Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

adjstr — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:43:57 GMT

BULL SH*T Exxon-Mobil just reported a 2nd quarter PROFIT of $11.68 Billion dollars

"Oil companies do not have high profit margins".Really??? OK Mr Bush and all you other thieves. I say they all deserve a class action law suit for price gouging. $11.68 BILLION folks! Think about it

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

Myrad — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:43:36 GMT

Oil is traded in Dollars. Part of the problem is that because oil is traded in dollars and the dollar has fallen drastically the price of oil needs to go UP so they can maintain their rediculously high profits.

Euro and other currencies in the world are now stronger than the dollar this creates a loss in trading to these countries (OPEC) so up goes the price.

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

frankie71042 — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:40:59 GMT

A few years ago I was researching the web site of "Ballard Industries" makers of hydrogen fuel cells and related technologies in Canada. At that time on thier site they were promoting a unit that combined solar energy with hydrogen fuel cell technology that wouild run a household. I became very exited about this and phoned the company about this unit only to be told that this was available to the japanese market only. Upon revisiting thier site recently I found no information on this unit. It seems in this country they will go to great lengths to protect the status quo.

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

scouser2 — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:27:34 GMT

Essentially I agree with most of the posted comments. However from the (safety?) of the frozen tundra here up north (Canada) I must remind you Americans that you voted for a Bush - 3 times yet!! - a family with very "cozy" connections to big oil (a certian very unscrupulous VP, *** C, comes to mind). So you really shouldn't be too surprised at what has transpired.

That being said, I would like to take issue with the notion of the "perfect" Hydrogen energy cycle being proposed on several fronts. Yes it's wonderful that we get H2 from water (H2O) and when we burn it, it goes back to H2O - however there's just one small thermodynamic challenge with this approach, namely:

It takes exactly the same amount of energy to split H2O into H2 and O2 as is generated when they recombine again to form water. So the net energy gain is zero. We have find a way to electrolyse water into its constituent molecules using a passive energy source, i.e. the sun. Even when this is successful, transporting and storing Hydrogen is replete with hazards, and I believe a safe H2 distributuion system is decades away.

I would opt for fuel cells where hydrocarbons, such as gasoline and alcohols, can be oxidised to water in situ, with the electricity generated powering an electric motor. There is a Canadain company, Ballard, which has been working on this for decades, and actually has a fleet of buses running in Vacouver using this technology. However thier shares are perennially down, and nobody seems to want to invest any money in them (including our Canadian governement - God bless 'em!!). Meanwhile look at the shares of Exxon, BP, etc. The public has obviously decided to stay with big oil, and therefore, we deserve high gas prices.

So, the electorate's attitude, coupled with the endless stream of spineless and insipid leaders we elect, all we can do is just watch helplessly as gasoline prices go even higher in the next few years.

A Canaidan viewpoint anyway.

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

HealthconsciousKat — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:37:39 GMT

The real solution is turning to alternative fuels, because renewable energy is RENEWABLE, and will not be DEPLETED. It is hard to understand why the US can't put its dollars and energies into converting to solar and wind power, because it is completely self-sustaining. Maybe the real reason is that some company won't make record profits and gain billions on it, as the US is notorious for doing, so we want to make a huge deal out of oil prices and totally disregard that there are viable energy sources that do not cost half as much as "black gold." It's time for change, America!

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

Drill111 — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:48:50 GMT

How many government officials have lifted one finger to drill a drop of oil? Oil barons, raping? How about the government raping? Dr. Mercola needs to stick to health issues. I'm thankful to see that most comments posted seem to disagree with Mercola's article.

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

Wildeblueberrie_203 — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:44:06 GMT

Mr AK ... I watched the Lindsey Williams clip on google www.youtube.com/watch - one hour and fifteen minutes of fascinating facts, hoping to hear the names of the men who control the world ... but it ended before he spilled the names. He also alluded to a date Iran has given for their plan to flood the global market with cheap oil denominated in Euros, but that must have been given off-tape as well. Where can I find this info? Is it in his book? Everyone should watch this video - a little repetitive (he's a preacher, can't help himself!) but absolutely eye-opening. I have no doubt of the truth of this man's experience - it lines up with everything I've read, and makes sense. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the names of certain British monarchy amongst the 'powers that be'.

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

hilly7 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:47:10 GMT

Some good comments, and some really bad ones. 3 words come to mind: Problem. Reaction. Solution. For whatever name one calls them, Central Bankers are in my opinion at the root, yet not the whole problem, all of us are. Stupid comments like ride a bike to work, drive less, etc are short sighted of what is at hand. Just as dumb as the "I invested in energu stocks." You can't eat fiat money and gold and silver are primarily in just a few hands, thus prices of them are controlled. Look around your house at all the plastic, your food, your tv, radio, razors, even the computer you are using. Now take a look at how much metal your car actually has...then add tires. So we go to horse and buggy in the rural areas, that requires feed. Other than the Amish, see any fields being worked 100% with livestock? Your food is grow with plenty of petro needs. My wife and I grow most of what we eat, yet, we use oil related tillers (no you can't hoe the ground for sowing). We use hoes afterwards for weeds. Fields need mowing and bush hogging for weeds. For us, we use manure for fertilizer, but if we were on a large scale, we'd probably use petro chemical fertilizers like everybody else. We truck our cattle to a sale barn about an hour away, in which they travel long distances to feedlots usually.

In the ending of this I see much happening, and it's not very good. Already plans to take over water supply in the US have started, they tried that in South America, didn't work. Buying rainbarrels didn't help, collecting rain or any water was against the law. Farm bills usually come with strings attached, so most family farms avoid them if possible. Those bills are meant for Monsantos and the likes.

This year, and the next will bring about change, and it will not be good. You will see yourself hunger, martial law, wars, diseases, pestilances, and thing only dreampt about in nightmares. Stores only carry enough food for 3 days. Homes lost due to no work. USA will becime a 3rd world.

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

Committed RD — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:25:36 GMT

We simply must stop using fossil fuels. The cost to our planet is too great. I hope the US will become world leaders in this endeavor to change over to sustainable clean energy.

NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen warns us that we close to passing the tipping point in terms of carbon now present in the atmosphere. James Hansen testifying before the US House Independent Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (and, in a parallel event, the National Press Club) called for oil executives to be put on trial for preventing action on global warming. He proposed a major initiative in the US to build a national power grid and recommends a carbon tax and dividend to compensate citizens for the costs of energy conversion. Hanson says that he is 99% certain that CO2 has risen above a safe level, and that we must begin to act quickly-within the next year-to avert runaway warming. When the major positive feedbacks kick in, human emissions will no longer control the change, and we will be challenged indeed in attempting to reverse the process. The first link is to the text of Hansen's talk. www.columbia.edu/.../TwentyYearsLater_20080623.pdf <www.columbia.edu/.../TwentyYearsLater_20080623.pdf>

www.guardian.co.uk/.../fossilfuels.climatechange <www.guardian.co.uk/.../fossilfuels.climatechange>

Hansen's PowerPoint presentation which accompanied the talk gives a great deal more detail. www.columbia.edu/.../TippingPointsNear_20080623.pdf <www.columbia.edu/.../TippingPointsNear_20080623.pdf>

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

mrconservative — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:02:14 GMT

The Dollar is THE Commodity that all other Commodities are measured. Extra low interest rates cause more inflation which means it takes MORE Dollars to buy that Commodity.. ie Gas, Meat, Wheat, ect. Look for at least 2 more Fed base rate increases this year, and more next year.. this will help Sure-up the Dollar.

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

T_rex — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:47:51 GMT

Stop driving a motor vehicle and you'll feel free, like a slave who's broken his chains. That's what I did 4 years ago when I sold my car. I have been riding a bicycle exclusively ever since. I pass gas stations and watch with pity all those poor souls pumping $4 a gallon gas into their gleaming 4-wheel cages they've slaved themselves to.

I even refuse to ride buses. Their diesel fuel engines belch out toxic fumes.

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

tomboes — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:39:22 GMT

Greed is good. We are the Oil barons. We invented the oil industry. If there were no oil, no one could even think of "alternatives" - much less produce them. We are wealthly and able to concern ourselves with longterm effects of our society's production. We need capital to produce the alternatives and utill the price of oil attains a certain level, no one will risk capital trying to either produce oil more cheaply or the alternatives. My point is we can't break away from oil real soon cause all our money will break away with it. Our wealth will go to the people who own the oil, not the oil companies. Wishing we could do so won't make it so. (If we produce the oil, and who can do it better?, the money stays here)

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

Boned — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:22:33 GMT

"Peak Oil", ha ha ha. That's a good one. Didn't they run that scam on us already thirty years ago? Come on. You don't really believe that whole "oil comes from dead dinosaurs" fairy tale, do you?

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

godisgood — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:24:38 GMT

> This is an interesting article. Take time to read it.

> Jenny

> BIG OIL...some truths from the trenches.

> Bill Phillips spent nearly 50 years in the US oil and gas industry; most

> of his career was with the Phillips Petroleum Company. Bill is a

> descendant of Frank Phillips. Frank Phillips, along with his brother Lee

> Eldas (L.E.) Phillips, Sr., founded the original Phillips Petroleum

> Company in 1917 in Bartlesville, OK. Do you remember Phillips 66 gas

> stations? Phillips Petroleum Company merged with Conoco, Inc. in 2002 to

> form the current ConocoPhillips oil company.

> So, when Bill talks about oil and gas issues, I tend to listen - very

> closely. I think that you will find Bill's thoughts and facts very

> revealing, very compelling and very difficult to argue with.

> As you prepare to cast your crucial ballots this Fall, please think long

> and hard about the far-reaching, cumulative effects of the US political

> philosophies, policies and legislation that have contributed to the

> current and future US oil supply situation.

> May 28, 2008

> "Big Oil"

> Did you know that the United States does NOT have any big oil companies.

> It's true: the largest American oil company, Exxon Mobil, is only the

> 14th largest in the world, and is dwarfed by the really big oil

> companies--all owned by foreign governments or government-sponsored

> monopolies--that dominate the world's oil supply.

> This graph below tells the story; you can barely see the American oil

> companies as minor players on the right side of the chart in gray. The

> chart was presented to the House committee last week by Chevron.

> With 94% of the world's oil supply locked up by foreign governments,

> most of which are hostile to the United States , the relatively puny

> American oil companies do not have access to enough crude oil to

> significantly affect the market and help bring prices down. Thus,

> ExxonMobil, a "small"

> oil company, buys 90% of the crude oil that it refines for the U.S.

> market from the big players, i.e, mostly-hostile foreign governments.

> The price at the U.S. pump is rising because the price the big oil

> companies charge ExxonMobil and the other small American companies for

> crude oil is going up as the value of the American dollar goes down.

> They will eventually bleed this country into printing even more money

> and we will go into runway inflation once again as we did under the

> Carter Democratic reign.

> This is obviously a tough situation for the American consumer. The irony

> is that it doesn't have to be that way. The United States --unlike, say,

> France --actually has vast petroleum reserves. It would be possible for

> American oil companies to develop those reserves, play a far bigger role

> in international markets, and deliver gas at the pump to American

> consumers at a much lower price, while creating many thousands of jobs

> for Americans. This would be infinitely preferable to shipping endless

> billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia , Russia and Venezuela to be used in

> propping up their economies.

> So, why doesn't it happen? Because the Democrat Party--aided, sadly, by

> a handful of Republicans--deliberately keeps gas prices high and our

> domestic oil companies small by putting most of our reserves off limits

> to development. China is now drilling in the Caribbean, off Cuba but our

> own companies are barred by law from developing large oil fields off the

> coasts of Florida and California . Enormous oil-shale deposits in the

> Rocky Mountain states could go a long way toward supplying American

> consumers' needs, but the Democratic Congress won't allow those

> resources to be developed. ANWR contains vast petroleum reserves, but we

> don't know how vast, because Congress, not wanting the American people

> to know how badly its policies are hurting our economy, has made it

> illegal to explore and map those reserves, let alone develop them.

> In short, all Americans are paying a terrible price for the Democratic

> Party's perverse energy policies. I own some small interests in tiny, 4

> barrel-per-day oil wells in Wyoming . We have 14 agencies that have

> iron-hand jurisdiction over us. If we drop any oil on the ground when

> the refinery truck comes to pick up oil from our holding tanks, we are

> fined. Yet down the road the state will spray thousands of gallons of

> used oil on a dirt road to control dirt. When it rains that oil runs

> into rivers and creeks. Yet a cup of oil on the ground at our wellhead

> is a $50,000 EPA fine plus additional fines from state regulating

> agencies.

> They treat oil as if it were plutonium that has the potential to leak

> into the environment. We are fined if our dirt burms are not high enough

> around a holding tank, yet the truck that picks up our oil runs down the

> road at 60 mph with no burm around it. People wonder why there is no

> more exploration in this country. It's because of the regulators; people

> who have lived their whole lives doing nothing but imposing fines on

> small operators like us for doing mostly nothing.

> So, America enjoy your $4.00 per gallon gasoline. Your dollar is now

> worth 0.62 Euro-Cents. The lack of American production of GNP, the

> massive trade deficit (as labor markets have moved overseas to fight

> insanely high union imposed labor costs in America ) and the run away

> printing of money (backed by nothing of value here in America ) has

> caused the dollar to become more worthless on the international market.

> And that's where our oil comes from. It's paid for with dollars that

> become more worthless everyday. If we had just kept par with the Euro

> we'd be paying $62 dollars per barrel for oil (42 gallons) or about

> $1.50 instead of $2.50 a gallon for crude oil.

> What the US government also does not tell you is that it is the

> leaseholder and royalty recipient of most oil production and receives

> 25% of the gross oil sales before we pay for electricity to lift the

> oil, propane to keep the oil-water separators from freezing in the

> winters. We pay a pumper to visit each well everyday plus we have

> equipment failures all the time. We pay for that out of our 75% of gross

> sales. The government does not share in any expenses to run any

> production well.

> So, if the Big Oil Companies are making record profits, then so is the

> federal government from it's 25% tax on every molecule of oil sold to a

> refinery in this country. Why isn't the government on the stand for

> "Record" profits? What you don't see is this 25% of the sales price of

> crude oil being siphoned away by the government. That money plus the

> road taxes, state taxes, etc. amounts to over $1 per gallon of gasoline

> you are buying while the governments only admit to about 50 cents per

> gallon.

> To all you Democrats, when you go vote for your candidate, a blazing

> liberal like Barrack Hussein Obama or Hillary Clinton, just keep in mind

> that their liberal spending habits will further decrease the value of

> the American dollar on the world market and your gasoline costs will

> hike even higher. As they introduce more give-away programs, raise taxes

> on everyone to pay people not to produce or work, your dollar will

> continue to dwindle on the world market and you will be paying $10.00

> per gallon at the next election. Cheap hydrocarbon fuel is all over.

> Enjoy! Enjoy the fruits of your decision to elect these folks when you

> are there in that voting booth and you stab your pin through a

> Democrat's name.

> William "Bill" Phillips

re: Oil Barons Continue to Rape U.S. Economy

Radiance 333 — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:29:19 GMT

I am astonished at how many posters on this subject are pro-nuclear power, pro-coal burning, pro-offshore and new drilling of wild, endangered lands and are not at ALL concerned about the pollution and destruction these processes create! Isn't this first and foremost a HEALTH site? How healthy is pollution? How healthy is it to destroy your home planet? And as I notice the huge positive points given these posters and the major negative points given to those who oppose them, I have to wonder what the hell is going on here?

And what's with all the talk of the evil "Libs" who supposedly are to blame for all our woes? Think on this for a moment, the true meaning of the words "liberal" and "conservative"... to be liberal is to be generous, expansive, inclusive, to be conservative is to be just that, to conserve. Put in the context of, say, the environment, wouldn't it be conservative to CONSERVE the environment, yet most conservatives are all for raping the earth for all the profit they can get!

We need to find a better way to produce energy WITHOUT pollution and FAST without all the factional bickering.

So, go ahead and give me all the negative points you can, it means nothing to me.