We Were Warned in 1998

[Bill Garamella]

Leroy,

Interesting find.

Executive summary premise -

"The federal government provides the oil industry with numerous tax breaks
designed to
ensure that domestic companies can compete with international producers and that
gasoline remains cheap for American consumers."

When we add in the stated externalities

• TAX SUBSIDIES
• PROGRAM SUBSIDIES
• PROTECTION SUBSIDIES
• OTHER EXTERNAL COSTS

real cost "results in a per gallon price of $5.60 to $15.14." This was in
1998. What do
these numbers look like today today? What has changed? Is it only the
per-barrel cost?
Are the externalities relatively the same?

What affect does the refining capacity have on this? Has that factor kept up
with our
demand? The only factor I hear about improving in this realm are oil company
profits.
How do these compare with 1998 on a percentage basis? If this is a profit grab,
they will
eventually choke themselves off. Or is it simply supply and demand? Do they
know how
far they can push us? Are they smugly smirking as those digital pumps encrypt
sales
figures and move the real time information by satellite to the counting houses
in Dubai?
(Paranoid thought?)

Are we simply less of a factor on the global scale than we once were? When you
look
most world maps produced in this country, the United States is usually in the
center and
Asia is divided to either side. When you look a map that has Asia whole, the US
does not
look so big. To me, this is a very powerful and telling image.

The executive summary concludes with -

"Drivers faced with the cost of their gasoline usage up front may have a more
difficult
time ignoring the harmful effects that their addiction to automobiles and the
internal
combustion engine have on national security, the environment, their health, and
their
quality of life."

In the long run is this really good for us? Will we figure out an affordable
way to run our
Birds? I hope I live long enough hydrogen? United technologies and others are
working on it. http://www.utc.com/curious/

In the mean time --- (to the tune of Dire Straits "Money for Nothin") I WANT MY
WNADERLODGE, I WANT MY WANDERLODGE, I WANT MY WANDERLODGE

BTW I too was a Hippie once upon a time, I can't say it was less fun. lol

Bill






--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, Leroy Eckert wrote:
>
> I agree. I was a Hippie once upon a time. Sometimes I think that was more fun.
lol
>
> The post was not intended to be about alternative energy sources, it was
intended to
be about oil price spikes and the damage that can occur to the economy and the
pain it
can cause to our BB life style. The report is dead on. I don't know about you
but I have a
hard time justifying $1500 to fill'er up and joy ride. I was once buff and good
looking,
today I am fat and old. Times change. As well, I would not care to have those
wind mill
electric generators in Banning Pass behind my house. No one wants those in their
back
yard. Besides, if there were any trees in that part of CA they would not be
there either.
That is part of the problem. I lived there for 25 years, I even remember
Jojoba(sp?) oil.
lol
>
> Leroy Eckert
> 1990 WB-40 Smoke N Mirrors
> Dahlonega, GA
> Royale Conversion
>
> Jack & Donna Smith wrote: I think a
lot of this was
brought out a lot earlier. In the 60s &
> 70s, the Hippie era, "The Whole Earth Catalouge" detailed how to burn
> "deep fry oil" in a diesel, and also a lot of other stuff on
> alternative fuels and other energy sources. Several articles detailed
> on how to convert a car alternator, and generator, (remember('Flashing
> the Field'?) to windmill power.
> But, why bother? After all Gas was 35¢ a Gal, and diesel a bit less!
> Jack Smith
> 1973FC31
> SoCal.
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Leroy A. Eckert"
> wrote:
> >
> > I found this report quite a while back written by folks much more
> > intelligent than I. With all the hallabaloos about fuel prices I find
> > this quite interesting. Ethanol and Bio fuel will not fix this problem
> > anytime soon. It was written and published in 1998 so I presume it was
> > lost in the hanging chads of the Florida election and transfer of
> > power. It is not necessary to read the whole report as I did, just
> > read page 31. It says it all about what is happening today.
> > I hope Yahoo does not split this url because I cannot edit this post.
> >
> > http://www.icta.org/doc/Real%20Price%20o...soline.pdf
> >
> > Leroy Eckert
> > 1990 WB-40 Smoke N Mirrors
> > Dahlonega, GA
> >
>