Common Folk Using Common Sense » Energy

The Left vs. The Right vs. Oil Prices

Shamalama — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:32:39 +0000

For several decades, the Democratic Party has pursued policies designed to drive up the cost of petroleum, and therefore gas at the pump. Remarkably, the Democrats don’t seem to have taken much of a political hit from the current spike in gas prices. Probably that’s because most people don’t realize how different the two parties’ energy policies have been.

Congressman Roy Blunt put together these data to highlight the differences between House Republicans and House Democrats on energy policy:

ANWR Exploration
House Republicans: 91% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed

Coal-to-Liquid
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 78% Opposed

Oil Shale Exploration
House Republicans: 90% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration
House Republicans: 81% Supported
House Democrats: 83% Opposed

Refinery Increased Capacity
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 96% Opposed

SUMMARY

91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas.
86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas.

So while you’re paying more than $4 per gallon of gasoline why don’t you send a “thank you” email to Speaker Of The House Nancy Pelosi for listening to the will of the people.

Republican, Democrat, ANWR, Oil Shale, Continental Shelf, Refinery, gasoline, Pelosi

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Random Thoughts On Gasoline Prices

Shamalama — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:23:57 +0000

ANWR is larger than the combined areas of five states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware) and drilling along its coastal plain would be confined to a space one-sixth the size of Washington’s Dulles Airport. Why aren’t we already drilling there?
39 Democrat Senators, including Barack Obama, and 33 Republican Senators, including John McCain, recently voted to keep ANWR’s estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil off the market and keep gasoline prices rising.
One million barrels is what might today be flowing from ANWR if in 1995 President Clinton had not vetoed legislation to permit drilling there. One million barrels produce 27 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel. So you can partially thank Bill Clinton for today’s gasoline prices.
Saudi Arabia, said New York Senator Chuck Schumer, “holds the key to reducing gasoline prices at home in the short term.” Therefore arms sales to that kingdom should be blocked unless it “increases its oil production by one million barrels per day,” which would cause the price of gasoline to fall “50 cents a gallon almost immediately.” Drilling in ANWR would achieve the same one million barrels per day of oil production, but Schumer will not allow the US to drill there.
The U.S. Minerals Management Service says that restricted area in ANWR contains perhaps 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas — 10 times the oil and 20 times the natural gas Americans use in a year.
In September 2006, two U.S. companies announced that their “Jack No. 2″ well, in the Gulf 270 miles southwest of New Orleans, had tapped a field with perhaps 15 billion barrels of oil, which would increase America’s proven reserves by 50 percent. Just probing four miles below the Gulf’s floor costs $100 million, money that only comes from any profits that the oil companies earn the year before. But Congress’ response to such expenditures is to propose increasing the oil companies’ tax burdens, thereby reducing their profits and hampering the oil companies’ ability to search for new oil. Does that make sense?

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Pain At The Pump

Shamalama — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:14:54 +0000

A great cartoon from RedPlanetCartoons:

Says Gateway Pundit:

Despite surging gas prices– Democrats refuse to drill or develop national reserves. Democrats refuse to approve new refineries. Democrats refuse nuclear energy.

DEMOCRATS REFUSE TO ACT.

Democrats refuse to drill in ANWR or inside domestic “No Zones.”

Democrats promised they had a plan to cut energy prices – so far they have not produced this plan.

Meanwhile, China, Cuba, Canada and others continue to drill off our shores where US companies are not allowed to drill because of Democratic policies.

Says the Investor’s Business Daily:

Failing to allow drilling in ANWR. We have, as Bush noted, estimated capacity of a million barrels of oil a day from this source alone — enough for 27 million gallons of gas and diesel. But Congress won’t touch it, fearful of the clout of the environmental lobby. As a result, you pay at the pump so your representative can raise campaign cash.

Refusing to build new refineries. The U.S. hasn’t built one since 1976, yet sanctions at least 15 unique “boutique” fuel blends around the nation. So even the slightest problem at a refinery causes enormous supply problems and price spikes. Congress has done nothing about this.

Turning its back on nuclear power. It’s safe and, with advances in nuclear reprocessing technology, waste problems have been minimized. Still, we have just 104 nuclear plants — the same as a decade ago — producing just 19% of our total energy. (Many European nations produce 40% or more of their power with nuclear.) Granted, nuclear power plants are expensive — about $3 billion each. But they produce energy at $1.72/kilowatt-hour vs. $2.37 for coal and $6.35 for natural gas.

Raising taxes on energy producers. This is where a basic understanding of economics would help: Higher taxes and needless regulation lead to less production of a commodity. So by proposing “windfall” and other taxes on energy companies plus tough new rules, Congress makes our energy situation worse.

These are just a few of Congress’ sins of omission — all while India, China, Eastern Europe and the Middle East add more than a million barrels of new demand each and every year. New Energy Department forecasts see world oil demand growing 40% by 2030, including a 28% increase in the U.S.

Americans who are worried about the direction of their country, including runaway energy and food prices, should keep in mind the upcoming election isn’t just about choosing a new president. We’ll also pick a new Congress.

The current Congress, led on the House side by a speaker who promised a “common sense plan” to cut energy prices two years ago, has shown itself to be incompetent and irresponsible. It doesn’t deserve re-election.

Remember to thank your Democratic representative for $4/gallon gas.

gas price, Democrat, ANWR, tax

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