Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You might want to actually read newspaper articles discussing studies published by policy centers at universities.
At $3.00/gallon, about 15% are affected and forced to cut-back spending or driving in order to "make ends meet."
Each $0.25 increase affects a larger segment of the population. At $4.00/gallon more than 50% are forced to adjust their spending habits in order to maintain even minimal gasoline consumption, and that is simply driving to and from work. Retail volume is also altered as people's habits change in order to adjust to the higher prices.
That is to say that retailers (and restaurants) are forced to alter scheduling which means hours are cut for employees.
Good observations. Our rough numbers were that US driving would be significantly curtailed at $5.00 a gallon, and airlines and trucking would be going down at $10 a gallon, and agriculture goes off somewhere between $10 and $20.
But our views were from the "other" side -- renewables and conversion of transportation and other oil fuel consumption to various electric-based options.
It appeared to play out correctly in that both motor fuel use and miles driven were down at $4 + gallon.
One part that comes to my mind that seems to be overlooked in these discussion is the actual use patterns. While I see folks make the pharmco observations (and now for the first time the critical matter of fellatio resistance lipsticks. ) -- by overall use these applications matter little compared to US transportation.
US transportation use of Oil is such a large sector, that simply reducing that use alone would leave decades (or more) surplus for other uses and the rest of the world. It would seem that to take down the largest problem -- first -- would solve much of the overall problem.
What recovery ?
June 2009 the recession "officially ended".
18 months later..what recovery ?
Are you invested in the stock market? Do you have a 401K? Have you looked at unemployment figures? Have you looked at hiring and billing indexes? Have you looked at jobs numbers? All signs point to a slow and steady recovery. No, it's not the Dow 14000 instant gratification that everybody demands, but the economy IS recovering.
Jesus ****ing christ how on earth do you guys know that much about oil?
All I know about it is that you can drink someone else's milkshake, and relay that information to them before beating them over the head with a bowling pin.
For me, it comes from living for most of my adult life in areas where energy production (coal, natural gas, and/or oil) is a major industry. I also have a lot of friends and business colleagues who work in the industry. I've also spent time working in and around both the agriculture and transportation industries. All of that experience makes what I see happening right now all the more terrifying to me. This country is in big trouble when it comes to energy and transportation--to the point that it threatens our national security and survival. And we continue to do all the wrong things and make all the wrong decisions. Bad, really bad.
For me, it comes from living for most of my adult life in areas where energy production (coal, natural gas, and/or oil) is a major industry. I also have a lot of friends and business colleagues who work in the industry. I've also spent time working in and around both the agriculture and transportation industries. All of that experience makes what I see happening right now all the more terrifying to me. This country is in big trouble when it comes to energy and transportation--to the point that it threatens our national security and survival. And we continue to do all the wrong things and make all the wrong decisions. Bad, really bad.
Added to your personal observations, all anyone has to do is pick up a book by someone who DOES know what they're talking about and for a few moments, just while reading the book, suspend the urge to call that author a doomsayer. The government will never put out the true facts to the public because imperialism is the driving factor for the U.S., not just for oil but for (attempted) domination. The naivety of those who say "no problem" is kind of pathetic.
You painted a labor situation for the railroads that perhaps existed in the 60's.Not today.Train crews are paid hourly now.Also almost all train crews are only two people.The railroad that I worked for for 37 years,never had a lower ROI than 10%.The railroads are perfectly happy to let most americans believe they are broke or close to it,while they make nice profits.Warren buffet is not stupid.
1. Worldwide diesel fuel demand is exploding, especially in the developing countries.
I happen to speak with somebody that works for one of the larger energy suppliers in Asia. According to the informaton I was given there is actually an OVERSUPPLY of refining capacity in the Asia-Pacific region, which happens to be the fast growing region of the world economically.
Can you tell me again what is the basis of your assertion?
I happen to speak with somebody that works for one of the larger energy suppliers in Asia. According to the informaton I was given there is actually an OVERSUPPLY of refining capacity in the Asia-Pacific region, which happens to be the fast growing region of the world economically.
Can you tell me again what is the basis of your assertion?
I base it on a number of factors.
First, all indications are that the dollar is going to tank vis-a-vis a number of foreign currencies. Since we import about 70% of our oil, just a modest decline in the dollar will send oil prices in this country up.
Second, most of the price declines we saw in oil prices in this country in the last couple of years were because of declining domestic demand caused by our economic problems. If the economy recovers AT ALL, it will cause an increase in oil demand, which will immediately cause higher domestic oil prices. It would also push American refinery capacity back up near its practical limits--such that even some disruption of any kind at even one or two US refineries could lead to nearly immediate supply problems.
Third, there is big trouble brewing in the oil fields of one of our major suppliers--Mexico. Their biggest oil fields are now in serious depletion, and--in fact--are depleting more rapidly than predicted. That will cause both a decrease in easily available oil supplies for the US, and the economic chaos that those depletions will cause in Mexico may even further jeopardize US access to their remaining reserves. There is growing evidence that cheap-to-produce oil reserves in other areas--Saudi Arabia is one example--are also depleting at faster rates than either predicted or acknowledged.
Fourth, worldwide demand for petroleum products, especially diesel fuel, continues to increase and will continue to do so unless a full-scale worldwide economic collapse occurs.
There may be short-term up and down fluctuations in oil prices--in fact, I predict serious price volatility--but the overall trend will be toward much higher prices. Considering that neither our government, business community, nor citizenry has embarked on any serious plan of how to modify our lifestyle in the face of such increases, my prediction is that such increases will cause a nearly incalculable amount of economic and social pain when they arrive--and that is likely to be much sooner than anyone thinks.
It would be extremely beneficial to all of us if somebody stole Helicopter Ben's money-printing machine and blew it to smithereens.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) -- by overall use these applications matter little compared to US transportation. 
