Where did this "liberal anti-drilling is driving up gas prices" rhetoric come from?
360270
The basic concept is here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5365439\n\nThe paragraph under "Then who sets the prices?"\n\nCrude oil spot prices are here: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip_crude.html\n\nGas prices are here:\nhttp://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip_gasoline.html\n\nGas prices are basically following the crude minus the Katrina killing of some refineries that needed to be repaired so that's probably the spike.\n\nThis is our daily usage:\nhttp://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip_crude.html#inputs\n\nAbout 15 million barrels of crude oil per day now.  It also shows the Gulf Coast's major tank in production like I mentioned earlier around Nov '05.\n\nYou are correct that drilling in Alaska would probably not affect prices that much.  How much?  We don't know.\n\nThere's an article about it here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-11-03-senate-oil_x.htm\n\nUnfortunately, I don't have the DOE study handy.  Maybe you can find it for your purposes here. :)\n\nFor the actual price of crude oil, demand doesn't have to double in order for price to spike up double.  All it really takes is the minds of the traders on the futures market that something political or whatever is going on.  They are the main ones who set the prices that are used worldwide.\n\nOur net imports of oil have grown past 60% and are steadily rising every year: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mer/pdf/pages/sec1_15.pdf\n\nOne of the points touched on was worldwide demand, including India and China.  They are definitely demanding more and more each year: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/ipsr/t24.xls\n\nIt's slow but it's increasing.  How much this affects prices is unknown.  Predicting the value of the stock market in 5 years is about as easy.  No one really knows.  You have to remember that market prices are always forward looking, so it's what people think is going to happen in the future.  That's what the current price today is based on.\n\nAnd last by not least, the DOE's view on the current prices: http://www.eia.doe.gov/bookshelf/brochures/gasolinepricesprimer/eia1_2005primerM.html\n\nAnyway, this is just a bunch of raw data.  I'm sure that there are about 85 ways to look at it.  Most people here take only one side of the story, but hey, that's life on the Internet.  Have fun. :)
348889
supposedly it's because of "weapons of mass destruction." but we all know it's because of the oil. the shitty part is now bush has had us over there 3 years, and the fuckin gas prices are still pushing $3 and probably $4 in summer.
922359
Quite possibly.  Because when Clinton was in office gas prices rose before the elections and dropped right after.... talk about a conspiracy :P
815305
in it's most basic sense... liberals promote change... \n\nand people fear change... \n\nand it's often been a bad word through history... \n\npeople said the earth isn't the center of the universe wasn't a popular idea a few centuries ago... \n\nand people that said the world isn't flat, weren't popular either... \n\nbasically, when someone can prove modern accepted logic wrong, they become unpopular and feared by the people...\n\nit's fearing what you don't know and don't understand... even if it's a good thing... \n\nit's a quite common fact of basic behavior....
1062509
Look who's running the country...a bunch of oil freaks.  Everytime the price of oil goes up they are cashing in!  They don't want to come up with alternative fuel sources because there is no money in that for them.
286256
As some rapper once said (sorry, not a rap fan), and it applies to everything the government has done forever...\n\n"If it don't make dollars then it don't make sense."\n\nThe article should clear up exactly how oil is involved in our situation...to say we are going to war to get the oil is putting it too simply, that's not the end reason.  The reason we need the oil is to cover for our weak dollar and our manufacturing going over-seas.
64539
Gas/Oil everytime anything happens anywhere prices go up.\n\n\nGuy 1 "sir a mouse farted in Juarez"\nGuy 2 "raise the price of fuel now!!!"
341269
Hey! It's not all about the American People it's all about this green stuff they call money. \n\nThey always have some dumb butt lame excuse for raising the prices. \n\nMy joke is this!! OH MY GOSH!! OH MY GOSH!! President Bush let a fart, it may very well put a hole in the ozone layer lets raise the gas prices, it will take more people off of the streets and reduce air pollution. that's how stupid it's getting to be\n\nOkay..now that I am here...Gunther...get me the soap box lil man LOL!!!!! He's a good cat. LOL\n\nYou know this gas price thing is killing our economy. I just watched the news tonight. People are limiting their driving. They are limiting their entertainment and other things so that they can conserve gas so that they can get to work to earn money so that they can keep STUPID BUTT GASOLINE IN THEIR TANKS!! That is going to drive prices up everywhere because people are not shopping as often, they aren't going to other places as often and in order to keep business rolling grocery prices will jump the cost of entertainment will jump\n\nHELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ANYONE OUT THERE??? Holy smokes. The almighty buck is killing the American people. We are being smothered by it. We are being smothered by the greed of the government. \n\nAs far as Bush goes. Don't know . Don't know. I just don't. I think he needs to step in and put a stop to this! It's really getting to be out of hand. I believe that many things are going to happen. The crime rate will go up people are going to start siphoning gas tanks\n\nIt's going to be really really pretty out there. \n\nOkay, I am off the soapbox now. Come here Gunther..put it back where you got it from and come get your treat. LOL!! \n\nOkay, I had to add a stupid corny humorous twist to it ;)
1147879
Basically it comes down to supply and demand.  There is increasing demand for oil (mostly from developing countries like China and India, but demand in the US is increasing also).  OPEC is already producing near its capacity, coupled with no relatively new oil refineries having been built, this causes the an increasing demand against a slower (negligible) increase in supply of the refined oil used for gasoline.   Hurricane Katrina knocked out some production capacity which is still not completely up and running.  Also there are other less significant reasons such as the changing of fuel additives from mtbe to ethanol (this has been done for environmental reasons).  To put a few non-truths to bed...  The oil companies were NOT found to be doing any price gouging (illegally increasing prices beyond unreasonable economic fundamentals).  Second, everyone wants to blame President Bush for increasing prices when in fact he no longer has any personal investments in oil companies(he did this specifically to discredit these accusation most likely); in fact President Bush has probably more to lose from high oil prices than any other single individual alive.  He wants a strong economy, with little inflation and needs that help for party elections this fall.  If you want a specific group of people to blame, you should look at commodity traders themselves, they are the ones who control the international price changes from day to day and are the ones who fear supply disruptions (such as the one that occured in Africa, threats from Iran and Venezuela recently) and terrorists act which affect the flow of oil (the so called terror premium).
546009
It's all deregulation and Capitalism at it's finest. The oil companies are realigning into monopoly's again. This is a crime to fair competition; because there is no competition. This always happens with a majority Republican rule, it's their view on politics. There is no trickle down theory with forced inflation's on Americans.
987447
Thankfully, we're veering right.\n\nStill with that tired, old "war for oil" hippie protest I see. Tell me, exactly where is all of this oil we've stolen in the war.\n\nWe became the world's police after WWII, way before you were born.\n\nWe could be spending our money on making our military even stronger is we weren't busy wasting it on failed liberal social programs.\n\nThe LAST THING libs need is a better drug program.\n\nWho's threatening your freedom of speech? Do you mean when those "evil conservatives" try to prevent you from urinating on the graves of soldiers?
636945
first off barbedwiedless doofus...if it wasnt for the republican party, you would be living in a country like mexico or cuba...the democrats want to sell us out to the united nations..(which is a euphemism for "united against america")\n\nwe have been addicted to oil by our own selves...if you arent addicted to it, why do you have a reason to complain about the price..?? oil hasnt anywhere near kept up with the rise of inflation since the 50's..if it had it would allready be at 8 bucks a gallon...you can thank the republicans for trying to keep the price low, despite all the tax increases by your democratic federal and state elected officials...\n\nby the way...do you try to sell your labor as cheap as you can, or get as much as you can while you can..???
506424
Gas prices are going up everywhere for a variety of reasons, not all of which are "greedy oil companies." But I won't go into that.\n\nBecause of the mild winter we've just experienced, there is quite a bit of oil supply right now. I think prices will drop soon.\n\nBest of success.
49486
Interesting, since I just heard on the news that there is some sort of German study that points out that trees do indeed create more greenhouse gases than automobiles.  Or something like that.  They pointed out too, how Reagan's quote is often found on liberal sites for dumb things Republicans have said; but that Reagan may have been more right than we realize.
202996
I have! Oil prices go down and gas goes up. Supplies increase the price at the pump goes up. The 2nd biggest oil deposit in the world comes under U.S. control.... You get the idea. Enough is enough. His friends have all made a buck on this insanity, let's go back to $1.00 a gallon.
464151
It's not the oil thats so high. It's Cheney. He's being like any other republican. GREEDY. I'm saying this cause I am one. He's the reason gas is so high.
167901
Ethanol is not the answer for raising gas prices. They produce it as a cleaner burning fuel. It all deals with the theory of global warming. I don't buy it, but that is the reasoning they use for it.