alternative to fossil fuels. There were no million dollar subsidies back when gas cars were introduced...they sold because they filled a need, they outperformed their competitors. THAT is what fuels innovation.

I can guarantee you that if you come up with a cheap, safe alternative to gas; people will be beating a path to your door. No one can prevent you from inventing something...go on, do it.

another aspect to this is: we keep being told that there is only a finite amount of fossil fuels on the planet. IF this is true, the people that would be most aware of it would be the oil companies. Now since their entire industry and fortunes are built on fossil fuels and there was only x amount left ....wouldn't they be looking for an alternative? wouldn't they want to retain their market share of powering their customers?

Or do you think they are all sitting around the boardroom saying "well there is only $4 billion dollars of gas left...once we get that sold, let's just fold the company and move to the beach!"??

no of course not. They would be looking at alternatives too.

no matter how you see oil companies, whether as good businessmen or greedy vultures; you can't deny they have a reason to look to the future and build on their proven success record of providing power.

 

I have a Ford Focus myself...

but find it difficult to haul cattle to market in it..heck I can't even haul a load of hay with it...

that's why we also have a Ford F350 dually..

 

Does anybody really know where "fossil fuels" come from? Do you actually believe they come from dead dinosaurs?

The earth is still producing petroleum, and as tectonic plates continually shift there will be more available.

So give me a V10 with a bi-turbo!

 

I understand completely. Hell, sometimes I'll leave the Escalade parked idling in the drive, just cause I can.

 

Yes, MAYBE big oil did this. Let's all assume they did bribe car companies in the free market economy and dust off our pitchforks.

 

Still producing petroleum? Probably yes. But at what rate? Certainly at much a very lower rate than our rate of consumption.
.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Nobody knows at what rate petroleum is produced or what oil lays undiscovered.

 

This is the only part of the OP that I disagree with, 'cause I don't think it will help us as much as it will hurt us. Other than that, great OP.