So are oil supplies really our number one worry?

[tinanator]

Sure sounds like we need to get some war on.

[bryant69]

1. Hmmmmm

I'm not sure I see the connection. I mean we invaded Iraq and it didn't lower our oil prices much. IN fact it seems like they've gone up a lot.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[endarkenment]

3. yes well

that is a rather simplistic view of what the Oil War is about. In fact low prices are not the point at all. Control over the dwindling supply of cheap oil is what the Oil War is about, and I'd say that the neoclowns do indeed view Iraq as Mission Accomplished in that regard, although Iraq is just one of many more to come.

[Geo55]

20. Yes, dead IRAQI people ARE NOT in the equation.......

it's survival , you will see more PR to come.

[tinanator]

6. I believe that dovetails into conventional economic theory

which of course is never referred to in this new world order, but when the few get control of the majority of resources, the price is NOT going to go down. Amazing that anyone ever thought it might...
Monopoly is not just a board game anymore, in this new era of anti-anti-trust government protections.

[liberal N proud]

2. Not supplies, but production and prices

The United States has not built a new refinery in years and has no plans to do so. We are at the mercy of the Arabs on this, with no help from our government because they are in bed together.

[endarkenment]

4. Eh?

We aren't building refineries because there is no particular reason to do so. Perhaps I'm missing just how a lot of brand new state-of-the-art refinieries will help increase the supply of cheap oil. Clue me in.

[slaveplanet]

22. The main problems

right now , in the US, are (intentional?) bottlenecks in the production,distribution chain . Supply or oil in the ground is not a present problem.

[endarkenment]

23. sorry I don't think that is true

I think the main problem is not distribution, it is the fact that the supplies of cheap oil, at the source, are running out. But time will tell, and I don't think we are going to have to wait very long to see who is right.

[slaveplanet]

26. well the Saudis

don't share your opinion http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7445652/site/newsweek

and not only that,there are so many places on this planet that are classified or haven't even been tapped yet. They can't even publish an accurate estimate.

[endarkenment]

28. the key phrase is 'cheap oil'.

Yes there are oilfields yet to be discovered, yet to be exploited, but they are not sources of cheap oil, nor are they being discovered at a rate that equals demand growth + cheap oil supply decrease. In other words we are at the peak. But we disagree on this, and we can both push quotes back and forth, for example the recent reports circulating that the major saudi field is in big trouble. As I said, time will tell if this is a 'distribution crisis' or the 'planetary supply crisis'. I vote for the latter. You disagree. Oh well.

[slaveplanet]

29. you keep pushing the cheap oil angle

My motto is- Know your enemy http://www.spitfirelist.com/RA/F-506a.rm

Know his methods well http://www.spitfirelist.com/RA/F-506b.rm

for only then can you choose your lot , and step into the role of Paul Revere, or the Pied Piper.

[endarkenment]

30. how about making an argumernt?

You do understand that the extraction costs are relevant to the wholesale/retail costs of oil/gasoline, right? Since you have descended into argument by link, (and realplayer links at that, which I do not do as realplayer is f'ing spyware), I suggest that you go find out what the extraction costs are for the big saudi field vs. north sea oil, caspian oil, or any of the larger recent oil fields, and then get back to me regarding why cheap oil is or is not important to the discussion of what are the causes and consequences of the current oil crisis. 'kay?

I keep qualifying the discussion with the phrase 'cheap oil' because it is essential in order to get the discussion of off the rightwing canard that new oil coming online can replace the demise of the saudi field. It can't. It can't on two fronts: replacement is not meeting depletion + demand increase, and replacement fields are way more expensive than the huge saudi field. We are in big trouble. The trouble is not gasoline refineries or US individual state regulations, that is just bullshit put forth by interested parties as a shiny object diversion.

[slaveplanet]

31. sorry ..here's

the MP3 link http://www.spitfirelist.com/mp3/F_506a.mp3

pay particular attention to minute 16- on in side B
http://www.spitfirelist.com/mp3/F_506b.mp3

then convince me why I should ignore all the classified fields and place my trust in these folks...

[donsu]

5. the environment is the number one worry

nt

[IrateCitizen]

14. Agreed 100% -- oil supplies won't mean jack if we hit ecological collapse.

n/t

[meisje]

7. No, It's ceiling fans!!!!!

Damn you energy sucking spinning thing!

[moof]

8. no, safe drinking water is the #1 world problem

if you narrow down who your "our" is there may be other answers,
but it is assumed you are speaking of all humankind so no is the correct answer and water is the number one worry.

[tinanator]

10. sorry about the vagueness

by "our" I actually meant DU most specifically, and the Democratic Party in general.

[moof]

11. Thanks, in that case dissonance is the #1 problem

here's a blurb about it.

Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon which refers to the discomfort felt at a discrepancy between what you already know or believe, and new information or interpretation. It therefore occurs when there is a need to accommodate new ideas, and it may be necessary for it to develop so that we become "open" to them. Neighbour (1992) makes the generation of appropriate dissonance into a major feature of tutorial (and other) teaching: he shows how to drive this kind of intellectual wedge between learners' current beliefs and "reality".

Edit to add that " Democratic Party " is only an illusion
that is again a perfect example of the #1 problem.

[kenny blankenship]

9. Lesbians

Lesbians are our number one worry: supply is not keeping up with demand.

But as we continue to transition towards an economy based on celebrity poker and midget porn, the lesbian deficit will loom less large as a crisis.

[donsu]

12. LOL

nt

[mmonk]

13. Nope

ourselves

[0007]

15. The energy crisis should be our number ONE concern!

Greed & Self Gratification are leading the pack. The other animals are cooling their jets and laughing at us.

[cheezus]

17. not just oil, energy

because it takes energy to make EVERYTHING else

[Silverhair]

16. It depends.

If things keep on going the way they seem to be, the Marburg virus and the Asian Bird Flu could make all of our other problems trivial by comparison.

[0007]

18. Devastatingly high number of deaths from diseases could have a temporary

effect on the supply & demand. Something I sure wouldn't wish for.

[Silverhair]

19. Depending on how contagious...

it could mean the end of civilization.

[0007]

24. Absolutely!

[endarkenment]

25. 20-40% didn't topple western civ in the era of the great plagues (nt)

[Silverhair]

27. That took place over a large number of years.

Further, in the 1400's, most economy was still local and agricultural centered. So a village wasn't badly hit by what happened in the next village, and not at all by what happened in the next country.

A modern pandemic could spread globally in a week. And modern civilization is mostly industrial and interdependent.

Also, Marburg is 100% fatal and infection rate is unknown.

Bird Flu, if it mutates to a form that is as transmissible as regular flu is, and retains it's 75% lethality, could kill off most of the globe's population.

However, I will instantly admit that those are absolute worse case scenarios.

[amandabeech]

21. We may have very, very serious problems with natural gas

before we have similar problems with oil. Natural gas supplies are dwindling in North America, including Canada from which we import considerable amounts. Compounding these supply problems, natural gas wells tend to deplete rather suddently, unlike oil wells which peter out over a longer period of time. Engineers and scientists really may not know when a certain well will deplete, and many of our wells are old and were drilled at approximately the same time.

Bush will drill everywhere for gas, but there may not be enough no matter how many acres of wilderness he ruins. While gas from Alaska will help, delivery here is years away.

Importing natural gas is expensive because the gas must be chilled/compressed which uses must energy, and no one wants to have a natural gas regassification complex near them.

We may have to choose among using natural gas for generating electricity, for industrial use and for home and business heating before we're done.