[redsniper]

The only pros to living in South Carolina: Good university, mother****ing Charleston is awesome, and one of the lowest nonzero gas taxes in the world.

But yeah, **** gas prices with a rake, regardless of where you live.  If someone has the know-how to shed some light on this: If the majority if the United States oil supply is piped in from Alaska (or rather, in our general vicinity), and not OPEC, why is all of the Iran bull**** I'm hearing about having such an impact on gas prices?  Eight months ago, we dropped down into the mid to low $2.00 per gallon range, and only after this uranium enrichment thing started to become headline news, prices went up.  What the hell kind of correlation is there if it's not even a big enough chunk to warrant that kind of price jump?

forgive my ignorant American self if I missed the entire point of the topic, I've just always wondered this

Because the economy, and in turn commodity prices, depend on perceptions and not actual reality. Those who sell oil know they can get away with using instability in the middle east as an excuse for higher prices, and if something will make them more money, they'll do it.

[MP-Ryan]

Nevermind that pipeline's all eventually break and leak.

 

no.  all pipes have the POSSIBILITY to break, but that doesn't mean all of them WILL.

No, every pipeline will eventually break, unless it is removed from service before it has a chance to do so.  That, unfortunately, does not usually happen.  Also unfortunately, the public at large has no idea just how many pipeline breaks occur every month.  I was shocked when I started learning about it in the course of my job.  As the vast majority of breaks don't impact people or waterbodies, they are usually quietly handled by a resource regulator and don't even get on the radar of environmental authorities.  Pipelines break and leak with alarming regularity, and not just due to age.  The high-profile lines are watched much more closely, but they aren't the real problem when it comes to leaks.  Some of the largest and most damaging produced water and oil spills occur at small operations in remote areas, frequently due to human error or maintenance failure, though sometimes it's just equipment age.

[redsniper]

Nothing has a mean time to failure of infinity...

[SypheDMar]

The only pros to living in South Carolina: Good university, mother****ing Charleston is awesome, and one of the lowest nonzero gas taxes in the world.

But yeah, **** gas prices with a rake, regardless of where you live.  If someone has the know-how to shed some light on this: If the majority if the United States oil supply is piped in from Alaska (or rather, in our general vicinity), and not OPEC, why is all of the Iran bull**** I'm hearing about having such an impact on gas prices?  Eight months ago, we dropped down into the mid to low $2.00 per gallon range, and only after this uranium enrichment thing started to become headline news, prices went up.  What the hell kind of correlation is there if it's not even a big enough chunk to warrant that kind of price jump?

forgive my ignorant American self if I missed the entire point of the topic, I've just always wondered this

Because the economy, and in turn commodity prices, depend on perceptions and not actual reality. Those who sell oil know they can get away with using instability in the middle east as an excuse for higher prices, and if something will make them more money, they'll do it.

Some folks might call this speculation.

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=7fb6728b-29a4-46a6-8a8f-a5655818caa6

[Klaustrophobia]

i call it gouging.  unfortunately the government doesn't unless it's an immediate spike of a huge percentage, like after katrina.  same concept, just slower.

[Goober5000]

This video seems relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdScVerrBU

[MP-Ryan]

This video seems relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdScVerrBU

That video seems to imply that Presidents have some ability to change gas prices.  They don't.

[Grizzly]

That video seems to imply that Presidents have some ability to change gas prices.  They don't.

That video is the hipocrisy off the American media blaming the presidents (or not blaming the president, depending on party affiliation) on gas prices. Whether or not the gas prices actually can be influenced by the president is another matter.

[NGTM-1R]

This video seems relevant:

But actually isn't.

[General Battuta]

This video seems relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdScVerrBU

'Seems' is a very good choice of words

[samiam]

+1 Hidden, you're a knee-slapper!

[jr2]

This video seems relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdScVerrBU

Anyone who doesn't get that probably never will, because they never will want to.

[NGTM-1R]

Anyone who doesn't get that probably never will, because they never will want to.

A simple question for your educated and intelligent answer, then.

Rising gas prices are hurting Barack Obama's chances of reelection. Why has he not arrested the increase and rolled it back, hmm?

[General Battuta]

This video seems relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdScVerrBU

Anyone who doesn't get that probably never will, because they never will want to.

I would love it if the president could control gas prices, but it's actually one of the topics my lab is working on right now (presidential influence on the economy) and the evidence we're getting - as well as the general agreement in the field - is that the president has little control over the economy, gas prices included.

You probably won't read this post but uh here it is

[StarSlayer]

This video seems relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdScVerrBU

Anyone who doesn't get that probably never will, because they never will want to.

I would love it if the president could control gas prices, but it's actually one of the topics my lab is working on right now (presidential influence on the economy) and the evidence we're getting - as well as the general agreement in the field - is that the president has little control over the economy, gas prices included.

You probably won't read this post but uh here it is

Control or influence?

[samiam]

Of course the president can control gas prices, just instate price controls for gasoline. Heil Stalin!

[Klaustrophobia]

This video seems relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdScVerrBU

Anyone who doesn't get that probably never will, because they never will want to.

I would love it if the president could control gas prices, but it's actually one of the topics my lab is working on right now (presidential influence on the economy) and the evidence we're getting - as well as the general agreement in the field - is that the president has little control over the economy, gas prices included.

You probably won't read this post but uh here it is

agreed, but the overall political climate appears to influence the economy rather well.  and i would say the president has a GREAT deal to do with the political climate. 

the fact that all politicians THINK they can control the economy isn't helping.

[BlueFlames]

This video seems relevant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKdScVerrBU

Anyone who doesn't get that probably never will, because they never will want to.

As an attempt to show bias in the media, using fuel prices as an example, it falls rather flat.  The scenes chosen to depict the "media's" message in 2008 are largely interviews with and addresses by politicians who were opposed to the Republican President and were using rising fuel prices as ammunition to oppose him.  The more recent scenes were plucked from local and morning news programs, which will paint a rosey picture of anything, since, in the name of ratings, they don't want to kick off anybody's day on a down note.  You can just as easily cherry-pick scenes from the media in 2003 and 2011 to make the media appear as blood-thirsty warhawks, who want nothing more than to topple every government in the eastern hemisphere.  By way of selective memory, you can make the media out to be anything that is politically conveninent for you.

[jr2]

https://www.google.com/search?&q=obama+tap+petroleum+reserve

EDIT: Although, I will say, Bush did tap the reserve too, IIRC.   The difference is, Bush was all for increasing domestic oil production and refining capacity.  Obama is all for decreasing it.

While switching to alternative fuel sources may seem like a good idea, we won't get there very fast without power... so use what we've got while investing in other potential fuels.

The sad part is, nuclear energy would be a great alternative fuel if people weren't nuke-o-phobes.  If we'd put as much effort into perfecting nuclear tech as we have at (failing) to master wind / solar / other greeny alternatives, we'd probably either have fusion power or something equally impressive.  But noooo, nuclear can go BOOM!  The T.V. said so.    Newsflash, so can:

Propane/Natural Gas/Gasoline/Hydrogen/<insert fuel used to create energy through combustion here>

The difference is, nuclear is going to be harder to screw up than other sources of energy, because of the safety precautions.  The problem is, the consequences should you manage the monumental task of getting it wrong are rather severe.  Ask the Russians, then go and do not likewise.

[samiam]

I haven't seen much real analysis on it, but oil does produce a lot less greenhouse gas than coal. More oil couldn't be that bad if it crowds out coal consumption.

Additionally, most of the world is under Kyoto. So emissions are pretty much capped regardless of the source.