More Oil. NOW!

Saudi Arabia announced in the past hour that they will increase production of oil. The amount would increase to 9.7 million barrels in July. It is currently 9 million flat. Also, the Saudis have said that by the end of the year, they will be producing 12.5 million barrels.

On paper this sounds like relief. But it should help a little by easing the demand. Saudi Arabia has also said they would like to create an OPEC fund of $1B for loans to third world nations such as African nations.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a very recent candidate for candidate for President, who also thinks the Surge didn't work in Iraq, thinks that increased oil production is not the windfall some are hoping it to be. In the short term it may be a relief, but in the long term, he's right. We need to continue focus on developing energy systems the run on renewable resources because its only a band-aid.

Oil Companies have used many tactics throughout the past century such as buying new technogies and suppressing them. There have also been anecdotes about murder being used to suppress technology (Think I'm making it up? Nope. That this guy might be. I doubt it.). What we really have is an energy monopoly. Not very libertarian. It results in restriction from a free and open market. I can't walk down to the local dealership and get a car that doesn't run off gasoline. Hybrids regardless of their fanfare, still utilize oil at some point during the operation. Hydrogen requires a mot of oil to create the hydrogen fuel to run those cars. Why do you think George Bush was in favor of that particular alternative energy?

I want to point out that with Bush's declarations that Congress needs to open up ANWAR and other areas for exploitation, it seems rather stupid. Here's Why: Bill Richardson brought up something that has only been mentioned in the past week. Oil companies hold leases to many places throughout the country where they can drill for oil, which by the way, it takes ten years to develop an oil deposit. They aren't using them. Why? Why is there a demand from Oil man George Bush to open up areas when there are plenty of leases already held?

A good reason is that by limiting the supply, it drives the price of oil up. it is highly unlikely that ANWAR will ever be opened. It creates a perception of restricted production that drives price uo and puts money in the hands of those who already have plenty. This sounds criminal because oil is in many areas of the country a necessity. In rural parts of the nation, there is no access to alternative transportation like buses, trains and light rail lines. Its the car, truck or tractor to get around. There are no alternatives! But in the rural areas there are plenty of renewable resources like wind, solar, hydro and other biological materials that can be utilized for fueling purposes. However, these are not going to make a dent in the energy problem in the near future.

What I'm getting at is that the whole country is not made the same. Every city and every region has its own set of unique problems and also solutions. The reason we cannot tackle "America's Addiction to Oil" is because its an extremely daunting task. Every area needs to be evaluated for its particular needs, problems and available resources. What works in New York City may not work in Davenport.

I also want to point out the media's misuse of the phrase "Addiction to Oil". Is it an addiction is the only vehicles a consumer can purchase is gasoline fueled? Is it an addiction if car manufacturers continue to produce cars at the minimum of CAFE standards? If I could change my car to running off of water, trust me, I would. But I lack the automotive abilities to make that transformation.

As you can from the meandering post that I have composed thus far, there is not an easy issue to analyze. No one solution is an absolute cure all. This means that one person does not hold all the cards to solving the energy crisis. It involves a lot of hard work and patience from all involved and the country itself. Unfortunately, with our global economy and the limited supply of oil, costs will not decrease any time soon and many people will continue to suffer through these hard economic times, myself included.

But we were warned. The demand for oil is infinite. The supply is finite. When we burn a fuel faster than it can be harvested and refined begins to become a problem. There is also the issue of peak oil. Peak oil is basically this idea: oil production will peak at one point and drop off. Now someone could point out that will alternative energies, this would cause the dropoff prophetized. But M. King Hubbert who made this prediction in 1956 was not looking at environmentalists to change the fuel economy of the world. Peak Oil would come about because of resources of oil which I've already pointed out are very finite. Hubbert predicted that the US production of oil would peak in the late '60's to early '70's. This roughly coincided with the fuel crisis that developed. This was not a natural crisis. There were also political motivations involved such as the Arab-Israeli war.

Nobody wants to continue giving money to the middle east. Nobody wants to be subserviant to another county. We live in a country that cannot fuel itself. We need to be able to do that. But as long as we have a oil companies restricting technology, refusing to exploit alreasy held lands and pushing to create better technologies, we will be held hostage in the Global Economy. And while the welathy exploit the middle and lower classes to line their pockets, they will destroy the economy. If the economy crumbles, then it won't matter anymore. That's how bad it could get. Stock up on water.

Moving on to other topics that are less depressing. Tim Russert died over a week ago. This led NBC to broadcasting a gluttony of production that came just short of canonizing him as a Saint of American Objective Journalism. True, he probably the last bastion of the objective journalist values so rarely seen in the media these days. But seriously! Things went too far! I couldn't turn on a channel without hearing about it... and the 17 girls in Gloucester, Massachesetts. The man was a great guy but i think this was overdone. Russert himself would have been embarrassed.

That's it for now. I was planning on writing more, but I'm running on empty.