Exaggeration for money

Stories are beginning to come out about how the Gulf of Mexico is already healing. According to many experts, the oil spill was supposed to ruin the gulf waters for years to come. It seems they underestimated the power of Nature. I am not surprised. Were the original claims of devastation greatly exaggerated to get more money from British Petroleum? Or were the scientists and environmentalists just being inept?

An unusual month

May 2010 has been an unusual month. We have had the usual disasters and political upheavals but things tend to take on a different hue when summer approaches. The British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has become the world's worst - to date, anyway. Greece is still struggling but the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti have become a distant memory. As a famous politician once said: People have very short memories. His future is secure.

Rich but poor

It came out suddenly that one of the richest countries in the world, Dubai, is having money troubles. Everyone has read from time to time that very ambitious and expensive projects have been underway in Dubai for many years. That country is like an exclusive club but on a global level. The news reported that Dubai might default on its debt of approximately 60 billion (it's probably much more.) That sent negative ripples through world money markets. hehehe Remember to live within your means - even very rich people go broke. This topless woman looks like all she has left is her necklace.

Robin Hoods

From a news story on the Web: “MEXICO CITY – U.S. refineries bought millions of dollars worth of oil stolen from Mexican government pipelines and smuggled across the border, the U.S. Justice Department told The Associated Press. Criminals tap remote pipelines, sometimes building pipelines of their own, to siphon off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil each year, the Mexican oil monopoly said. On Tuesday, the U.S. Homeland Security department is scheduled to return $2.4 million to Mexico's tax administration, the first batch of money seized during a bi-national investigation into smuggled oil that authorities expect to lead to more arrests and seizures. "The United States is working with the Mexican government on the theft of oil," said Nancy Herrera, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Houston. "It's an ongoing investigation, with one indictment so far." I had to laugh out loud when I read this story. While these Robin Hood types steal a little oil, the politicians steal almost all the profits. What do I know? Nothing…

USOIL

More grim news from Yahoo! News: “U.S. crude stocks have risen by 27 million barrels over the past month and on Wednesday, analysts expect that the government will report that trend has continued. Crude inventories could grow by as much as 3.4 million barrels, according to the average of estimates in a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. That has not led to savings at the gas pump for many motorists, however. Refiners have cut production because of falling demand, and retail gas prices have been rising. On Tuesday, the average national retail price for a gallon of gasoline rose less than a penny to $1.92. That's 13.6 cents more per gallon than a month ago even though crude prices have fallen more than $6 per barrel in the same time.” How annoying. Crude prices drop by a lot but the price at the pump goes up. That’s manipulation. Since refiners have to keep making nice profits, they will not pass any savings along to consumers so (just like OPEC) they cut production in order to affect the supply side of the equation: LESS SUPPLY EQUALS HIGHER PRICE since the demand is still there, relatively unchanged. When they cut production, guess what happens: PEOPLE LOSE JOBS. Essentially, gasoline prices are maintained on the backs of people who need their jobs. There’s a morality lesson there somewhere if only I could find it. The U.S. government needs to buy as much oil as possible right now and put it in reserves. 27 million barrels is really not that much. In fact, compared to consumption, it’s nothing. It is time to NATIONALIZE the oil industry. We are almost there. PLEASE.

Duh!!!!

From a recent news story out of Yahoo!: “Oil prices tumbled below $40 for the first time since the summer of 2004 Wednesday despite an announcement from OPEC of a record production cut of 2.2 million barrels a day. Markets had already priced in a vastly reduced flow of oil and traders focused instead on troubling economic data that points to a long and severe recession. Demand for gasoline over the four weeks ended Dec. 12 was 2.7 percent lower than a year earlier. Meanwhile, the dollar suffered its biggest one-day decline against the euro after the Federal Reserve cut a key lending rate target to historic lows. That would typically lead more investors into the crude market because oil is bought and sold in dollars and you can get more bang for the buck. But investors in this harsh economic climate are holding onto their wallets like never before, betting there's not enough global demand to support higher crude prices, said Gene McGillian, an analyst at Tradition Energy. "Oil prices should be a lot stronger," McGillian said.” This goes to show that speculators control the price of oil - speculators and middlemen and nobody else. Demand dropped 3% but prices dropped 70%. Explain that to me please. A weak dollar should mean higher prices but it does not – explain that to me. I have said from the beginning that speculators control much of the markets. Right now, they are scared to death and do not want to lose any money if they can avoid it. Regardless, that beautiful woman on the left does not care – she’s dead. We are not. Don't you wish you could stay 35 forever?

Environmental Me

I'm not a green person - not even close. I waste water, electricity, gasoline, and natural gas. I don't recyle. I litter the streets with gum wrappers. I don't care about endangered species. I never discuss the environment with anyone. However, there is this company called National Wind, LLC (don't laugh, it's true), that generates power using huge windmills. I think this may be the answer to the energy shortage and our dangerous dependence on foreign oil. I just wish they had come up with a more serious-sounding name. That's not a wind farm to the left - but it could be.

Whining about oil prices? part 1

Some people have said that U.S. gas prices are low compared to Europe's so we should not complain - we should be grateful. Rex Tillerson is of that opinion. Later - in part two - I shall post an interview with this man so you'll know how very right he is on this issue. I hope this is not too terribly political for you. I did say I would stay clear of political, religious, and sexual issues. The painting to the left depicts a serious oil spill somewhere sometime - not the Exxon Valdez, obviously.