The Price of Gas

Karl Rove, the president's ace strategist, says "wait" for the market to work it's magic, that the stratopheric pricing will reduce demands eventually. I think he will have a rude awakening come November.

Ask any giant SUV owner at the pump showing sale up to $75 or more, after a fill up and he would suggest voting everyone in office out come November. And that probably is a sure thing with the Republican popularity gauge already showing a few quarts low.

Black gold has never been so profitable, thanks to a surging global demand. China and Indian raising economies are demanding more now too. ExxonMobil announced quarterly earnings of $8.4 billion. Bush suggested a pitiful temporary idea of diverting crude from strategic petroleum reserves to the market.

Bush is calling for more tax incentives for hybrid cars, fewer environmental hurdles for refinery builders, drilling wells in the Arctic and forcing auto manufacturers to raise mileage requrements on cars. Yes, amazingly so, when the giant size SUV's came on the scene, isn't that something, there was no fuel requirement category for them...seems one couldn't be written for some reason? So huge SUV's have had no mileage requirements. How convienent!

Bush's thing about messing up the environment irritates me. This is not necessary. Again, he is giving refineries and big business a break at the expense of furture generations.

Americans are natural gas hogs. I'm confused here, I just can't see where the American public cannot take responsbility on the problem on to themselves. DOWNSIZE is the key word here! We are a country spoiled by excess, I guess? Is huge a sign of success: Big house, big ass gas guzzling SUVs with only a driver inside, big gut, big ass, big ass burgers, big ass debt. Credit cards maxed to hell. But, we look rich! We look good!

I applause the country of Brazil. Hats off to you! They took note during the gas crunch of the 70's and nothing gets wasted of their sugar cane crop. What isn't used for sugar gets made into ethanol. They predict that by 2007 they will be petroleum free! Makes you wonder doesn't it?

FedEx and UPS has to charge more too now. Of course UPS makes two trips to everyone's door. First to put that little yellow sticker on your door, so you can sign it, as if you wouldn't; and then to come back the next day to actually give you your package. It's so irritating! I mean, come on, agreeing to have the package shipped via UPS should be signature enough? Have you ever NOT signed that little yellow sticker. What's the deal? That right there could save UPS just about a third of the money they spend in gas. If it's a legal thing.....have it rewritten!

Oil has been a great opportunity for heads of countries who are on less than friendly terms with the USA. Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, has taken state control of some of its oil fields and has threatened ExxonMobil and others with raising royalties and lowering profits.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, is taking full advantage of the situation. Iran threatens to stop pumping and stock traders immediately bid up the price of future oil contracts.

But, we did it to ourselves. We have always known this time would come, yet we as a society has chosen to ignore it. Of course, having a president in favor of big business profits doesn't help the middle class any.

I think I would think about trading in that huge SUV while you can still get something for it. I just read where auto makers are expecting sales to go down next year.

The middle class should take lessons from big corporations who have been downsizing for years.

It will never happen, but I envision a city filled with hugo's, mini coopers, smart cars, motorcyles, mo-peds, segways and bicycles. Runner's and walker on their way to work. Places of work could easily install showers and locker rooms. Improved mass transit and bus deals could be put into place. Society and the work place will just have to make adjustments. People could move closer to work or work more from home with more conference calls There will be less planes in the sky, therefore less clouds, and a prettier blue sky, less pollution, happier people, and healthier people. We could learn from Europeans who walk everywhere they need to go.