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[Spooky]

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[Will Robinson]

I think I should be able to consume as much energy as I can afford.

I'm allowed to consume as much food as I can afford, purchase as much land as I can afford, save as much money....etc. etc.
Will those become rationed by government mandate too?

Before the government comes around telling me I'm wasteful it needs to do an internal audit of it's own business!!

[Krom]

I say drive as fast as you like, just stay off my bumper will you. Just because I choose to save a considerable amount of fuel by driving close to 55 most of the time doesn't mean you should try your best to run me off the road. Quit being in such a damn hurry that you nearly kill yourself and everyone else on the road in the process.

And Wisconsin kept the 55 MPH speed limit, I don't even want to imagine how bad it would be in a state with a higher limit.

[TIGERassault]

I'm allowed to consume as much food as I can afford,

Actually, you'd be well and truly dead if you tried that.

[Ford Prefect]

True that. In reality you are able to spend as much on food as you wish not as much as you can. Same with fuel. If you want to drive a 350ci truck loaded with sandbags that you haven't bothered to take out since it last snowed, isn't that up to you?
Mind you the government can look at the overall consumption pattern of fuel in the nation and in keeping with it's mandate to manage the resources of the nation for the best advantage for all they may decide that fuel would be better kept back for use by say commercial trucks. Then they would have to find a mechanism, within their powers, to ensure that the supply of fuel is made more readily accessible to trucks.
How do you think they could best do that?

[Will Robinson]

...Then they would have to find a mechanism, within their powers, to ensure that the supply of fuel is made more readily accessible to trucks.
How do you think they could best do that?

They could insist on drilling for oil in the numerous places they have already found it, ANWR and offshore for example. Offer incentives to, or subsidize, companies to extract oil from shale beds. Start building nuclear and clean coal facilities, build refineries.

Take back oil company leases on oil fields if the company that holds the lease doesn't start pumping it within a reasonable amount of time (as in NOW) and lease to someone who will start right away.
I believe some of these companies are sitting on their assets reselling the imported product because the profit is there and plan to extract domestic oil later when the price is driven even higher.

[MD-1118]

At the other end of the spectrum came this declaration: "I choose to drive 80 mph with my SUV and will continue to do that regardless of the posted speed limit."

Ditto what he said. It's not always about being in a hurry... sometimes it can't be helped. I mean, if I've got to drive from Miami to Seattle, there's no way in hell I'm going to drive a steady 55 mph or less. I'd rather not go at all. Unfortunately, not everyone can make that decision. What about them? No, I don't like it. It's going to have to be put to a vote, and I don't think I'll be the only one who votes against it. =/

Besides, as I've said before, it's an effect, not a cause. This won't lower the price of gas or oil anymore than anything else that's been done to date.

[Ford Prefect]

Will: What you propose would increase the supply of oil making more gasoline available for all to use but that will only work until demand (we all drive loaded pickups) rises or the supply finally runs out. Let's pretend that there will be a shortage of gasoline for the next decade while supplies of gas are brought on line.
How would the U.S. government, working within the current framework of laws and responsibilities that exist today (no unconstitutional proposals) reduce the consumption of gas by private cars to make more available for transport trucks. Never mind that trucks run on diesel that's just nitpicking. Maybe we need the gas for ambulances or something.

[Will Robinson]

The Fed can reduce the consumption by rationing, lower the speed limit etc. but I don't see why increasing the supply isn't a bigger priority than forcing us to use less!!

If you are trying to get me to agree that reducing speed will conserve fuel I fully accept that premise, I just don't think it is a very good plan when we are sitting on billions of barrels of oil that Russia and China are now preparing to suck out of the ground beneath us!

We supposedly don't drill for it because the environment is at risk so instead we get raped at the gas pump and countries that drill with much less regard for the environment will be in charge of the drilling!!!
Pure stupidity!
Our leaders should be promising to drill for every drop we can find!

[MD-1118]

Ford, I think what Will is trying to say is basically, what are we doing? We're worried about saving gas - that's exactly what this is, a rationing plan - when we've got a shetload of it right under our proverbial noses. We could drill it, it's not like it'd be Hiroshima or anything, but everyone's worried about the potential repercussions it will have on the environment. I say screw the environment. If we're so damned worried about the price of oil, and getting raped at the gas pump, then we should quit with all this namby-pamby \"take care of the earth\" crap and take care of ourselves. Once again, however, I don't think we will because this country, and the world as well, have been doomed from the start by our own ignorance, indecision, inconsideration and greed. It makes me sick just to think about it, and I must make a confession. I guess I'm extremely racist, seeing as how there is only one race - the human race. I fervently hope that I have the luck to die before we kill ourselves off.

[Ford Prefect]

I don't disagree that increasing the supply of oil will reduce the price of gas as long as the demand stays static.
I don't however see the demand staying static. You can drill every pool and wring every ounce out of the Alberta tar sands and one day you will still use more than you are refining. Might not be in your lifetime but given the pace of growth it won't be long after. Drilling and pumping is just a short term solution. Until you can renew the energy you consume it's a loosing game. If not renewable now then when? If not renewable by us then by whom?

[MD-1118]

That's just the point. Energy by its very nature is nonrenewable. All we can do is a) ration what we have, b) economise our fuel usage, c) find new fuel sources, d) find a different method of fueling/powering whatever it is that so direly needs fueling/powering, or e) any combination of any of the above possibilities. None of this would be nearly as hard as we're making it, except for some reason everyone wants to \"get ahead\" and make more money and have more stuff than anyone else. Everyone's looking out for el numero uno. I don't see anything wrong with that in particular, but if you're gonna take that route then you might as well forget worrying about everyone else, regardless of the reason - you won't be able to help them out because you're too busy taking care of yourself. It's all a matter of knowing when to be a good guy and help those that need it, and knowing when to be realistic and take care of yourself and your own.

[Will Robinson]

I think the giant profit machines that sell us fuel will morph into the giant profit machines that sell us the new fuel, be it renewable or not, in the meantime they plan to suck every penny of profit they can from their current product line.
So when you see the big oil companies branch out into clean coal or hydrogen batteries or flux capacitors that's when you'll know the end of oil is near.

What I didn't count on is American oil companies holding on to the rights to domestic oil fields but not tapping them while riding the profit wagon on imported product until they decide to tap the local stuff at it's new record high price.

If the stuff is there and new demand is driving up the price so fast people are hurting then the government can increase the supply and we can all arrive at alternative fuel production nirvana a little sooner while not paying foreign sources for product we are capable of producing ourselves in the meantime.
The net result on the environment will be unchanged with us joining in the drilling, refining and pumping.
The sudden change in our plans to tap our supply will bust the speculation bubble and drive the price down and we may just find out that there is so much oil yet to be pumped that energy armegeddon is as over hyped as global warming is!

I think the fat cat oil guys are loving every minute of environmentalist whacko legislation that they get to blame for not tapping their ace in the hole!!
It's time someone called them on it....

[woodchip]

The thing is gasoline use has been steadily declining over the last couple of years, so why do we need the govt. to set a lower max speed on the eway? People are conserving all on their own. Just watch tho, when gasoline use drops low enough, the feds will start raising taxes on it to replace the taxes they are losing.
I'm sure the ecofreak is enjoying all this until he starts noticing his utility's and food bills go up.

[Testiculese]

First things, first, Will...this country has to stop selling it's domestic oil to other countries at a lower cost than we are buying it from other countries. Then we may not have to drill anywhere.