Resource companies going back into Iraq for the first time in 36 years. Was it worth $529 billion and roughly 600,000 human lives? I doubt the profits for the companies from the oil fields in Iraq will be even close to that. It would have cost the US less to simply give the oil companies half a trillion dollars of tax payers money. Lots of you probably saw this on Digg.com but I thought it would be discussed here as well.
Well unfortunately that's one of the few places to purchase oil since we can't drill in ANWR. What if The Middle East was just about the only place we could get silicone for processors from? What if ANWR was the only place you could get hemp from? Would it be ok to alter the fragile eco cycle then? Just substitute oil with anything else we need in abundance and imagine the only places we could get that element were in The Middle East or ANWR........what would you have us do then?
Nope, because now anytime there is any kind of conflict in that region speculators will use it as an excuse and cause oil prices to go higher (yes they do that now but now it will be to a larger extent).
except we can, from numerous sources around the world. Nice try though. not likely. you may see the price of oil per barrel go down due to this in the future, but don't count on it effecting the prices we pay much. ivwshane makes an important point about drilling there aswell, speculators are going to go to town any time anything happens in iraq, making oil even more volatile which could potential translate to even higher prices. I can't help but chuckle whenever some of you talk about how there was a need to go into iraq because of oil prices. The people who follow this logic might want to take the time to understand how these oil prices work and who OPEC is. Invading one of serveral countries that make up OPEC doesn't translate to lower prices, it pisses off the rest of them and puts America where it is today, more hated then ever and with high price to reflect that. Good show. The final blow will come when the rest of the world stops using US dollar as its global currency. If it ever switches to the Euro, GG USA.
So maybe I was too hasty condemning the administration for failing to achieve the "secret" reason for going to war.
I think the high oil prices are good. What else would spur Americans to change besides making them pay out of pocket? It hurts me too, I fill up at least once a week and its a lot of money, but I try and think realistically about it. If gas stayed at $2 a gallon for the next 500 years, Americans would be driving h2's or the equivalent for 500 years, its a simple as that. Its time to get away from oil dependency, not drill for more.
Its not simply about the cars consumers drive though, higher oil prices translates to basically more expensive everything. It might encourage consumers to by more fuel efficient cars, but the price of any car will become more expensive as oil prices rise. Cars still need to be transported via Semi’s to dealerships. A large majority of the parts used to make a car are manufactured with petroleum and all the employee’s from the assembly line down to the person who sells you the car need to be paid more to compensate aswell. Money saved on gas is spent through other increases. You can apply this logic to almost any aspect of life, expensive oil means expensive everything. The world as we know it revolves around petroleum. In Canada as consumers we pay about 5.5 a gallon, In Venezuela they pay 0.19 cents a gallon for that same oil. Ain’t that a bitch?
Try thinking and not trying to talk down to me. I posed what I thought to be a logical question. I make a good point. Oil is evil because it's aftereffects cause a portion of "global warming." The cool thing to worry about right now and heavy on the liberal agenda. I mean if the cure for Cancer was in the same place that we find oil, would the original article in this thread have ever even been posted? Would Big Cancer Curing companies be considered evil along with President Bush?
?? I don't understand your comparison between finding a cure for cancer and finding oil reserves at all Tacdriver. Or your original post for that matter. The article dosen't mention global warming. It simply points out that the "big four" companies are allowed to make a buck there again and this time they were given no-bid contracts. The oil was already coming out of Iraq and into America. The problem was that American and British oil companies were not allowed to profit from the extraction in Iraq since 1972. When Saddam came to power and kicked them out after the US and UK imposed sanctions on Iraq through the UN. That is the only thing that has changed in Iraq since the invasion in 2003 IMO, that and 2.5% of their population has been murdered.
id rather pay more to have oil not from there, i just dont see it as a solution, biofuels can help alot more then tapping anwr
if something were to be done about this administration.. it wouldve been done a long time ago. everything is out of our puny hands.. all we can do is talk about it amongst our peers and read new headlines that boast about the current state of "fuck the citizens in the ass agenda"
I think they're already considered evil, considering the arm and leg they charge for drugs, while selling them to people who can't afford them, yet can't afford not to buy them! Not to mention the fudged studies to sell drugs that kill more than they cure. If the cure for cancer involved the same risks as the transport of oil, the answer would probably be "yes". I don't see any cure for cancer involving quite the ecological disaster that one massive oil spill could provide. Global warming isn't the reason for not drilling in ANWR, but rather the dangers of an accident causing massive oil spillage. Oh, and there are conservatives for whom this is heavy on their agenda as well. Coastal States eye the thought of a hurricane taking out offshore rigs and coating their coasts with tourism-killing oil, and even the most conservative (Jeb Bush) of them say "thanks, but no thanks". Even if all that drilling took place, it still wouldn't budge gas prices all that much. The one thing that will best bring down gas prices right now, is starting to happen in China, where the Central Government is cutting back on subsidizing fuel, which means fuel will be more expensive in China, which means the Chinese will cut back on using it, which means more oil for the rest of us. On a more positive, and totally unrelated note: the Mars Probe has found ICE! Watch it sublime (evaporate)over a period of a day or two... Truly, Mission Accomplished!!!
They know we'll pay over 4 a gallon now. I don't see any reason why gas will ever be less than $3 a gallon now. We're in prime position to be raped.
Yep, the only way to do away with higher oil prices is to find alternatives to oil in the first place. Even if we allow drilling all over our coasts it will only be a temporary solution and the next time we get hit by the oil crunch will be worse than the last. For me personally the only alternative energy source that makes sense is electricity. It's readily available and can be produced anywhere by pretty much anyone (be it solar, wave action, human powered, wind, etc) and therefore cannot be monopolized as easily as other fuel sources. All that's needed for electric cars to take over gas cars is a better infrastructure, and a faster charging system. Just imagine a costco having a complete solar array on the roof of their buildings and being able to recharge your car in two minutes. Even if vehicles only got two hundred miles per charge it wouldn't be an issue if you could get your car charged everywhere including at your office and for a price that was reasonable ($10 per charge isn't bad).
Oh and let me add this: It's probably the exact reasons why I think electric is the way to go that it will never happen.
I truly believe that plug-in hybrids and eventually full on electric cars will become mainstream. Hydrogen is fine, as it can be created with solar, wind, geothermal, etc, but why bother with the complexity and inefficiencies of a combustion engine when electric is so viable?
so fucking true... once it goes up, it'll never go back down.. im starting to miss the old days of gas toggling between 1.20 and 1.10 every other week.
