Shell reports record profits

It's more complicated than that. It's about investors speculating on oil by buying it up figuring there'll be an endless market for it. That's why there doesn't seem to be any limit to how high it can go.
We've seen such mania before -- do the Internet and real estate markets ring a bell?
The difference with oil is the possibility that, indeed, the market for it might not go anywhere and that there'll be no bubble bursting. And the price will keep going up, up, up.

 

I hate the high gas prices, as someone who commutes 100 miles round trip to an unpaid internship. But if we are ever going to get serious about our addiction to oil, it's not going to come because prices drop or we drill in ANWR or anything else. Unless we find an unlimited reserve under some remote Montana village, the oil-based solution is never going to come. If high gas prices are what it takes to force a political consensus that gets us somewhere (and at this time, biofuels are definitely not that answer), I'll reluctantly take it. If we need to have the market force us into making tough decisions, so be it.

 

No, THAT'S the myth.

And it's because oil goes into the production of the following:

Ink Dishwashing liquids Paint brushes Telephones
Toys Unbreakable dishes Insecticides Antiseptics
Dolls Car sound insulation Fishing lures Deodorant
Tires Motorcycle helmets Linoleum Sweaters
Tents Refrigerator linings Paint rollers Floor wax
Shoes Electrician's tape Plastic wood Model cars
Glue Roller-skate wheels Trash bags Soap dishes
Skis Permanent press clothes Hand lotion Clothesline
Dyes Soft contact lenses Shampoo Panty hose
Cameras Food preservatives Fishing rods Oil filters
Combs Transparent tape Anesthetics Upholstery
Dice Disposable diapers TV cabinets Cassettes
Mops Sports car bodies Salad bowls House paint
Purses Electric blankets Awnings Ammonia
Dresses Car battery cases Safety glass Hair curlers
Pajamas Synthetic rubber VCR tapes Eyeglasses
Pillows Vitamin capsules Movie film Ice chests
Candles Rubbing alcohol Loudspeakers Ice buckets
Boats Ice cube trays Credit cards Fertilizers
Crayons Insect repellent Water pipes Toilet seats
Caulking Roofing shingles Fishing boots Life jackets
Balloons Shower curtains Garden hose Golf balls
Curtains Plywood adhesive Umbrellas Detergents
Milk jugs Beach umbrellas Rubber cement Sun glasses
Putty Faucet washers Cold cream Bandages
Tool racks Antihistamines Hair coloring Nail polish
Slacks Drinking cups Guitar strings False teeth
Yarn Petroleum jelly Toothpaste Golf bags
Roofing Tennis rackets Toothbrushes Perfume
Luggage Wire insulation Folding doors Shoe polish
Fan belts Ballpoint pens Shower doors Cortisone
Carpeting Artificial turf Heart valves LP records
Lipstick Artificial limbs Hearing aids Vaporizers
Aspirin Shaving cream Wading pools Parachutes

To name just a few.

Our entire way of life is based on cheap oil and cheap energy. If it goes away, so does our current civilization.

Current oil prices are still low compared to the benefits we get in and the work oil saves us from doing.

 

The amount there is not worth the time or energy required to pull it out of the ground.

 

Blame Canada!

 

The day a bike lane is opened up on Interstate 45 north of Houston, and the day I can be reasonably assured of not getting plowed over while biking my son to school is the day I'll gladly start riding a bike to work a couple of times a week.

Until then, it's suicide. And to whomever made the comment that we shouldn't live so far from work...how about this little gem? I'm in the newspaper industry when I bought my house in 2004. In 2005 I, by absolute financial necessity, shifted career fields completely, but my new job, which helped me pay my mortgage, is farther away. So do I sell my house? Quit that job and take something less?

The answers aren't always so black and white. In the meantime, all gas/oil companies can bite me.

 

And is almost surely not going to be petroleum-grade.

 

Why should we blame the oil companies?

Because maybe -- just maybe -- they're the ones at fault:

http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel06/wfo062806.htm


I'm betting this won't be the last investigation into this type of activity. And it certainly won't be the last conviction.

Remember when the oil execs testified before Congress, but weren't sworn in? Now you know why.

 

Study after study has been done.

Yes, it would lower the price of gasoline.

By $0.01 . . . eventually.

 

I gotta' better idea:

Lets rise up, as a nation, and slay all CEOs of all companies. For decades, the cost of a gallon of gas didn't rise with inflation. Now, it's finally caught up. What hasn't caught up is our wages. The bump in minimum wage was the first in how many years?

 

I've been watching the development of alternative automotive technology for awhile now. And the one I'm most intrigued by is the Air Car. Runs on compressed air and supposedly can go up to 95 mph. They start mass production in India this summer and plan to sell them in the U.S. by 2009-10 for about $17,800. If the technology proves viable, then I will never own a gas-powered car again.

http://zeropollutionmotors.us/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html?series=19

Hybrids are nice, cute even. But Americans will not change to be green. We will only change to save our green.

 

Amen.