USA gas prices mapped
05-08-2006, 11:51 AM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: Lying Groaning in the Wreckage
Posts: 130
What happened?
Originally Posted by ubermich
3 bucks in South Texas? When I lived in San Antonio in the late 90's I could fill up my truck for under $10. I think it got to 68 cents a gallon. What the hell happened?
06-25-2006, 06:23 PM
#13
Guest
Posts: n/a
huh?
Originally Posted by RockBottom
Time to move to Wyoming...
Thats why I am moving out in 2 days!!!!
07-04-2006, 08:59 PM
#18
Che Guevara
Joined APC: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,408
Europe and other places don't face the same problems we do. I just drove 5 and a half hours to my home town from del rio and never passed a town with over 15k people. In the states there is some very serious distances to be crossed with no means to do so.
Not to mention we have things like F-350's ect that require a lot more fuel than those suitcase size cars. And yes we need them. I couldn't pull 35k lbs. of rice seed behind anything less. Not to mention our farm tractors ect sucking down 20 gal an hour. There's a reason why we feed the world and the world doesn't feed us. And we're about to get screwed with our pants on very quickly by this gas and lack of agriculture support. Average farmer age is 56yrs old. In another 10yrs we'll be paying through the nose for food too.
Not to mention we have things like F-350's ect that require a lot more fuel than those suitcase size cars. And yes we need them. I couldn't pull 35k lbs. of rice seed behind anything less. Not to mention our farm tractors ect sucking down 20 gal an hour. There's a reason why we feed the world and the world doesn't feed us. And we're about to get screwed with our pants on very quickly by this gas and lack of agriculture support. Average farmer age is 56yrs old. In another 10yrs we'll be paying through the nose for food too.
07-05-2006, 09:37 AM
#19
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2005
Position: FO, looking left
Posts: 1,057
I don't think high gas prices (atleast right now) for individual drivers is a big issue. The difference between $2.00 a gallon and $3.00 a gallon is about...
$1 a gallon X 20 gallons per two weeks X 26 times a year = $500 a year difference.
The reason why gas is so expensive in CA is taxes. I paid $2.97 today for gas. During 2002, California had a budget deficit of $38 BILLION dollars. That is more money than most states budget for an entire year (with the exception of Texas, New York, Florida...). Suddenly gas went up $1 a gallon, and by 2005 we have an almost $10 BILLION dollar budget surplus. The reason... GAS TAXES!!
I believe high oil and gas prices are here to stay. I will make a prediction. Oil will not receed below $60 a barrel for more than one month's time period. It is likely to stay in this range, and perhaps increase in the next few years. High oil prices are here to stay. The only solutions are:
1. Reinvesting huge oil company profits into more technology to make drilling easier and more affordable. Also more exploration.
It is a misconception to think that oil companies are "gouging" everyone. Oil is a commodity traded on the open market, and prices are governed by supply and demand.
It is easy to look at an oil company that made a billion dollar profit and say they are overcharging. But that several billion dollar profit come on over $100 billion dollars in sales. Oil companies take a % percentage of profit from oil sales, and naturally as the price increases, the % percentage becomes a larger chunk of $$ money. Oil companies are monster corporations (remember they are vertically integrated) that makes huge profits, but look at their profits as a percentage of revenue, and it is like 8%. Imagine a pizza company, it cost them $0.92 cents to make a pizza, and they sell it for $1.00. Ya right!!! Most companies double or tripple the "cost" of the product and sell it for that price.
As someone who has looked into investing in oil companies, and who has done a lot of research, I have some insight. The biggest problem is finding oil. Everyone thinks there is a giant ocean of oil and all we have to do is simply drill down and we will hit oil. Not true. In fact the world's oil supply is like a bunch of tiny puddles. Many drills come up DRY. Drilling is more of an art (and luck) than it is a science. Really! Oil infact does cost more to drill for than it did several years ago. Saudi Arabia is drying up, and they are keeping it a secret.
Tax these billion dollar profits at enormous amounts (70-80%) if they are not reinvested into making oil drilling cheaper and more efficient.
2. Lower taxes on gas
Talk to your congressman and vote. If you don't vote, you don't count!!!
3. Reduce demand for oil.
Demand for oil will not drop with gas at $4, $5, and probably $6 a gallon. I think there is some break-point on gas prices that will cause a significant decrease in demand. But I think that amount if at about $6 or $7 a gallon. Demand will continue to increase across the globe.
4. Switch to alternative fuels.
The future...
We cannot achieve stable energy prices using fossil fuels. There will always be a supply issue. I feel that we are moving towards 100% electric cars. Hybrid's are just a stepping stone. I believe lithium-ion batteries have the potential to power cars (without the drawbacks of limited range/power). They are still falling in price. Cars could then be plugged in at night when the power grid is underused. Electricity is the cheapest known way to power an automobile. Electricity generally comes from oil, coal, or nuclear. In California, I know about 30% of the energy is from renewable sources (hydro, wind, solar). But to deal with the massive increase that would be required to power cars, I believe we will be using much more efficient solar energy. Solar panels are incredibly inefficient. With the advances in nanotechnology, we WILL make quantum leaps in solar efficiency. Someone would win a nobel prize if they designed an 80% efficient solar sell. That would be enough to allow cars to be driven off electricity.
Ethanol/Methanol are not a solution. E85 is a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline that has been hyped up recently. The fact is that you get about 60% of the BTU's you would get from normal gasoline (basically, you need more gallons of E85 to get the same kick as gas), eliminating any cost savings.
And plane and simple... By using ethanol for energy, you are trying to solve one of the worlds big problems (demand for energy), but hurting the world's BIGGEST problem, and that is world hunger!!
In order to make enough ethanol for the US, we would have to use 75% of our farmland. Not an option. Ethanol will not work.
Hydrogen powered cars may become practical one day, but not in widespread use for MANY, MANY years. Even though hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, h2 is rarely found on earth. It is too reactive. It usually reacts to form water. So to get h2 fuel, we have to run the reverse reaction (2 h2o --> 2 h2 + o2), and that takes a good amount of electricity. Hydrogen is very dangerous and powerful (see Hindenberg or Hydrogen bomb). Have you ever seen the ground wires that hydrogen cars must use during fueling? They are massive. The hydrogen needs to be stored at 4 degrees kelvin (approximately -270 C and -500 F) and 10,000psi (can you say explosion). Even at 10,000psi, hydrogen will take up a decent amount of room. Plus you need heavy and thick metal to enclose that that hydrogen (more weight, less room). I cannot see this fuel being used on an airplane, EVER!! Just too dangerous and too many negative aspects to flight (weight, room, etc...).
So I feel you will see all electric cars down the road. Solar energy will help power these. Perhaps hydrogen fuel. This will drastically reduce the demand on crude oil, leaving it for airplanes (and without the volatile price fluxuations).
$1 a gallon X 20 gallons per two weeks X 26 times a year = $500 a year difference.
The reason why gas is so expensive in CA is taxes. I paid $2.97 today for gas. During 2002, California had a budget deficit of $38 BILLION dollars. That is more money than most states budget for an entire year (with the exception of Texas, New York, Florida...). Suddenly gas went up $1 a gallon, and by 2005 we have an almost $10 BILLION dollar budget surplus. The reason... GAS TAXES!!
I believe high oil and gas prices are here to stay. I will make a prediction. Oil will not receed below $60 a barrel for more than one month's time period. It is likely to stay in this range, and perhaps increase in the next few years. High oil prices are here to stay. The only solutions are:
1. Reinvesting huge oil company profits into more technology to make drilling easier and more affordable. Also more exploration.
It is a misconception to think that oil companies are "gouging" everyone. Oil is a commodity traded on the open market, and prices are governed by supply and demand.
It is easy to look at an oil company that made a billion dollar profit and say they are overcharging. But that several billion dollar profit come on over $100 billion dollars in sales. Oil companies take a % percentage of profit from oil sales, and naturally as the price increases, the % percentage becomes a larger chunk of $$ money. Oil companies are monster corporations (remember they are vertically integrated) that makes huge profits, but look at their profits as a percentage of revenue, and it is like 8%. Imagine a pizza company, it cost them $0.92 cents to make a pizza, and they sell it for $1.00. Ya right!!! Most companies double or tripple the "cost" of the product and sell it for that price.
As someone who has looked into investing in oil companies, and who has done a lot of research, I have some insight. The biggest problem is finding oil. Everyone thinks there is a giant ocean of oil and all we have to do is simply drill down and we will hit oil. Not true. In fact the world's oil supply is like a bunch of tiny puddles. Many drills come up DRY. Drilling is more of an art (and luck) than it is a science. Really! Oil infact does cost more to drill for than it did several years ago. Saudi Arabia is drying up, and they are keeping it a secret.
Tax these billion dollar profits at enormous amounts (70-80%) if they are not reinvested into making oil drilling cheaper and more efficient.
2. Lower taxes on gas
Talk to your congressman and vote. If you don't vote, you don't count!!!
3. Reduce demand for oil.
Demand for oil will not drop with gas at $4, $5, and probably $6 a gallon. I think there is some break-point on gas prices that will cause a significant decrease in demand. But I think that amount if at about $6 or $7 a gallon. Demand will continue to increase across the globe.
4. Switch to alternative fuels.
The future...
We cannot achieve stable energy prices using fossil fuels. There will always be a supply issue. I feel that we are moving towards 100% electric cars. Hybrid's are just a stepping stone. I believe lithium-ion batteries have the potential to power cars (without the drawbacks of limited range/power). They are still falling in price. Cars could then be plugged in at night when the power grid is underused. Electricity is the cheapest known way to power an automobile. Electricity generally comes from oil, coal, or nuclear. In California, I know about 30% of the energy is from renewable sources (hydro, wind, solar). But to deal with the massive increase that would be required to power cars, I believe we will be using much more efficient solar energy. Solar panels are incredibly inefficient. With the advances in nanotechnology, we WILL make quantum leaps in solar efficiency. Someone would win a nobel prize if they designed an 80% efficient solar sell. That would be enough to allow cars to be driven off electricity.
Ethanol/Methanol are not a solution. E85 is a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline that has been hyped up recently. The fact is that you get about 60% of the BTU's you would get from normal gasoline (basically, you need more gallons of E85 to get the same kick as gas), eliminating any cost savings.
And plane and simple... By using ethanol for energy, you are trying to solve one of the worlds big problems (demand for energy), but hurting the world's BIGGEST problem, and that is world hunger!!
In order to make enough ethanol for the US, we would have to use 75% of our farmland. Not an option. Ethanol will not work.
Hydrogen powered cars may become practical one day, but not in widespread use for MANY, MANY years. Even though hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, h2 is rarely found on earth. It is too reactive. It usually reacts to form water. So to get h2 fuel, we have to run the reverse reaction (2 h2o --> 2 h2 + o2), and that takes a good amount of electricity. Hydrogen is very dangerous and powerful (see Hindenberg or Hydrogen bomb). Have you ever seen the ground wires that hydrogen cars must use during fueling? They are massive. The hydrogen needs to be stored at 4 degrees kelvin (approximately -270 C and -500 F) and 10,000psi (can you say explosion). Even at 10,000psi, hydrogen will take up a decent amount of room. Plus you need heavy and thick metal to enclose that that hydrogen (more weight, less room). I cannot see this fuel being used on an airplane, EVER!! Just too dangerous and too many negative aspects to flight (weight, room, etc...).
So I feel you will see all electric cars down the road. Solar energy will help power these. Perhaps hydrogen fuel. This will drastically reduce the demand on crude oil, leaving it for airplanes (and without the volatile price fluxuations).
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