burritos;842447840 said:

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A)Spoon fed reason for the illiterati is because America is fracking and drilling more oil.
B)The NPR reason is that the Saudi's are intentionally driving down the price of oil to kill off America's higher cost of oil drilling.
C)The wall street journal reason is that the western powers(ie america) is telling the Saudis to pump more to drive down the price of oil to financially strangle the Russians.

I'm not an expert, just curious to know why.

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OPEC (or more Saudi) are trying to squeeze the fracking and other oil producers with higher costs by overproducing. Once the producers with higher costs are squeezed out, OPEC will go back to manipulating supply to increase the oil prices.

GivemTheAxe;842448255 said:

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Let's say that Oil hits $60/barrel. Sure the oil companies will suffer; but that will translate to a boom for consumers who would then have lots and lots of spending cash for other things. This has been stressed in a number of recent news articles. Many pundits focus so much on the big companies that they forget the fact that increased consumer spending can create its own spike in the economy. Consumers spread the wealth around much more than oil companies.

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Exactly my thoughts (but better said by you). I had read in the NYT several months ago that it was illogical for the Dow to drop simply because of the drop in Oil shares. More spening money in the pockets of the consumers = more $$$ going to consumer goods, automobiles, home spending, vacations, restaurants, entertainment, clothing, etc.

(Now Dow dropping because of a recession in China is a different matter.)

GivemTheAxe;842529590 said:

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Why is gas $1.99 in New Jersey and $3.50 in California The answer is not the cost of meeting CA environmental standards. That explanation used to justify only a 20 - 30 cent differential.

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Gas is $2.859/gal. at Costco in Richmond, CA. Don't know where you're getting $3.50/gallon.

But even so, the spread of about 85 cents (+/-) between California and New Jersey is pretty indicative of the price difference due to California's environmental standards. California is the only state to require adherence to stringent air standards. In terms of refining, California gas is unlike any other in the continental US. Ergo, the price difference.

burritos;842529653 said:

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How much does it cost to pump oil out of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq? I've heard $5/barrel for Saudi Arabia.

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I read in this article that gasoline goes for under $1/gal, heavily subsided by the SA government. The thing is, even they have figured out they can't continue and now have a very aggressive solar energy program in the works but many think it's way too aggressive.

This is a good read. LINK: The Atlantic - Why the Saudis Are Going Solar

calbear93;842529723 said:

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OPEC (or more Saudi) are trying to squeeze the fracking and other oil producers with higher costs by overproducing. Once the producers with higher costs are squeezed out, OPEC will go back to manipulating supply to increase the oil prices.

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No way! Is OPEC a cartel? :facepalm

ColoradoBear1;842529668 said:

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Hmm, CA gas tax is ~ 42 cents according to wikipedia, which is 28 cents higher than NJ. I'd almost think that because CA has requirements that mean specially formulated gas, the oil/refinery companies can rig the market a bit more. It's hard to build a refinery in CA and since the gas cannot be imported from other states as easily, the companies can manipulate $$ more.

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it's not rigging, there is just less refinery capacity for CA formulated gas, so any shutdowns/maintenance (big article in WSJ just on this yesterday) impact gas prices quite a bit; same problem is found around the Chicago area with some refinery shutdowns (after these same refineries running flat out for an extended period of time)

SonOfCalVa;842447917 said:

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Figuring in the time value of money, gas pump prices are among the lowest ever.
People are keeping money in their pockets or spending it on what they want, instead of gasoline.
We do NOT need to build a destructive Keystone Pipeline to ship dirty, dirty oil from Canada through the USA for export.

Prices here are $1.88/gallon. Loving it. Whatever happened to the right-wingnut yammering about $5 gas?

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Here ... when you see jobs lost, homes lost and families destroyed ... there is a little less 'loving it'. I finally got my Dad and Sister (who still live in the Bay Area) to understand every time the pump price goes down significantly due to crude oil prices tanking ... there are another 10,000 families hurting here in America somewhere. Saving $100 per month or even $100 per week isn't that big of a deal compared to the job loss. Just perspective. That's all.

Big C_Cal;842448008 said:

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What about jet fuel? I'm assuming that's some sort of petroleum derivative, right? What are our options there?

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Algae:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/news-blog/jet-fuel-from-algae-passes-first-te-2008-09-09/

txwharfrat;842530104 said:

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Here ... when you see jobs lost, homes lost and families destroyed ... there is a little less 'loving it'. I finally got my Dad and Sister (who still live in the Bay Area) to understand every time the pump price goes down significantly due to crude oil prices tanking ... there are another 10,000 families hurting here in America somewhere. Saving $100 per month or even $100 per week isn't that big of a deal compared to the job loss. Just perspective. That's all.

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So basically it's just like a tax on the American people to support an industry (and terrorists). No thanks

txwharfrat;842530104 said:

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Here ... when you see jobs lost, homes lost and families destroyed ... there is a little less 'loving it'. I finally got my Dad and Sister (who still live in the Bay Area) to understand every time the pump price goes down significantly due to crude oil prices tanking ... there are another 10,000 families hurting here in America somewhere. Saving $100 per month or even $100 per week isn't that big of a deal compared to the job loss. Just perspective. That's all.

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Then why in the 2012 elections when Mitt Romney the other Republican cohorts promise the public that they'd get gas down to $2.50, did the conservatives eat it up? Did they not understand that doing this would destroy a lot of their livelihoods? Personally I like high oil prices, it saves lives...

txwharfrat;842530104 said:

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Here ... when you see jobs lost, homes lost and families destroyed ... there is a little less 'loving it'. I finally got my Dad and Sister (who still live in the Bay Area) to understand every time the pump price goes down significantly due to crude oil prices tanking ... there are another 10,000 families hurting here in America somewhere. Saving $100 per month or even $100 per week isn't that big of a deal compared to the job loss. Just perspective. That's all.

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I remember all the sympathy those Enron families had for California back in the day. Low oil prices are a net benefit to most Americans even if you happen to live where the negative impacts are strongest.

High oil prices = welfare for Texas. Hopefully this is a wake up call for people to retrain and find new industries.

Unit2Sucks;842530140 said:

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High oil prices = welfare for Texas. Hopefully this is a wake up call for people to retrain and find new industries.

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Fossil fuels while essential for our current existence is ultimately a transitional energy source for humanity.

burritos;842530157 said:

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Fossil fuels while essential for our current existence is ultimately a transitional energy source for humanity.

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what is your estimate of how long this transition will last (i.e. when will we "run out")? I was told that it was FACT by my teachers in the late 70s that we would be out of fossil fuels within 20 yrs

Our planet will suffocate before we run out of fossil fuels. I'm worried more about their impact than availability.

BayAreaHorn;842530160 said:

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what is your estimate of how long this transition will last (i.e. when will we "run out")? I was told that it was FACT by my teachers in the late 70s that we would be out of fossil fuels within 20 yrs

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We aren't going to run out. That's not the problem.

Unit2Sucks;842530140 said:

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High oil prices = welfare for Texas. Hopefully this is a wake up call for people to retrain and find new industries.

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The opposition to the Iran deal is being funded by US oil interests who fear oil prices going even lower if the embargo is lifted and Iran begins selling again--not to mention the effect peace in the Middle East has on oil prices.

BayAreaHorn;842530094 said:

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it's not rigging, there is just less refinery capacity for CA formulated gas, so any shutdowns/maintenance (big article in WSJ just on this yesterday) impact gas prices quite a bit; same problem is found around the Chicago area with some refinery shutdowns (after these same refineries running flat out for an extended period of time)

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Capacity is artificially maintained very tight in order to have those seasonal or event-related price spikes. We've also seen this in the brownouts. This is one case where the industry colludes with environmentalists. Another example of this collusion is in real estate, big landlords love anti-growth activists. This dynamic has plagued California, affecting the cost of living (esp housing) and the cost of doing business.

txwharfrat;842530104 said:

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Here ... when you see jobs lost, homes lost and families destroyed ... there is a little less 'loving it'. I finally got my Dad and Sister (who still live in the Bay Area) to understand every time the pump price goes down significantly due to crude oil prices tanking ... there are another 10,000 families hurting here in America somewhere. Saving $100 per month or even $100 per week isn't that big of a deal compared to the job loss. Just perspective. That's all.

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You're talking about 10,000 families losing their jobs vs 300,000,000 saving a considerable amount of money, not just in gas, airfare and heating prices but also across the board (esp, food).

BayAreaHorn;842530160 said:

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what is your estimate of how long this transition will last (i.e. when will we "run out")? I was told that it was FACT by my teachers in the late 70s that we would be out of fossil fuels within 20 yrs

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I have no idea how long the transition will take but the Saudis are on top of it.

LINK: Why the Saudis Are Going Solar - The fate of one of the biggest fossil-fuel producers may now depend on its investment in renewable energy

calumnus;842530201 said:

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The opposition to the Iran deal is being funded by US oil interests who fear oil prices going even lower if the embargo is lifted and Iran begins selling again--not to mention the effect peace in the Middle East has on oil prices.

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Texans and Jews.

Unit2Sucks;842530140 said:

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High oil prices = welfare for Texas. Hopefully this is a wake up call for people to retrain and find new industries.

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I feel bad for the people of Texas who have to endure the negative impact. But I feel a little redemption for California after having to endure criticism from the likes of Rick Perry that Texas knew better than California how to deal with the Great Recession when the Texas economy was booming and California's was stagnant.
As many Californian's pointed out Texas was booming only because of its reliance on Oil revenues.

GB54;842530232 said:

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Texans and Jews.

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Where's Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys when you need em?

GB54;842530232 said:

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Texans and Jews.

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Over 300 American rabbis came out in favor of the deal.

Netanyahu has strong ties to the GOP and US arms manufacturers--plus he's never seen a peace agreement he liked. He came to power when Rabin was murdered after Netanyahu incited violence against the Oslo Accords.

BayAreaHorn;842530160 said:

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what is your estimate of how long this transition will last (i.e. when will we "run out")? I was told that it was FACT by my teachers in the late 70s that we would be out of fossil fuels within 20 yrs

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Most academic expert pronouncements. . .are wrong. But the important thing is we remember what they said 40 years later.

calumnus;842530540 said:

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Over 300 American rabbis came out in favor of the deal.

Netanyahu has strong ties to the GOP and US arms manufacturers--plus he's never seen a peace agreement he liked. He came to power when Rabin was murdered after Netanyahu incited violence against the Oslo Accords.

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And 750 rabbis came out against it .

NYCGOBEARS;842530524 said:

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Where's Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys when you need em?

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"They ain't making Jews like Jesus anymore."

Oh boy, no more free Starbucks in the oil company's cafeteria. Good companies should have prepared to hedge

GB54;842530549 said:

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And 750 rabbis came out against it .

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Undoubtedly true. Unfortunate, but true.

Shalom.

1979bear;842530545 said:

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Most academic expert pronouncements. . .are wrong. But the important thing is we remember what they said 40 years later.

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but we should still rely on these academic expert pronouncements?

and of course I remember - I remember being scared of the dark future this person was indoctrinating us to believe in - that we would be out of gas (and maybe electricity?) in our lifetimes; nothing like a good old ignorant scare tactic

GB54;842530555 said:

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"They ain't making Jews like Jesus anymore."

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great song

1979bear;842530545 said:

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Most academic expert pronouncements. . .are wrong. But the important thing is we remember what they said 40 years later.

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They were wrong because of (i) new discoveries of oil rich areas and (ii) discovery of new ways of extracting oil from previously unaccessable areas (oil-tar) and fracking.

I remember similar dire predictions about the smog in LA or the pollution of SF Bay by the year 2000 which never came about because of changes made that helped reduce the smog and reduce the pollution of SF Bay.

Do the new discoveries and changes made to address particular problems make the predictions wrong as of the time made?

BayAreaHorn;842531252 said:

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but we should still rely on these academic expert pronouncements?

and of course I remember - I remember being scared of the dark future this person was indoctrinating us to believe in - that we would be out of gas (and maybe electricity?) in our lifetimes; nothing like a good old ignorant scare tactic

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You mean how like the rapists south of the border is a good reason to elect Donald Trump? I don't know what your political persuasion is so this isn't really directed at you. I'm just saying.

68great;842531309 said:

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They were wrong because of (i) new discoveries of oil rich areas and (ii) discovery of new ways of extracting oil from previously unaccessable areas (oil-tar) and fracking.I remember similar dire predictions about the smog in LA or the pollution of SF Bay by the year 2000 which never came about because of changes made that helped reduce the smog and reduce the pollution of SF Bay.Do the new discoveries and changes made to address particular problems make the predictions wrong as of the time made?

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I thought we were going to be nuked by now

burritos;842531310 said:

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You mean how like the rapists south of the border is a good reason to elect Donald Trump? I don't know what your political persuasion is so this isn't really directed at you. I'm just saying.

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I have no idea what this post means.

68great;842531309 said:

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They were wrong because of (i) new discoveries of oil rich areas and (ii) discovery of new ways of extracting oil from previously unaccessable areas (oil-tar) and fracking.

I remember similar dire predictions about the smog in LA or the pollution of SF Bay by the year 2000 which never came about because of changes made that helped reduce the smog and reduce the pollution of SF Bay.

Do the new discoveries and changes made to address particular problems make the predictions wrong as of the time made?

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They were wrong because they made the classic mistake of assuming zero progress in the way of technology and mankind's ability to deal with problems. The O&G industry didn't discover deposits or new methodologies out of a teacher's ability to strike fear in the heart of an 11 year old in elementary school; the industry did this in response to market conditions in which a projected shortage of crude led to higher prices, which provided the incentive to find new oil and new ways to get it.