Gas Prices Force Locals onto Horses

[Martin]

http://www.localnews8.com/home/2757921.html

Gas prices continue to stay high, and now a lot of people are turning to different options to get around.

In Rexburg, a few cowboys explored the possibilities on Saturday.

The signs suggest burning hay, not fuel, and these cowboys are all for it! Horsemen and women joined forces, hopped on their horses, and showed off their alternative modes of getting around.

"A lot cheaper than gas, they burn hay they don't burn gas," responds Dean Jacobson.

"Hopefully we can influence somebody that the price of gas is a little bit high around here," says Jeff Hawkes.

In doing so, riders from all over met off the Archer-Lyman road, excited to hit the dusty trails.

Horsemen put on their chinks, cowboy hats and saddled up ready to go.

After being injured two years ago, Swede Wilson is back in the saddle.

[CG :2 Line\SWEDE WILSON\COWBOY]
"It really feels good. It's still sore but it feels good to be back on a horse, really enjoyable," says Wilson.

Though the "horse power" didn't get us to the speed limit, the horsemen did make it to their target destination, slowly but surely, and worth every minute of the ride.

"Where a lot of people go to the beach, fishing, we go take our horses with us and just have fun. They don't burn no gas."

Neither do mules. Dean Jacobson had his team pulling this buggy around town. The high price for him is only a little bit of this.

"Mules are smarter, better and a lot of fun!"

The riders there says they plan on doing this at least once a month, bringing more riders with them each time or at least until they say their point has been made.

[Mr-Pan]

Talk about horse power :p

Gas prices in MA are almost $3. Its rediculous. I went to fill up the other day and I looked at the pump and a guy put $14 into his car and only got nearly 5gallons.

[waltky]

Fed could pop Exxon/OPEC's bubble...

Fed could burst oil's bubble
April 29, 2008: Central bank rate cuts have devalued the dollar, fueling the rise in crude prices; but if rate slashing stops, oil's rise may ease.

Crude oil prices and the value of the dollar have been marching in different directions for months. But that may shift if the Federal Reserve signals on Wednesday that its rate-cutting campaign has come to a close. One factor that has sent the dollar down and oil up recently has been the Federal Reserve's months-long round of rate cuts. In an attempt to stimulate the ailing U.S. economy, the central bank has cut rates by three percentage points since September. But the rate cuts are also inflationary, weakening the dollar and sending oil prices higher.

"The weak dollar is a major detriment to the price of oil," said Stephen Schork, publisher of the energy industry newsletter The Schork Report. "It's keeping prices artificially high." Since this time last year, the dollar has plummeted over 10% against global currencies, and oil has climbed about 80%. As the dollar continues to depreciate in value, investors have bought oil futures as a hedge against inflation. Also, oil is priced in dollars worldwide, so a falling dollar provides less incentive for oil-exporting countries to increase output, or for foreign consumers to cut back on oil use.

As a result, oil traders will be closely watching the Fed on Wednesday. Though most economists have forecast a quarter of a percentage point cut to its key funds rate, many economists are also predicting the Fed will hint that it will keep rates steady, or even raise rates in future meetings, to protect against inflation. "All of us are hoping for a 25-point cut with a statement that that's it," said MF Global energy analyst John Kilduff. "Some of us wouldn't mind if there's no cut."

Whispers that the current round of rate cuts is coming to an end may send crude prices lower. "There is a very strong correlation between the dollar and crude, so it all depends on how dollar reacts to the news," said Schork. "If the dollar appreciates, then that will give crude leeway to move downward and drive a stick into this bubble" Even the head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said that the weak dollar is a big reason behind record oil prices.

According to a report in Algerian government newspaper El Moudjahid on Monday, OPEC president Chakib Khelil said that crude prices probably would fall if not for dollar weakness. In fact, Khelil said if the dollar begins to gain back some significant ground, crude prices may fall of a cliff. "If [the dollar] strengthens 10%, there is a good bet that [oil] prices will fall by $ 40," said Khelil.

MORE

[waltky]

Stealin' to eat...

Shoplifting On Rise As Consumers Cope With Rising Prices
June 19, 2008 - The National Retail Federation is warning of the rising incidents of shoplifting across the nation as the economy crawls and consumers try to cope with soaring food and fuel prices, while tightening further their belts.

Retailers pointed to the weak economy as the major factor behind the rise in shoplifting incidents. According to a survey of 116 retailers, 74 percent observed a spike in shoplifting incidents in 2007 compared to 2006. The estimated amount of filched goods average $40.5 billion annually, which is shouldered by the honest and paying shoppers.

Richard Hollinger, professor of criminology at the University of Florida, who makes the yearly National Retail Security Survey, explained to USA Today, "Retailers can't afford to just eat that loss. Their margins aren't large enough. So this hits right on the bottom line, and they're trying to plug all these leaks, because the economy is so tight."

The police pointed to the shift in filching habits of light-fingered shoppers. Sgt. Alfred Pratt of the Shrewsbury Police Department in Massachusetts said shoplifters before were usually junkies who stole to have money for their vice. Samyah Jubran, assistant district attorney general of Knox County in Tennessee, said most of the shoplifting incidents the county now encounters involved food; repeaters had problems with their finances, not with drugs.

But shoplifting comprises only a part of the merchandise lost by retailers, accounting only for 32 percent in 2006. For the same year, the bulk of lost sales was traced to employee theft at 47 percent, administrative error 14 percent and vendor fraud 4 percent.

Shoplifting On Rise As Consumers Cope With Rising Prices | AHN | June 20, 2008

See also:

Either a conspiracy or bubble if consumption has only gone up 2.4% while oil prices have gone up 30%...

World Energy Consumption Up By 2.4 Percent In 2007
June 19, 2008 - A report presented Wednesday by oil giant BP said Germany reduced its energy consumption in 2007 by 5.6 percent. The reduction of use of primary sources of energy such as oil, gas, coal, nuclear and hydro resources was equivalent to 18.5 million tons of oil equivalent.

Aside from Germany, two other European nations claimed large cuts in energy consumption at levels even higher than Berlin's. These were Denmark and Azerbaijan. On a global scale, primary energy consumption to increased by 2.4 percent in 2007. The two red-hot Asian economies of China and India accounted for the bulk of the rise. Beijing, with a 7.7 percent additional energy consumption, accounted for half of the increase, while Delhi was responsible for a third.

The U.S. used 1.7 percent more energy last year, while the EU cut theirs by 2.2 percent. Germany has higher goals to further cut by 2020 its carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent of its 1990 levels, said German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament turned down a compromise agreement by EU member-states which would allow energy companies to keep their grids and pipelines. Instead the parliament pushed for the energy sector to be more competitive by forcing big gas and electric firms to sell their distribution networks. Eleven EU nations have laws that prohibit gas firms from own distribution networks, while seven have a similar ban on electric companies.

World Energy Consumption Up By 2.4 Percent In 2007 | AHN | June 20, 2008

[waltky]

Latest oil conspiracy theory...

Bush, Cheney oil, gas, vision still unfolding
Sunday 6th July, 2008 - It is not about the "war on terror". It is not about weapons of mass destruction.

It is not about "freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people", or to the "Afghan people". It is not about "Islamofascism". It is not about a Pentagon-coined "arc of instability" from the Middle East to Central Asia. New evidence shows once again both George W Bush administration wars - in Afghanistan and Iraq - above all are about oil and gas. Those were the days - up to a few days ago, actually - when the fateful words "war" and "oil" would never have been aligned in the same sentence anywhere in US corporate media; the days when former defense secretary and Pentagon supremo Donald Rumsfeld insisted Iraq had "literally nothing to do with oil".

But now the US and European Big Oil majors that controlled the Iraqi oil industry up to the 1972 nationalization - today represented by Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Total and Chevron - seem to be back with a vengeance. Thus the New York Times, for instance, can redeem itself from printing Ahmad Chalabi-fed weapons-of-mass-destruction nonsense on its front page for months and actually engage in news that's fit to print. This past Monday, the paper reported that "a group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest fields in Iraq".

The bland language may be misleading. This is no less than the first step in the de facto de-nationalization of the Iraqi oil industry - Vice President **** Cheney's wet dream. As James Paul, director of the Global Policy Forum, has summarized it, this is all about:
... a new round of immensely profitable oil deals ... announced by Iraqi Oil Minister Sharistani, in which giants like Exxon Mobil can nail down long-term contracts and take away a large share of the oil from several key operating fields, like the massive Rumaila and West Qurna, some of the world's largest.

Oil can be produced in these fields for about one dollar a barrel, while its value on world markets is now around US$140. With hundreds of millions of dollars of profits at stake - and while the US occupation remains in full force - the oil giants are making their move, seeking to bypass opposition in the Iraqi parliament and ignoring suspicion and anger among the Iraqi public. With world oil supplies visibly running short and oil prices skyrocketing, this is a desperate gamble to control some of the world's largest and most lucrative fields, at huge human and environmental cost.

Meanwhile in Washington, no collective breath is being held, as it's extremely unlikely the supine US Congress will be looking closer at whether the Bush administration is bypassing the Biden amendment, which prohibits the use of US funds to "exercise United States control over the oil infrastructure or oil resources of Iraq". There's too much money to be made.

More Bush, Cheney oil, gas, vision still unfolding

[waltky]

Lobbyists workin' overtime...

Like Prices, Oil & Gas Lobbying Skyrockets
July 11, 2008 - The Oil & Gas Industry Spent an All-Time High to Push Its Agenda in Washington Last Year

The oil and gas industry spent an all-time high of nearly $84 million to push its agenda in Washington last year, according to a new analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics. Oil and gas industry spending on lobbying has steadily increased over the past three years, as Washington lawmakers criticized big oil for raking in hundreds of billions in record profits while consumers felt the squeeze at gas pumps, and proposed ending industry tax breaks and imposing a windfall tax on profits.

The industry has already reported spending $26.5 million on lobbying in the first three months of this year. The Center estimates that total spending could be as much as $106 million for the year, if the expenditures continue at its current pace. "Our activity is pretty much premised on what Congress is doing, so if we increased activity it's because there were more bills being discussed," said Karen Matusic, a spokeswoman for the American Petroleum Institute, a group that represents the energy industry in Washington.

Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, says that most industries view their lobbying expenses as a good investment. "It's viewed simply as the cost of doing business, and it is usually a small cost compared to the potential profit or harm that can be visited on you by Washington if you ignore them," said Krumholz.

ExxonMobil, which made $40 billion profits last year, was the biggest spender with $16.9 million in lobbying expenses in 2007, more than double the amount the company spent four years ago. This year, the firm has hired 11 outside firms to help do its bidding on Capitol Hill, according to filings.

More ABC News: Like Prices, Oil & Gas Lobbying Skyrockets

[waltky]

Big Prices for Oil, Record 2Q Profits at Shell...

Shell Sees Record Profits Off High Oil Prices
July 31, 2008 - Royal Dutch Shell Reports Record 2Q Profit of $11.6 Billion on Unprecedented Oil-Price Spike

Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported a 33 percent jump in second-quarter profits Thursday, its biggest quarter ever at $11.6 billion thanks to high oil prices and the weak dollar. The company earned $8.67 billion in the same quarter last year. Shell said its selling price per barrel of oil was around $112, up from $64 a year earlier. That pushed earnings at its main exploration and production arm up 90 percent to $5.88 billion, despite a 1.1 percent fall in production to 3.05 million barrels of oil and equivalents per day.

Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer dismissed calls in Britain for a windfall tax on oil companies. Britain's BP PLC reported this week that its profits jumped 28 percent to $9.47 billion in the quarter. "If we do less investment there will be less supply for consumers" which would drive prices higher, Van der Veer said. "The world needs energy."

He said the company was reinvesting profits and now expects capital spending of between $35 billion and $36 billion this year, up from the last previous estimate of $24 billion to $25 billion. That figure includes the company's $5.8 billion bid for Canada's Duvernay Oil Corp., launched earlier this month. He said Shell was benefited from a strong operating performance as well as high energy prices, but said refining margins had weakened.

Refining profits rose 16 percent to $4.54 billion, but Shell said at the current cost of supplies — which strips out the impact of oil prices — refining earnings would have fallen by 63 percent to $1.08 billion, mostly due to weaker margins in the United States. The company's net sales were $131 billion in the quarter, up from $84.9 billion. The strong quarterly results had been widely expected and shares rose 1.2 percent to 23.63 euros ($36.77).

MORE ABC News: Shell Sees Record Profits Off High Oil Prices

[waltky]

Supply expected to go up, price pressures downward...

Oil price forecast for '09 lowered
August 12, 2008: Government says it now expects crude to average $124 a barrel next year, down $9 from previous forecast.

Oil prices could be lower than previously expected next year, as recent trends suggest that supply and demand are coming into balance, according to a government report released Tuesday. In its short-term energy outlook for August, the Energy Information Administration said it expects crude prices to average $124 a barrel in 2009. That's down from July when the EIA projected an average price of $133 per barrel.

"Prospects of improved oil market fundamentals over the next 18 months point to an easing in the market balance and price weakness over the near term," the report said. Demand for petroleum products has slowed in the United States and is beginning to show signs of softening worldwide as crude prices soared to unprecedented levels this year.

Slower consumption, combined with planned increases in production by Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), "raises the prospect for a drop in demand for OPEC crude oil and an increase in surplus capacity," the report said. The oil market has already responded to recent signs that demand is waning. Oil prices have fallen about $34, or 23%, from the peak price of $147.27 on July 11.

MORE

See also:

'Every Little Bit Helps': Oil Refineries Expand
Aug. 12, 2008 - Profits Total Only Three to Four Cents a Gallon, Refineries Say

Before a barrel of oil can become a gallon of gas, or diesel, or jet fuel, it has to be refined. It is broken down and purified under intense heat and pressure and then mixed with additives to become consumable fuel. "Most people don't even know about refiners," said Dr. Michelle Foss, head of the Center for Energy Economics at the University of Texas at Austin. "They think what they get at the pump is being manufactured in the ground."

Now Motiva -- a joint venture between Shell and Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil company -- will spend $7 billion to double the size of the refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, making it the largest in the nation, capable of refining 600,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Refineries have decided to expand their production capabilities to hold a stake in the future of oil production. There are 149 refineries in the United States, with the last one built 32 years ago.

As gas prices rose last year, refineries couldn't produce enough gasoline to meet demand. The result was substantial profits. But in 2008, even after a summer of record gasoline prices, some of the nation's refiners have seen profits drop by as much 85 percent from a year ago. As demand for refined products like gasoline has fallen while oil prices have soared above $100 a barrel, refineries have suffered. The cost of oil, the basic ingredient refineries need to make gasoline, has risen faster than gasoline prices.

Bill Welte, chief executive of the Motiva refinery, said that refineries are not responsible for soaring gas prices. For each $4 gallon of gasoline sold at the pump, refiners said that their cut is 35 cents, which is barely enough to cover costs. Crude oil accounts for nearly 75 percent of their costs, according to the Energy Information Administration. "Three to four cents. That's our profit on a gallon of gas," Welte told ABC News. "Three to four cents."

Oil's New Frontier

[waltky]

Clinton on energy independence...

Bill Clinton: US should 'rock the world' by showing energy independence is possible
August 19, 2008 - The United States can capture the world's imagination by creating an energy independent state, territory or nation, former President Bill Clinton told an energy summit.

"We have got to convince people this can be done and it would be good economics," Clinton told the politicians and energy experts meeting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "There should be one state to prove you could do it — and it should be you," Clinton said Monday. "I promise if you do, it would rock the world." Clinton said Puerto Rico would be a prime candidate for energy independence because it imports most of its power at a high cost to the people. Clinton also suggested several nations, including Rwanda, Papa New Guinea or one of the Caribbean nations — places that have low power demand and are sunny and windy.

The group plans to develop recommendations Tuesday and bring them to the Democratic and Republican parties. "I say, 'Let's bring it on,'" said Jim Owen, spokesman for Edison Electric Institute, the private utility industry's trade association. "Let's see what proposals come out of it." Owen called Clinton's agenda "ambitious" but said it included suggestions that the nation's utilities would support, such as expanded research for carbon dioxide storage and accelerating a shift toward plug-in hybrid electric cars.

Clinton also called for an overhaul of the nation's electricity grid — a complex undertaking he said could cost as much as a trillion dollars. Clinton said too much energy is going to waste in places where wind and solar energy are abundant because the United States hasn't built transmission lines to transport the power to faraway places. "I'm positive it needs to be done because I'm tired of standing in windy places where they have no options," he said.

Source

[waltky]

A wrong energy policy could be worse than no energy policy...

Putting US Energy in the Wrong Place
Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008 - Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain tours the Chevron Genesis Oil Rig Platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

John McCain stood atop an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and proclaimed that he had the key to solving America's energy woes, slashing the price of gas, and unfettering U.S. foreign policy from its addiction to foreign oil. Drill. Drill here. And drill now. "Americans across our country are hurting because of the cost of energy," said McCain in a speech on the Chevron-owned rig. "It's time for America to get serious about energy independence, and that means we need to start drilling offshore at advanced oil rigs like this."

The oil rig was 100 miles from the Louisiana coast, but if McCain had listened hard, he could have heard environmentalists and Democrats grinding their teeth in opposition. As McCain repeats his drilling mantra, critics point out that there is far too little untapped oil in American waters to make a significant difference in gas prices, especially considering the vast and growing global demand for petrol. Besides, "drilling now," as McCain says, won't yield results for years, and offshore exploration still has serious environmental risks. (That last point was underscored by the timing of McCain's visit — his rig trip was delayed because of a hurricane and oil spill in the Gulf a month ago.) The Democratic National Committee spoofed the Republican candidate's infatuation with drilling by distributing Exxon/McCain '08 bumper stickers to his traveling press corps.

But the energy debate, as its being played out in the Presidential campaign, is far from funny. The reality is that whether the U.S. drills or not, it really doesn't make a difference — not against the sheer scale of the energy and climate crisis facing America and the rest of the world. (Indeed, the other 6.3 billion people factor into this equation too.) The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently estimated that under a business-as-usual scenario — which the U.S. seems intent on abiding — global oil demand would rise 70% by 2050. That increase represents five times as much oil as Saudi Arabia produces annually. You could drill America with exploratory wells until it looked like Swiss cheese and still not make much of a dent in that figure.

That's not to say offshore drilling should be off limits. The world will be on fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, and we will need more oil. If individual U.S. states want to take the risk of opening up their coastlines to drilling, let them — it's not a battle environmentalists should insist on winning. The larger problem is that the Presidential campaign has been captured by a mostly meaningless debate over offshore drilling, which is obscuring a far more relevant question regarding the energy crisis: how can America develop workable alternative fuels — right here and right now?

More Putting US Energy in the Wrong Place - TIME