Archive for May, 2008

Scared to Death About Global Warming?

With politicians debating legislation in the name of stopping global warming, it is imperative that the public read Scared to Death: From BSE to Global Warming: Why Scares Are Costing us the Earth.
For a limited time, Scared to Death’s chapter on global warming can be downloaded and read by clicking here: Scared to Death: Saving the Planet.  [...]

New Gov’t Report Offers Road Map for Energy Relief

According to a new Bureau of Land Management (BLM) report, vast untapped oil and natural gas resources exist on public lands in the U.S. These public lands are estimated to contain 31 billion barrels of oil and 231 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, but are are presently closed to energy production.
· [...]

Will Lawmakers Be Liable Under NOPEC? They Should Be

Posted by Daniel Kish 
 Today Congress takes up H.R. 6074, the “NOPEC” bill.  In sum, the bill states: 
“It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act… to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product…or to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas, or any [...]

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black: Congress Passes ‘NOPEC’ Legislation Today

Thomas Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research (IER), issued sharp criticism of the Congress today for passing H.R. 6074 - better known as the ‘NOPEC’ - a bill intended to hold the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) liable under the Sherman Antitrust Act.
H.R. 6047 states: “It shall be illegal and a violation [...]

Energy Lesson: Drilling vs. Production

As gas prices climb, opponents of increasing domestic oil production are touting the following statistic to bolster their ‘no new production’ postion:
“Since 2000, drilling on land has increased dramatically – climbing about 66 percent– while gas prices continue to increase.”
What’s misssing?  Here are the facts:
·         Exploratory and development drilling has increased across the board since [...]

Top Five Actions Your Federal Government Can Take to Lower Energy Prices

Congress Must Face the Law of Supply and Demand. Oil, gasoline, fuel oil, and heating oil and diesel fuel commodities traded in the world market and, therefore, their prices reflect the fundamentals economic principals of supply and demand. While much has been done to reduce demand for energy (CAFE, energy efficiency requirements in buildings, etc.) [...]

Gasoline: Breaking Down Price Per Gallon

 
There are many components that go into the price at the pump for a gallon of gasoline, but the biggest component is the price of a barrel of oil.
For example, the average price of crude oil in 2007 was $72.34 per barrel.  By March of 2008, the price of crude oil reached $105 per barrel, [...]

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Question

In the face of record crude oil and gasoline prices, many have called for suspending additions to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). They argue that filling the SPR takes needed crude oil off the market and thus, suspending SPR fills will lower the price of oil and gasoline. Some have even quantified this savings in [...]

Higher Food Prices: The Fault of Big Oil or King Corn?

by Robert P. Murphy
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) contained in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandated the use of corn-based ethanol in motor fuels. The recently enacted Energy Independence and Security Act accelerated this mandate to 9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2008 and 36 billion gallons in 2022. Recent spikes in [...]

Who Will Lead the World in Demand for Fuel?

The answer is not the United States, as one might think.
Consumption of liquid fuels (both petroleum and bio) is forecast to increase by more than 40 percent from 2004 to 2030. Leading the increase will be Asian countries such as China and India, which are not members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development [...]