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High gas prices put a crimp on Utahns' summer

These gas prices are not just out of control - they're down right AWFUL!! My car isn't that big and when it takes almost $50.00 to fill the thing then it's just downright disgusting!!! I feel for those who have SUV's or real gas guzzler's. And I heard that Gov. Hunstman doesn't want to give this state a gax tax holiday for fear of not having enough money in his precious state budget to fix the highways and roads. Well with that kind of "help" from the State's government he won't have to worry cause soon there won't be any cars on the roads cause nobody will be able to have the money to put gas in their cars, unless your a millionaire!

The BLM released an inventory yesterday, showing 31 billion barrels of oil exist below millions of acres of BLM-managed land that is not leased due to congressional or bureaucratic mandates. Some Washington politicians immediately assailed the BLM, saying "you can't drill yourself to lower oil prices." I'll give you two guesses as to which party claims those politicians.

Well, the law of supply and demand is at work, and the OPEC countries, as well as all the various types of companies at work in bringing gasoline to the pump, are learning just how much the world is willing to pay for oil. And the price is astounding -- currently $135 per barrel. If we are to buy enough oil to meet our needs on the world market, we should expect prices to increase unless we start producing more at home. The amount of oil in the West is less than 10 percent of what is estimated to exist in the Arctic, which is 400 billion barrels of oil. Utah alone is estimated to hold 1.5 TRILLION barrels of oil tied up in oil shale.

We have plenty of oil. This is a 520 year supply at current demand levels.

Goverment at any doesn't care about people. The oil companys give them too much money for campains.

It's downright disgraceful when the oil companies earn record profits at the expense of the rest of us. One must wonder if the prices are kept artificially high and manipulated to obtain the highest profits. It would seem the excuses the oil companie executives give, that they have nothing to do with the high prices, are a bunch of bunk! I think the consumer is getting scalped, plain and simple.
How much more can the economy take? Sooner or later, when gas costs five or six bucks a gallon, things are gonna bust and everything's gonna come down around us. If you think $ 3.75 is unbearable, try five or six dollars.
Somethings gotta give. Either Big Oil is forced to stop robbing us, or we'll all be bankrupt!

Here's how to find out. Put a gallon of gas in your car and drive till you run out. Then push it back to where you started.
Or maybe you can hire a crew of minimum wage workers to do it for you and see how much it eventually costs.

THIS YEAR LETS JOIN TOGETHER AND ELECT ONLY THE CANDIDATES THAT OPENLY DENOUNCE THE OIL BASED ECONOMY, AND PLEDGE TO PASS LEGISLATION TAKING US TO A NEW AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE REVOLUTION.

You might consider the train. I took it to Denver one way for $65.00. It might be an option. The only draw back is the scheduling.

WOW 31 BILLION BARRELS, that is only 6.45 years of the 13.15 Million Barrels Per Day we import.

What is your next plan? Invade Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia?

Affordable Sustainable Oil is a thing of the past----------time to move on ---- and very quickly to an economy based on clean renewable electricity.

We spend over 400 Billion on imported oil each year, take just 25% of that for 4 years and we can build clean renewable energy plants that will produce 200,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for 61% of the homes in the USA.

I've got an idea. Get the dust off your bike and start riding. People spend money on gas to drive to the gym then spend an hour in the gym. Add into that the gym membership costs and you would be saving money by skipping the gym and riding your bike.

There is only one thing that will convince the American public to find an alternative form of energy. We really don't care about the environment, foreign dependency, etc. What we really care about is the bottom line.

Sadly, this is what will start a new energy revolution.

I agree that we need to get off oil. We are far too dependent on it which in turn makes us far too dependent on foreign countries. 10 years ago I loved my truck when I was in college. 10 years later I drive a Honda Accord for the gas mileage. In a couple years when that new German car the Loremo comes out that will be my next purchase. 150 mpg sounds very appealing. Even at 150 mpg I still feel that we need to start exploring other energy sources immediately.

Congress needs to get off their behinds, quite pumping money in to social programs that are completely failing i.e. welfare and social security and start investing money into new forms of energy. I'm sick of pumping money into programs that promote mediocracy and that I'll probably never see a return on.

Dumb idea. People go to the gym because that's where the hot women are.

I was going to go to a Jazz playoff game a few weeks ago but the prices that scalpers were asking was too high for my liking. So, I watched the game on TV.

I wish everyone would stop blaming the oil companies. The only reason they earned that much in profits is because people like us were foolish enough to accept the high prices. The only way to lower the price will be to stop using oil where ever we can. Ride a bike to the bus stop and take the bus to work. Take Trax. Sell your Escalade and buy a hybrid. Find a way to reduce your dependence on oil. Once the oil companies see that the price of gas is higher than we think its worth, maybe they will lower the price and profits will decrease.

If I owned a company, I would sell my products for the highest price people would pay for them. Thats just what the oil companies are doing. If you don't like it, change.

The RECORD PROFITS are 8%. Microsoft is close to 40% and Google is over 50%.

yet you choose to blame the oil companies.

Put your anger where it should be directed.
Our Federal Senate and House.

They have not allowed a new refinery to be built for 30 years. Over the past years they have limited existing oil refineries to 50% capacity.

Guess what... limited supplies raise the cost on an item we want.

Congress also has NOT allows OUR oil companies to drill for oil off the California or Florida coasts.
AND they aren't letting OUR companies bid for oil spots in the Gulf of Mexico, but they are letting China and Columbia (I believe its Columbia) but spots in our territory in the Gulf.

Wouldn't help us anyway since we don't have the refineries to process it.

Don't forget the same thing up in Alaska.

We have plenty of resources.... but because we aren't allowed to access them our oil companies have to by crude and processed oil from other countries... which set the price.

8% that is all the make in profits.....

Send your hate and anger to your Senator's and Congress.

It's not the goverment's job to invest money into new forms of energy. The real problem is the government makes more off oil than the oil companies because of the taxes that are charged. There is zero incentive to reduce government oil revenues.

> It's not the goverment's job to invest money into new forms of energy.

I disagree.

I always imagine where we would be right now if Bush and congress had taken the same money that they used to invade Iraq and instead invested it in a Manhattan Project style effort for next generation energy development. Certainly we would be leading the world in technology and innovation right now with a very strong dollar instead of sending all of our dollars to OPEC. But, Bush's grand scheme has blown all of our nation's money and credit, not to mention the cost of thousands of lives, with no good options to get out of the mess. Without a doubt, Bush is the worst president in the history of our nation. And I am a lifelong Republican who thought it couldn't get any worse than Clinton.

Thomas, I'm shocked. Who should "force" big oil to "stop robbing us?"

A Manhatten Project for energy? Spare us! Government's record at choosing which technology is the next big thing is awful! Better to let the market decide that, don't you think?

> Better to let the market decide that, don't you think?

Oh definately. They have done a wonderful job so far! (dripping sarcasm intended).

I agree that our current government is a mess and probably an idealistic Manhattan Project simply wouldn't be possible because of that. But, at the moment, "the market's efforts" are far too fragmented and not coordinated to do any good. You also have a nasty chicken and egg type of problem where private industry simply won't invest money into something unless they see a big return on investment very quickly.

is right. From the Wall Street Journal:
"Thomson Financial calculates that profits from the oil and natural gas industry over the past year were 8.3% of investment, while the all-industry average is 7.8%. And this was a boom year for oil. An analysis by the Cato Institute's Jerry Taylor finds that between 1970 and 2003 (which includes peak and valley years for earnings) the oil and gas business was 'less profitable than the rest of the U.S. economy.' These are not robber barons..."