tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3990421549250217168.post275015118016407778..comments2023-11-01T06:43:49.254-04:00Comments on The New Conservatives: Oil Prices Fall $20 in a WeekDaniel Nicholshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00547574601332320411noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3990421549250217168.post-29769285990599936932008-07-19T23:39:00.000-04:002008-07-19T23:39:00.000-04:00And where I live, inland in the Mid-Atlantic/South...And where I live, inland in the Mid-Atlantic/South region, prices at the pumps have dropped two cents at one petrol station and nothing at the many others in town.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, across the nearby state border, prices in an adjacent state have dropped 12-13 cents a gallon. <BR/><BR/>As for alternative energy sources: We need a total energy package that includes alternatives to fossil fuels, while still using them. Contrary to what many people fantasize, it takes years to develop and implement some technologies. <BR/><BR/>And given how much fossil fuel we have within our boundaries, it makes sense--something that's in short supply in some quarters in America--to find ways to use those fuels.<BR/><BR/>Whatever it takes, including nuclear, we must move ahead, in spite of the currently Democrat-controlled Congress and what might follow, as well as the so-called environmentalists--they have moved well beyond the noble goal of protecting our environment into stupidity and fascistic directions--to free ourselves from self-inflicted bondage to the rest of the world re: energy.CKAinRedStateUSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11051384804727827611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3990421549250217168.post-57376048922004462132008-07-19T19:27:00.000-04:002008-07-19T19:27:00.000-04:00The problem here is that you admit we need to use ...The problem here is that you admit we need to use less oil, but then say that prices need to drop. Those are two mutually exclusive conditions. If prices drop, people will use more gas and buy less efficient vehicles. That's the market at work. People have known for a long time that they needed to consume less oil -- hell, Carter was saying this stuff in the 1970s -- but the only times they've actually done it is when prices forced them to.<BR/><BR/>Why have oil prices dropped? Hard to say. There wasn't really an adequate reason for their skyrocketing in the first place. Yes, an increase, even a big increase made sense given that the world now consumes more oil than it produces (and the instability in the middle east caused by this war). But the -- what? -- six hundred percent increase in the last five or six years was over the top.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure what number you're looking for, but I can't imagine you're claiming that oil is going to go down to $2.00 a barrel. Adjusted for inflation, oil prices haven't been that low since the beginning of the 20th century. I'm guessing you meant $20-25 barrel, which is what oil cost before the recent surge in prices.<BR/><BR/>I agree we need to fund -- massively fund -- research into alternative energy. I'm talking an Apollo style project that sets a major goal and then does whatever it takes to reach it. Similar to what Al Gore proposed the other day. But to me, doing that is not possible while simultaneously encouraging Americans to consume more oil.<BR/><BR/>This is the greatest test the market has ever faced. You'd think conservatives who constantly champion the marketplace would welcome the challenge. Instead, all you guys want to do is postpone the inevitable despite the fact that doing so could do irreperable harm to our environment. And that's not just crazy environmentalist talk. I'm not saying we need to save the environment for its own sake (the environment will outlive us all, I can assure you of that). I'm saying we need to save the environment because it's the only way we might save ourselves. So let's not simply brush off environmentalist concerns on this issue. If we had listened to them earlier, and not waited a decade or more to start earnestly looking for alternatives, then we might not be in the spot we are now.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12691245697175068653noreply@blogger.com