Posted by
Michael Gaijer on Monday, June 30, 2008 7:03:43 PM
With the price of oil now at $143 a barrel and climbing. What is the out look for a return to normal?
Well, about as much as the Dodo bird has of becoming non exstinct and that is not very unlikely. So many believe that it is the opposite of this and we can return to the days of $25 dollar a barrel Oil, and gas under $1.00 per gallon. Oh if only that where true.
The amount of oil on this planet is not infinite ∞ , no matter who tells you different. And at this point in time, the vast majority of it, resides outside the continental US. So I guess its alright, to blame everybody else for playing our business game by our rules and now winning at it. Which angers us and makes us feel helpless. Not a good feeling is it.
We can over come this obstical, yet we have chosen not to so far. Why is that I wonder? Is it arogance, stupidity, the rash indifferance to nolonger being in self control over our future. What?
Since the discovery of Crude Oil in the early 1800s, most of our oil came from natural ponds of surface oil, or tar pits. We also derived oils from plants and animals. It was not until the advent of the Industrial Revolution that the full scale production of oil was even tought to be worth while. Why? Costs.
It was more economical to continue on getting oils from animals such as whales and cattle, which are slaughtered for meat, hides and bone. Along with the free surface tar deposits, very little if any out of pocket cost was involved.
But soom engines became more sofisticated and required better types of oils, which would last longer and protected better. The true culprit for this need, heat from friction and speed. So Oil became profitable to drill for and boy did we drill. From the late 1800s to the earlist 1900s, we drilled oil wells all over the Southwest and western PA, WV and eastern Ohio. We drilled so many holes that it was said, the southwest United States sounded like an organ when the winds blew. And we sold it to every one for pennies a gallon. Yes Pennies, 3-5¢ a gallon, and not just at home, abroad as well. We or rather the major oil investors, like Rockefeller, Hunts and the others made Billions of dollars from its sales and wasted thousands if not millions of gallons on the ground. Billions of dollars from pennies on the gallon. So a barrel has 42 US Gal. in it, you figure the cost of a barrel and then figure about how many barrels we produced in a year, etc.
Now I am not going to give you a history lesson on Oil, but for almost 200 years now we have been dependent on the production of Crude Oil and its derivatives. Kerosine, Diesel, lubricants, medical glycerides, solvents etc., and do any of you wonder how long will we continue to need these items to survive.
Well alot longer than we will need to drive our cars.
So what is the scare to developement of new, replenishable and abundent fuel source to power us along for the next 200 years or longer? Costs, knowledge or both? Most monopolies have been based on the fact, that they have it and you need it. Our trouble is we no longer have it, or rather enough of it, to monopolize the market and thus are placed as dependent on it.
If we where to get involved today in a global conflict and our supply of oil from the middle East was cut off for more than 180 days, we would run dry and come to a halt. Military needs would have everyone of us walking to and from work, if we had jobs to go to. Need for fuel would be broken down as need demanded, so Military, wealthy, Congress, Farmers, Medical, factories, Transportation, Civil Defense, local law enforcement, fire emergency and then general population.
So let us ask if we have the know how? I believe we do no matter how poorly we place against Asian students, or other nations. For we have one of the best higher educational unstitutions in the world, we have the largest pool of skilled labourers at this time, we have willing and capable workers to do the job and we have the desire to be number one in the world. Ford created Job One but we all should strive for it.
Well then if it is not the knowledge, then it has to be the costs that are keeping us from doing it. But why would the cost of a new endeavor be prohibitive to refining or finding a new source of energy for transportation. Greedy lack of interest in helping some one other than themselves.
On this server, Townhall.com, there has been debates and aurguements as to why should or shouldn't we copy laws or means of doing things from Europe. Well for one, we copied the industrial revolution from them, but I would be off the subject if I went on further, and another was self importance. That self importance lead to being overly thrifty in their financing of new inventions or ideas. Saying why bother with new when the old has worked so well in the past and we have continued to profit by it. This attituted of self importance lead to the destruction of Englands leadership in the world of manufacturing and invention. It was not from their lack of knowledge.
Here is an example of what I mean. In the 1920s and 30's, aviation was in its infancy, yet while we played with bi planes and tri motored propeller aircraft. In Europe the race had already begun on the Jet aircraft engine. Yes Jet engines, where being built and designed in europe in the late 1920's and early thirties. Frank Whittle, perfected the first functional jet engine in 1936 in England, but a German named Hans von Ohain actually got his into an aircraft and flew it.
This lead to the rumors of the Nazi master race and England being unprepared for war. In reallity she would have been prepared for war, had she not been so cheap mentally not to see the future. We stand in that same spot here in America. Before us lays the future and behind us is our dependance on foreign Oil. Which way shall we decide to go, forward on to the future or backwards to the same old same old and possibly not be ready for the next challenge. For if we had not aided England after Frances fall in 1940, WWII would surely had lasted longer and cost more lives than we can immagine. It may have ended differently altogether.
I know that we can build far better fuel efficient cars than before, and better than or equal to the Japanese and Germans. I own a 2008 Ford Escape V6 XLT FWD. I get 23 mpg intown and 27 mpg highway so far, I have only owned it two months. That is a mega leap since the 2000 Ford Ranger I bought and get 24 highway and 20 intown with a 4 cyl. Automatic.
So why not build one that gets 4o mpg highway and 30 mpg intown, we can if we try. And for hydrogen fuel cells, if these are so expensive to make and the process is so costly. Why haven't the stories of cars running on water not been desproven or labeled as bunk.
We need new thinkers and shakers in government also, ones that will push for new incentives to build better cars, better fuel efficent motors and electric power plants. Not so much tax breaks but Government supports on imports tarrifs and restiction on quanities.
Now for some, this will fly over their head like a spacecraft traveling at the speed of light. But for every dollar that the price of a barrel of oil rises, the cost of imports rise also. Making American made goods more favorable of a buy to those that would sell us out for lower prices. I know that I've heard and read how they bought this Nissan, or Toyota, or Honda, or KIA for so much less. Well Honda has stopped building its Ridgeliner, and is reengineering its Pilot, both with dismal 16 mpg in town and 20 highway, and a ride like, well a truck.
So America are you going to be another whiner and clamourer for lets drill till it hurts everywhere. Or are you going to be a, I wont take it anymore Mr. well off CEO and I demand a better life out of this country and you for my work. If you ship my job overseas I will not buy your goods, if you bring in foreign workers because they are better schooled. I want my government to rework the education of my children for the future. I am tired of being the bottom of the pile. And if that does not please you, I will start my own business and but you out of a job.