Matt,

A barrel of oil dropping 45¢ (from $73.33 to $72.88 per barrel) is only a symbolic drop. In my opinion, it's hardly worth trumpeting as a direct result of the President's actions today, which were also highly symbolic.

Of far great import, in my opinion, is the President's apparent willingness to embark upon a path of energy independence that does not include hydrocarbons/fossil fuels as the primary option. He has clearly given high priority to advancing emerging technologies such as ethanol, hydrogen power, hybrid cars, solar, wind, and assorted biomass to wean us off of our dependence on foreign sources of petroleum. So much for this Texas "cowboy" being "married at the hip" to his oil buddies...

We are on the verge of a shift in our energy paradigm. With the proper incentives and our reknowned "can-do" attitude, America can weather this bump in the road and emerge stronger and less dependent upon nations and areas of the world that don't necessarily like us, but take our money in exchange for their energy commodities. Once we've passed the height of the bell curve, we can essentially tell the Saudis, the Nigerians, and the Hugo Chavez's of the world the shove off. They can take their commodities and sell it to someone else. By doing so, we can halt our funding (however indirect) of their terroristic objectives. In the long run, we'll be better for it. In the short run, we obviously cannot tell them to take a long walk off a short pier, because it would be cutting off our noses to spite our faces. However, this is an objective worth pursuing. I'm confident that our market-driven capitalist system will provide the means to see our way out of the corner into which we've been painted by a variety of forces - political, economic and military.

But to attribute a .0061% decline in the going rate for a barrel of oil to the President's speech today is specious at best.

From the point of view of the consumer, I would be much more impressed if the federal government were to enact a temporary moratorium on the federal taxes on gas (currently around 18%). If the states would chime in and do the same, we could see a dramatic decrease in the consumer's cost for fuel. Of course, I'm not holding my breath on that point. But to enact some sort of investigation into oil gouging, or to demand that the oil companies restrict their profits runs contrary to the concept of capitalism. They are making money because they are doing a good job of getting the crude oil to the refineries and then to the consumers in spite of the chaos of geopolitics and the challenges facing the industry from government regulation, the effects of nature, and the whims of various dictators here and there in the mix. Politicians on both sides of the aisle seem more interested in demagoguing(?) this issue than really dealing with the underlying factors that are causing our current "crisis."

I want desperatly to buy a hydrogen-powered vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. Right now, though, I owe too much money on my "old school" vehicle to throw it all to the side in favor of an as-yet unproven technology. But I sense that we are on the cusp of a major revolution in the way use energy and how much it costs us to maintain our lifestyles.

I'm already cutting my commuting distance by 15% by choosing alternate routes to and from work. I see a marked improvement in my gas consumption. But so far, the rise in the cost has outpaced the savings in the gallons. But I'm on the right track.

Last fall, I finally installed highly energy-efficient windows in my home. I'm astonished at the savings in natural gas to heat my home. I look forward to the savings I'll realize in electricity as the summer months approach. In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to put solar panels on my roof to collect all that energy that is beaming down upon me every day and use it for my modest energy needs. The opportunities are endless. The resulting savings are enormous. As far as I'm concerned, this present "crisis" in our energy costs is actually a great opportunity for those who are smart enough to act upon it.

One by one, community by community, state by state, this nation will re-invent our energy paradigm in a way that will benefit not only this nation, but will also satisfy the environmental exigencies that are being called for by the environmentalists. Switching to ethanol, wind, solar, biomass and other energy options is not just a short-term necessity. It is also a long-term sustainable paradigm that will allow future generations to enjoy the lifestyle to which we've become accustomed. And that, after all, is the best of all possible outcomes...

Since we control Iraq and further since Iraq is on top of approx. 1/3 of the world's oil reserves.

Why don't we just ship the oil to ourselves at no charge?

We already paid a dear price in gold and lives, so we should just take the oil from Iraq.

Plus, their refineries have tons of capacity avaiable.

If we did that, for sure the price of gas would come down. How could it not?
-Joe

Joe,

That's an extremely cynical and mercenary view of how things work in this world. As if you weren't aware, Iraq is still reeling from the attacks upon their oil infrastructure. It will take some time to get them fully functional and acting as a bona-fide, full player in the international oil markets. And to suggest that we "control Iraq" runs tantamount to our objectives in promoting democracy in the region. If and when they decide that they want to strike a deal with us, and unless and until they are capable of doing so, to just "ship the oil to ourselves at no charge" is an outlandish and arrogant strategy. If we were to pursue such an objective without regard to that nation's sovereign rights, we would truly be pursuing a policy of hegemonistic imperialism. Given the costs and sacrifices in money and lives already spent, it would be the most crass and craven of policies to pursue. I believe that this nation is above pursuing such a policy.

On the other hand, if they were to strike a deal with us to refine the oil right there, and sell it to us at an agreeable cost, I would support such a deal. But the most important thing for us in the long run would be to find alternative sources to fuel our economy so that we wouldn't remain tied to the current paradigm of fossil fuels to keep our economy going. Just because we might be able to strike a short-term deal with that country to supply our energy resources at a rock-bottom price doesn't mean that we should remain addicted to fossil fuels for the foreseeable future. They have resources and they should be compensated for them. But to essentially force them to pay us for our efforts in toppling Saddam Hussein by way of oil compensation is certain to breed resentment and hostility in the long run...

Sure. The price of gas would probably come down - in the short term. But we'd also be sowing the seeds of another conflict if the deal were to be tilted so far in our favor that Iraq felt that it was in a subservient position from which no end was foreseeable. Is that what you really want, or are you being facetious?

The longer-term, wiser course of action would be to help to improve Iraq's oil infrastructure, while simultaneously achieving energy independence based upon fuel sources other than petroleum...

Isn't rolling back the tax breaks for the oil companies the same as a tax increase?
Sounds like tax and spend republicans to me...

How much did the windows cost? $10,00? $5,000? $2,000?

We froze last year and only saved about $50/mo for the 3 months of winter by turning the thermostat down.

I thing what we need to do is drill, refine, research. Unless we figure out how to conjure oil, it will run out some day (50 years, 100 years, 1000 years who knows).

But right now, the law of supply and demand reigns supreme. We simply have a case of too much demand and not enough supply. That is the sinlge largest tax on the poor we have.

Sounds like Joe is advocating Blood For Oil---and conquest instead of liberation. Interesting point of view.

dbogdan, as I mentioned in another post, you might look into the new diesel engine cars. VW has two, the Jetta and the Passat, and both get amazing MPG, without the downside of the battery problem. And many are unhappy with the perfomance of hybrids, and the gas mileaage.

Ford is retooling some plants to produce more energy-efficient engines, and I understand that there is going to be a push toward high-efficiency diesels.

The advantage to the new high-performance diesels is that they will be able to run on B-100 when that becomes available. And biodiesel plants are being put up all over the country. Right now, most cities offer B-20.

I will be building a pretty big complex in the next few months, and will be utilizing solar as much as possible---electricity, and heating of water for heating buildings as well as domestic use. I'll be building with conservation in mind, and creative ways of using alternative energy sources. I'm 100% behind alternative energy use, and thrilled to finally have the government pushing R&D.

why not ask all those greedy oil companies who made an average of 200-300 millions dollars last year to put some of it back to the people who support there rich lifestyles ????

Well put, Joe.

If we don't take that oil for ourselves, then 2,000+ Americans and 30,000 Iraqi civilians died in vain.

Look, we all want peace and stability, and without affordable gasoline, this world will spin out of control. Call it "Blood for Oil" if you will, Al, but I call it "Blood for Oil for Peace," a concept we can all get behind.

Until the liberals realize there will be no peace so long as it costs $75 to fill up my SUV, I have no way of talking to them.

Bush knows what he's doing in Iraq. Of course he cannot say we're going to take our oil, bought and paid for, from that worthless desert in Iraq and put it to good use. The MSM would tear him apart. But he knows what he is doing and all good Americans support him.

I'm sure Barney and Muirego (Moron-go) and DAV and the rest of the communists will have some pansy "It's not our oil to take" argument, but then, they probably drive pussy hybrid cars and have no idea they are caving to the terrorists.

Art,

My windows cost just under $1,500 and I installed them myself. Had I contracted a "professional," they would have cost well over $5000. I have saved several hundred dollars on my heating since last October, but - as the saying goes - your mileage may vary. My heat is supplied by natural gas, which didn't have as much of a spike as home heating oil, but still caused me to gasp in horror when the price doubled in less than three months...

The bottom line to the original posting, however, is that we are faced with an enormous opportunity to get our energy needs under our own control. While the current climate and pricing of energy options is somewhat daunting, it appears that realistic and economically feasible alternatives are becoming available. We must seize the opportunity on an individual, community, state and federal level while we have the chance. Once the alternatives gain a good foothold, there's nothing that "big oil" can do but go along for the ride...

Conservative to the Core

You just keep driving that SUV and spouting all that ugly American trash talk. All the good people who want your country to do the right thing may be pussies in your mind, but to other countries it reminds us that some of your citizens are far-thinking individuals who value this planet.

You installed them yourself, dbog? Nice going! I thought about it, but being totally ignorant about such things I was more than a little concerned that I'd end up royally screwing them up. So I had it done -- all the windows and the two sets of sliding doors in the back. The door installations looked tricky, but the windows didn't look too bad. In retrospect I probably could have have done them without too many problems. Live and learn, I guess. Actually, there was one window that required knocking away some of the stucco around it. They did a truly masterful job replacing it. You absolutely cannot tell what was old and what is new. I don't think I could have done that.

Anyway, it cost me a little less than $7K, but the difference is impressive. The house stays much warmer in the winter and much cooler in the summer. They're also great noise insulators. When everything's closed up it's hard to hear anything going on outside. And as far as the cost goes, I see it as an investment -- I'm sure it increased the value of the house more than I spent on them. Moreover, they came with a transferable lifetime warranty against everything. I had some problems with the screens initially -- it was a bad design; they were difficult to install and uninstall, and my dog Sally (a rather spirited little Rottweiler) kept knocking them off and charging through the window to chase lizards. After whining to the installation company several times they actually came out and replaced ALL the screens with a different design. It didn't cost me anything. Now Sally can't get through them anymore, and they are much easier to work with. I also had a baseball go through one of the windows. They replaced it no questions asked. All in all, it's been a pretty good deal.

Anyway, it's nice to hear that so many people are ready to seriously pursue alternative energy sources. Weaning ourselves away from foreign sources of fossil fuels makes strategic sense, and at current oil prices it's now economically feasible. This is a good article about how Brazil managed to achieve energy independence. It was quite a project, with lots of pitfalls and a lot of difficult decisions over the years. But they stuck to it, and it looks like it's going to pay off for them very well. Their situation is similar to ours in key respects. Like us they have domestic oil reserves that can supply about 50% of their demand, and have large amounts of land available for agriculture. I see no reason why we can't do the same thing if the damned politicians stop squabbling and get serious about it.

Meanwhile, check out what China is up to. While we're occupied in Iraq and maybe Iran, China is out there cutting deals all over the place. It's going to make for some interesting geopolitical realities in years to come. I would say time is of the essence. We need to make significant inroads toward achieving energy independence, IMHO.

I will be building a pretty big complex in the next few months, and will be utilizing solar as much as possible---electricity, and heating of water for heating buildings as well as domestic use. I'll be building with conservation in mind, and creative ways of using alternative energy sources.

That's really cool, Almiranta. I hope the undertaking is a success for you so that you can repeat it elsewhere.

I recently edited a magazine interview with landscape architect Lawrence Halperin, who designed Lucasfilm's new Letterman Campus in San Francisco with conservation, sustainability, and efficiency at the forefront of his designs. It was very encouraging to see that while he wanted to make some nice buildings, he was even more interested in maximizing efficiency and minimizing impact and drain on resources. That's the sort of stuff I hope to see more of in the future.

Considering Democrats control neither Congress nor the White House, and mentioned this nearly a week ago, we're glad the Bush Administration has finally come around.