Efficiency is the fastest way to decrease our energy use.

Drilling and refining will help in the short term, WE import 72% of our crude oil and 60% of our products. We haven’t built a refinery in 30 years. Our refining capacity is less than 50% of what it was 30 years ago.

Biggest reason to drill and refine is to stop the offshore flow of dollars, keep it here where we can spend it on ourselves.

It takes 1500 of PICKENS new Wind Mills to replace 1 (ONE) coal fired power plant. He says he can build his first 1500 in 5 years???

AS long as the leadership in DC does nothing we continue to get screwed. This is about leadership and giving the American people the ability to produce their own energy, JOBS first lets drill Now. Lets build 4 major refineries Now!!

I have called my congressional representatives each month for the last 3 months and demanded that they vote for drilling and refining. I get told thank you for your opinion!!!

How can so few have so much power???????

As I have been hearing the complaints of many disillusioned consumers that gasoline prices are barely moving down despite the significant drop in oil prices, I think this would be a good time to point out the reason why that is.

When crude oil goes up, you see it immediately reflected in the price at the pumps. The perplexed public rightfully gets angry about this saying “they didn’t pay that new, higher price for the gasoline in those pumps so why are they charging me as though they did?” This immediate price hike happens because they are charging you in advance for their “replacement cost”. The thing that outrages consumers is that although prices at the pump immediately respond to the oil price on the world market when it moves upward – gas prices do not seem to quickly respond on the DOWNSIDE of the world oil market.

The reason why the gas price stays high when the oil prices correct is because that is how the refiners are making their record profits. When oil spiked upward over the past month, oil companies reduced their refining to match lower demand and still were finding it difficult to make money. This is because even the refiners that drill and produce their own oil still have to go in and purchase oil on the open market, because they need more crude than they recover from the ground. Since they were paying inflated, bubble prices while demand was actually declining, they were having trouble selling it at a profit.

So now that we are used to paying the inflated prices for gasoline, they can temporarily keep their gas prices somewhat higher while they are able to buy their new supply at the current LOWER prices. They slowly lower prices by a few token pennies but the price you are paying now per gallon is not as low as it was before the last run up from the current price level. They are not passing the savings onto you and me. They are making up for lost ground due to the bubble. The spread is back.

more at http://tableofwisdom.com/Energy_Crisis.html

Are you two confused, I thought that the congress was lead by the democrats for the last two years, I must have been sleeping when they ran two Novembers ago on all the changes that they were going to do and most of them won. The fact is that congress thinks that this is some game to them pushing each others agenda which is bringing our country to the breaking point. For me, Dems are leading us to the point of no return and lemmens like you two can’t wait to jump off the cliff with them. The fact is just because there is a republican president doesn’t mean he is the soil person responsible, it is the job of congress to solve problems for our country and so far the Democratic led congress has been a do nothing congress for their two years of power.

First off, you don’t use a hammer to peel a banana. There is a tool for every job and our energy problems will not be solved by any single solution. We must use ALL the tools in our toolbox one of which includes drilling. That’s part of a solution, not releasing oil from the SPR …. By the way, look up the word strategic, bet it says nothing about controlling prices. You think it’s bad now, just wait til something really happens on a global scale. You’ll be praying we have reserves to fall back upon.

Second, where have all the leaders gone. Political rhetoric from people like Greedom and others will not solve a problem. (side note it’s intersting he doesn’t have the guts to even use his real name … typical)
I amd so tired of the ‘Blame GWB for ‘ and fill in the blank. When we all realize personal responsibility should be the focus of our lives, maybe things will get accomplished. If we all continue to look at others to solve our problems, we will never progress as a society. Provide a solution and maybe I’ll listen to you … until then crawl back in your hole and shut it.

Finally our political, economic, and social systems are in disarray. The existence of our country as a whole requires we all get involved at some point and demand accountability from our leaders. In the absence of leadership, progress ceases to exist. Our country is under attack from the invasion of illegals to the influence of special interests on how we are all supposed to live.
You don’t build a house from the roof to the foundation.
Our country’s foundation is crumbling and we’re all shopping for furniture. We better start paying attention to what’s important and stop looking for someone else to blame. If you really want to know how to solve a problem, ask a child. They can still be objective when presented a problem and view an issue at the simplest of levels. It’s really not that complicated, we all just need to stop looking at it in the ‘what’s in it for me’ light and figure out what’s the best solution instead.

Blame and baised rhetoric is not going to get it done.

Wake up America and get involved … time is running out.

Basscat,

What you do not seem to understand is that while the oil companies are making record profits in “dollar” terms, it is still only about 8 on the dollar per gallon (8%). Tell me, how is that a windfall profit? What business can realistically survive on an 8% profit. I know that mine cannot. If Congress is going to tax an 8% profit as a windfall profit, then I and every other small business owner is in deep trouble. They (the oil companies) are making several billion in profit, but you know what? They spend ten times that in exploration and extraction. It costs them billions to even find where the oil is in any given area, and then billions more to get that oil out. Yet, they are still making pennies on the dollar profit per gallon. The only windfall profit being made in this industry is by the government. The government(federal, state, and local) make, on average, around 60 cents per gallon in taxes, nearly double that of the oil companies. What has the government done to deserve any of it? What research and/or development did the government do? Please, tell me. It has done nothing except stand in the way of the exploration and extraction of oil, making it even that much more expensive.

The oil companies even sat in front of the congressional hearings (talk about a circus and a waste of time and taxpayer money) and testified that THEY WANT TO DRILL FOR OIL!!! The oil companies are in the business of drilling oil. That is what they do! The more oil they are allowed to drill, the better. They don’t care how expensive or cheap the oil is or will be. They just want to do their freaking job, and we must let them do it!

Do you want the US, and US oil companies, to drill the oil in the Gulf and the Arctic, or do you want our close buddies in Cuba, China, and Russia to do it??
Cuba and China are working on an agreement to tap into the huge oil reserve in the Gulf, just miles from Florida. Do you think they will only tap the oil related to the Cuban continental shelf? If you do, then you are sadly mistaken and extremely ignorant (which unfortunately most liberals are). They will drill that oil, and it will suck right out from under our continental shelf.
Russia is sending some of its naval fleet, destroyers and nuclear subs, to the Artic to attempt to claim the oil there for mother Russia. Do you think they are going to sit back and not go for more oil because they want higher prices?? NO, they are going to get every drop they can get their hands on. We should be doing the same.

For the Democrats to stand in the way of our oil independence is a breach of our national security, and, on its face, a form of treason. You know what, their 9% approval rating is higher than the 8% profit that oil companies make on a gallon of gas. That is about the only thing the Democrat Congress’ approval rating out ranks. Maybe we should place a windfall tax on Congress and take some of OUR money back.

From the basis of your comment, it appears as though you should look in the mirror to find someone with an IQ of less than 115. Your ignorant comment is exactly what is wrong today. You think that we can just jump to some “alternative” form of energy. It will take much longer for any “alternative” energy to become economically viable than it will for us to tap into to any continental shelf oil, or even the ANWR oil. The world is driven by oil. It is in nearly every single product that is made (in some form or another). The infrastructure is already there off the California coast, and we could have that oil refined in a little over a year. It is amazing how you liberals claim that you “care” so much about blue-collar workers and low income families, yet you always, ALWAYS do everything you can to actually stand in the way of what will actually help people. We just had a US Geological Survey report that there is 90 BILLION barrels of oil in the Arctic, with a third of that under Alaska alone. Now, please give a good, logical, rational reason why we should not be tapping into this oil. Why Greedom? Why? It is obvious that there is not a good, logical, or rational reason and you know it. You environmentalist, liberal lunatics only want to stifle the American economy and the American dream. You call yourselves “progressives,” yet you only stand in the way of true progress.

It would be great to one day be able to extremely cut our use of oil, but that will not be for decades simply because of the cost of alternative energies. Instead of having the government subsidize certain energy research and development, giving them false backing and support, get government out of the way and let the market take care of it. If an “alternative” energy source is viable, it will make it. The market proves this every time when left to do what it does best, create competition and spawn innovation. Government does neither. It only takes and takes away from everything it possibly can. It gives nothing back. If you want an alternative energy, maybe you should get a catalytic converter to convert all that hot air and excrement that comes out of your mouth into energy for the rest of us, Greedom.