I've got some "land for you......." if you believe the oil companies...

[rbattelle]

What I hate is when they price-gouge diesel and price it higher than gas. I paid $1. 73 last fill up, and unleaded was $1. 68.

 

[rrausch]

Almost all the "cheap' diesel I see out here in Ca. is right up around $2/Gal.

 

[Jeff H]

Just think of all the bussineses that have moved over sees. Are jobs now belong to the chinese. Its extremely bad business to practice. Its good in the short run. But in the long run. We lose to many jobs to boost prophits for those fat investors.

 

[gitchesum]

Originally posted by rrausch

Almost all the "cheap' diesel I see out here in Ca. is right up around $2/Gal.

Yeah, but you get that special diesel that no one else in the country gets. CARB diesel.



From the Chevron website



California: A Special Case Because of its unique diesel fuel regulations, California is a special case. California regulations restrict the aromatics content of diesel fuel in order to reduce emissions. The regulations can be met either with a low aromatics diesel (LAD) having less than 10% aromatics, or with an alternative low aromatics diesel (ALAD) formulation that gives an equivalent reduction in emissions. Many of these ALAD formulations use cetane number improvers to help achieve the necessary emissions reduction. As a result, a significant percentage of the low aromatic diesel fuel now sold in California contains some cetane number improver.



Reducing diesel aromatic content to 10% requires more severe hydrotreating than reducing sulfur content. As a result, the lubricity of some LAD may be low, so some refiners may treat the fuel with a lubricity additive. (In the rest of the U. S. , hydrotreating to remove sulfur may reduce lubricity, but not enough to require a lubricity additive. )

 

[SLance]

China Pollution

Been there, the cities air is a big brown fog they're breathing in. They are definitly using more than their share of earths resources without regard to the end effect.

 

[JyRO]

You know what burns my a$$ (besides a flame about a$$ high)? When I hear people say, "we can't do anything about it. " And then they talk about such things as disbanding OPEC. I'll be honest, I know nothing about OPEC. But my point is, rather than even doing what they can, they immediately want to point their finger at someone else or some group.



We as Americans, are not ready to do anything about. We're not mad enough about it. One of the 1st things we can do is to *USE LESS FUEL*. I'm not saying run out and buy a hybrid. But we CAN make less unnecessary trips, and accelerate & drive more slowly & patiently. If everybody could reduce their personal use of fuel, the demand would be less ... therefore the cost would be impacted.



I don't know about you, but I track the amount of money I spend on fuel. I'm going to add a column to keep track of the # of gallons I use and I'm going to try to see if I can find new and creative ways to use less fuel. Including the way I drive, and when and where I drive.



I *can* do that much so I *will* do that much.



Heck, if nothing else, because I'll be using less fuel, I'll be spending less money on it.



- JyRO

 

[DEickhoff]

You claim the reason CA is over $2. 00/gal is the special diesel fuel requirements but that does not hold water. In Kodiak, the price of diesel in town is $1. 97 ($1. 94 unleaded). Thank heavens I can buy fuel on the CG base but it is still $1. 84 for diesel and $1. 83 for unleaded.



Remember some of the cost of that fuel is taxes; city, state and federal. With these taxes (which they can raise whenever they want to) gov't is suppose to fix our roads and highways. Have you noticed who bad the roads are?? Where in the world is the money from those taxes going??? Somebody is gettin rich that's for sure.



Dawna

 

[gitchesum]

Is it possible that the fact that you are on an island have anything to do with your fuel prices?



In Louisiana, Cameron Island always had higher prices due to the location, could be the same issue.

 

[J&LRam]

Well this price rip off is just like the one in '73. After congressional and senate hearings and digging inside the towers of BIG oil by our 3 major news networks, i remember 2 things that come to mind were the facts that refrinery's dropped production to 39% capacity, like they are doing now, and the so called crude oil shortage, was nothing but BIG oil shutting off crude flow to get price per barrel from 7-10 dollar per barrel to 20 dollar and up. The OPEC thing is a player in high prices but BIG oil has learned how to use them in ripping off Americans. Some call it free enterprise... ... ... ... . JIM

 

[akdiesel]

gitchesum,



I basically live on an Island, ice locked and roadless (no road in or out) Juneau Alaska, and our diesel at Safeway & Kroger without a discount card is $1. 69 gal. and by the sounds of some of the prices down under (the lower 48), our price on diesel is even less. So I would say that since both DEickhoff, and I live on islands, location means little. BTW just because we've got I believe correct me if I'm wrong 35% of nations oil production does not mean that petro costs less here as it heads down under and then back up here. Granted diesel in Anchorage is about $1. 30 - $1. 45 last I was there, I believe cost has alot to do with how many middle men are in the equation, like the freight cost of the stuff! When limited to certian freight carriers, the freight guys name their price and then so on to the pump price!!

 

[Blakers]

Go to this site http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ and compare prices today to what they were in the past. I would say they are cheaper now than they have been almost anytime in the past.



I remember diesel fuel selling for $ . 15 per gallon in 1969. That was cheap. But it was before the tax raisers and environmental extremists got their hands on it.

 

[Jeremiah]

Originally posted by DOWG

By the way folks, Haliburton is not an oil company. They are a service company who works for the oil companies. Haliburton and Cheney have nothing to do with your "problem".



The liberal press can't get anything right.

Thanks for pointing this out about Haliburton. My dad was in the oil patch all his life and was a toolpusher in the 1940s and 1950s.



I roughnecked during the summer in the 1950s during college years and Haliburton serviced our rigs regularly. This was well before Mr. Cheney came along.



The Dems and liberal press are like piranhas - someone floats a story and here they all come snappin' and bitin' and doing everything they can to weaken Republicans.



But to be fair, the GOP did the same thing to Clinton and Gore. They nailed Slick Willie on Whitewater and Lowenski and got Gore on inventing the Internet, etc. , so there ain't much difference.



BTW, shouldn't this thread be shifted to politics?

 

[RollOver_Pete]

Originally posted by DEickhoff







Remember some of the cost of that fuel is taxes; city, state and federal. With these taxes (which they can raise whenever they want to) gov't is suppose to fix our roads and highways. Have you noticed who bad the roads are?? Where in the world is the money from those taxes going??? Somebody is gettin rich that's for sure.



Dawna

Sometimes, you just gota say, "W. T. F". A little Off Road Fuel wont make the world come to an end. And while you're filling up that shiny big buck transfer tank mounted in the bed of that Large Car with all its gadgets, bells and wistles... dump a few gallons of that used motor oil in. Any crud should be stoped by your fuel filters... right? Now..... you save a few bucks, recycle some used oil, and buy a little less fuel. Its a win-win situiation... . and good for the environment

 

[E7mack96]

I just got one of those "clean burn" furnaces. I'll never pay for propane again. All our used oil is now burned for our heat.



Before the furnace, I was mixing a gallon used oil into the bulk diesel tank each day.



Nothing like FREE heat.



E7

 

[jarsong]

Originally posted by Blakers

Go to this site http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ and compare prices today to what they were in the past. I would say they are cheaper now than they have been almost anytime in the past.



I remember diesel fuel selling for $ . 15 per gallon in 1969. That was cheap. But it was before the tax raisers and environmental extremists got their hands on it.

THis doesn't hold water. I was paying . 99 cents per gallon in 1998. My 3rd $500. 00 Dell PC cost $2500. 00 in 1987.



This is nothing more than price fixing from OPEC. I'm just not sure what you do about it other than a couple things. Drill, drill, drill for more oil while mandating the CAFE standards be raised to increase the efficiency of "Some Models" of vehicles. I mean should my 7500 pound truck get better mileage and my 96 Ford explorer? Really? Treat this energy crisis like a true national security issue that it is. Regional and community "Powercells" to help with the Power and Natural gas issue. Lot of stuff can be done. One person asked WHy should Bush care? Well if he wants to be the next pres again he will HAVE to fix the energy prices and he's running out of time. THis issue alone will get him booted faster than any Iraq issue. THis is a TAX on our nation imposed by OPEC.

jarsong

 

[Blakers]

THis doesn't hold water. I was paying . 99 cents per gallon in 1998.

Yes, fuel was a true bargain back then. Sure was better than paying over $1 a gallon in 1979.

One person asked WHy should Bush care? Well if he wants to be the next pres again he will HAVE to fix the energy prices and he's running out of time.

Do you really want the government regulating the price or do you want the free market to regulate the price? Do you also want the government to control your wages?

 

[Jeremiah]

Quarter a gallon here

Originally posted by Blakers

Yes, fuel was a true bargain back then. Sure was better than paying over $1 a gallon in 1979.







Do you really want the government regulating the price or do you want the free market to regulate the price? Do you also want the government to control your wages?

I can confirm the low prices in '69 and '70 because I remember paying a quarter a gallon. OTOH, I personally was not making as many dollars as I am today, so there you are.



I also remember crossing the Texas state line and buying gasoline for $0. 17 a gallon at Fina. That's before George Bush was even born.

 

[jarsong]

Originally posted by Blakers

Yes, fuel was a true bargain back then. Sure was better than paying over $1 a gallon in 1979.







Do you really want the government regulating the price or do you want the free market to regulate the price? Do you also want the government to control your wages?

Heavens no, the last thing we need are more laws. Harsh political/Economic pressure is what I had in mind for OPEC countries. As the Economic driver in this world we ought not let OPEC producing countries dictate what we are going to pay for oil. We Americans with our blood and sweat have made these folks rich. Fastest way to do that is independence from their product. So fine. You want to screw us on oil prices? For the next 2 decades we will spend trillions of dollars refining Powercell, wind generation, solar technology with the goal of eliminating most of the importing of oil. Does a couple things, number one puts America back to work on a true national 20 year goal, bringing pride to the top of the American list!!! Two We keep the technology and put for sale signs on the final product to the rest of the world. We then become the haves and not the have nots. I guess in the near term OPEC in an attempt to stiffle the investment will start giving their product away to avoid closing the doors in 10 years after we start deploying the technology nationwide... . You end up with a ballance from all energy supplies in the end. We are an energy based economy. To long at $2. 50 gallon and we'll all be eating out of dumpsters. If I were only the Pres.

jarsong :-{}

 

[Blakers]

I agree with you jarsong. I misunderstood what you wanted before. All the oil wells in Saudi Arabia were drilled by Americans and later stolen by the Saudis, who, by the way, at the time were nothing more than roving shieks with harrems and camels. I think we should go back in and take all the wells back. Yes, give the land owners a royalty, but NOT the government over there.



And yes, also develop our resources and our alternative energy sources.

 

[Jeremiah]

More complicated than that

This is an interesting thread but it isn't going anywhere interesting. It would behoove you guys to study history and economics because we ain't taking nothing back from nobody.



Keep in mind that Saudi Arabia isn't our country, although we and the British helped make it a country. We also left tribal chieftains in control who are multi-millionaires today. The only way these guys will fall is from within, and then what happens?



Saddam Hussein all over again?



The oil isn't ours either - it's theirs - and while it's true we did the drilling and made money, the royalties are theirs too and they, knowing our need for oil, formed OPEC with their neighbors to protect their respective interests.



Kinda the reverse of what we did to the Indians in the 1800s, only the Indians didn't know how to form an OPEC-like conglomerate to protect their interests.



But they know now and are using casinos to stick it back to the white man who took their land away from them. I digress ...



Price controls on oil aren't the answer either because it's the market that prevails. Tinker with the market through price controls or tariffs and weird things happen - not good!



The answer is simple: reducing the demand over here reduces the price over there. That's why alternative fuels is the answer. American ingenuity will win out every time, guaranteed!



Check it out, lads!