Another good reason to make Gore president: Gas prices will plummet

[ProfessorPlum]

OPEC is well know for manipulating oil prices based on how likely a US administration is to actually try to change our energy policy for the better.

If Gore gets into office, they will try to abet the GOP's "why should we reduce our dependence on oil when gas is only $1.10 a gallon?" gambit.

[Yael]

1. Gore is the magic bullet?

Any of our Dems would be heros on a stick if they could accomplish this -- and congress would be foolish not to go after it today.

Hell, for what its worth -- the * Admininstration would be fools not to attempt to bring their approval ratings into the 30s.

What makes you think that Al Gore can do what no one else can?

[ProfessorPlum]

2. the Saudis know that Bush and the Congress wouldn't really mean it

if I understand your question correctly . . .

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. He's a floor cleaner! He's a dessert topping! He's a cure for male-pattern baldness!

He is also, sadly, a far better choice for the nomination than any of the Democratic frontrunners, and I say this as someone who is definitely NOT a fan.

(Edit: slight clean up of text.)

[renie408]

8. Oh shit!! You had better get a Duzy for that!! n/t

[Kingshakabobo]

19. If elected, he promises to stick a broom handle in his posterior and sweep the floors while walks.

[Mutineer]

36. And stop global warming!

:evilgrin:

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. Extremely unlikely

Do a Google search for "Al Gore" and "Elk Hills." As Vice President, he brokered the sale of the Elk Hills Strategic Oil Reserve to long-time political patron Armand Hammer (who once bragged about having Senator Al Gore Senior "in his back pocket") for a tiny fraction of what it was worth, netting Hammar's Occidental Oil billions in profits.

I very much doubt we can count on Gore to keep reign in oil prices, not when current prices profit his patrons so exceedingly well.

[Javaman]

40. shhhhhh, don't burst the goregasm bubble LOL nt

[stirlingsliver]

5. That's A Good Thing?

I think it is awful that gasoline prices are so low here in the USA.

It is my belief that one reason so many people drive themselves to wrok, take long auto trips, etc, is that gasoline prices are so low.

If anything, gasoline prices should go higher -- much higher.

If that were to happen, suddenly lots of people would realize that it is much more economical to take public transportation or to carpool or to cutback on trips in the cars and gas-guzzling SUV's.

[ProfessorPlum]

10. it would ease the suffering of the regressive pain that high gas

prices cause. And it probably wouldn't change Gore's position on it.

[BushOut06]

31. What public transportation?

That might work in places like New York or other cities with a viable mass transit system. But for most of us, mass transit simply doesn't work. It's either non-existent, or not viable.

[stirlingsliver]

33. Carpools? Bicycles?

I think I said that it would encourage people to carpool to work.

I understand that not everyone has access to mass transit.

But millions and millions of people do -- and they REFUSE to take it.....because gasoline is so cheap. For millions of people, it is actually cheaper to drive to work and park than it is to take public transportation. Raising the price of gasoline would change that. Plus, raising the price of gasoline would mean that people who pollute the air would pay for the privilege of doing so.

If mass transit is not currently available, it could become available.

Until then, people could learn to carpool or use alternative means of transportation that do not burn gasoline.

[Javaman]

37. Gasp! that would mean people would, heaven forbid, actually have to talk to people!!!

>shudder< I must keep repeating to myself, "gas will last forever, gas will last forever". Whew, that was close, now I can go back to driving by myself in my massive ego machine, what's the point of car pooling if I can't show off my new wheels to the people I "love"?

[DangerDave921]

41. What are you smoking?

That's some bizarre economic reasoning. I guess you are also in favor of heating oil prices going through the roof. That would discourage all the oil usage, and would force people to burn fires in their homes, or live with other families to save oil, and stop running those oil-guzzling heaters.

And I guess you also want the price of food to skyrocket so people will eat less, and we can cut back on all the farming and ranching that destroys the environment.

[LSK]

43. Europe proves you wrong

[stirlingsliver]

48. I Don't Smoke.

I don't smoke.

Well, that's not entirely correct.

I breathe air.

And in the air I breathe there are the remainders of exhaust fumes that belch out from peoples' cars and SUV's.

Oil is a totally non-renewable resource.

Food can be grown each growing season.

I hope you see the difference.

[CRF450]

49. NOT a good thing

For my summer job I clean pools and spa's and thats usually what my truck is for. Its a Dodge Dakota 4x4, 4 door with a 4.7 v8. It gets 16mpg, I know it sucks, and I could easily use a smaller truck with a 4 cylinder that gets around 23mpg, but they dont appeal to me at all nor would they be of any use if I needed to tow a load. PT is of no use to me since I live in the country. And car pooling is no good for my current job, because the people I know dont leave or return home the same time I do.

These ideas just arent to work unless ya live in the city.

[Romulox]

6. Umm, Gore isn't running. Just thought you'd like to know...nt

[renie408]

7. Skip Gore, let's just go straight to Jesus Christ and make him President.

Oh...wait...he isn't running either.

[Beelzebud]

9. You mean Al Gore is not Jesus? /me cries

[renie408]

12. No, he just plays him on TV. n/t

[IDemo]

11. Not gonna happen with Gore or anyone else

The four largest oil fields on the planet are in serious decline, and they aren't discovering any more "supergiants".

Saudi Arabian oil declines 8% in 2006

Kuwait Oil Field, World's Second Largest, 'Exhausted'

Cantarell, The Third Largest Oil Field in the World Is Dying

Daqing to cut oil production


Saudi Arabian oil production, Jan 2006-Jan 2007, from four different sources. Linear trends fitted to each series. Graph is not zero-scaled to better show changes. Source: US EIA International Petroleum Monthly Table 1.1, IEA Oil Market Report Table 3, Joint Oil Data Initiative, OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report, Table 17 (or similar) on OPEC Supply.

[ProfessorPlum]

13. Even more reason to elect Gore or someone sensible on energy

alternatives: this means that there will be much more political will to make the change.

[IDemo]

17. Alternatives will help, but cannot completely replace oil soon enough

Biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol will find limited use in some areas, but in no way can they be expected to fill in the gap for ever-diminishing global oil production, much less with the expectation of perpetual economic expansion.

Most of the popular 'alternatives' like wind and solar are electrical energy replacements, not suitable for the liquid fueled vehicles we rely on for commerce and personal transportation. While plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles would certainly benefit, the scale involved in completely changing out the existing fleet means that isn't going to happen soon enough to make the oil depletion problem go away. If Ford's battery vehicles had become the standard at the beginning of last century, maybe we would be in much better position now (despite burning substantially more coal in the process).

[ladjf]

24. Oil consumption doesn't need to be replace by

alternatives. If, over the next five years, alternative energy reduces Oil consumption by 10%, oil prices would drop (1) due to the drop of direct consumption and (2) the implication that within the near future, oil will lose it's deadly grip on the worlds energy needs.

[Javaman]

38. Tell that to China and India. We use less, there will be "more" to go around...

but that is based on the fact that we can stop the freight train of it's use 81-83 million barrels a day currently. right now solar takes care of roughly 1% of the energy needs (actually I believe it's a little less than 1%) and wind about 2-3%.

There will have to be a major investment then ramp up to produce the amount of panels and windmills needed to cover that 10%.

And currently, both panels and windmills are built using machines the use...fossil fuels.

So until there is a closed production loop for manufacturing these, fossel fuel use will continue.

The only thing that seems to be spurring those sectors for growth is the sudden (although dull) realization that we won't be able to produce enough oil to meet demand.

And when you really get down to it, if you remove cars as a source of use of fossil fuels, that will only make plastic products cheaper, thus giving rise to more need for oil.

one begets the other. Ban fossil fuel based plastics in conjunction with the promotion of alternative fuels.

Frankly, I think a car based society will eventually be our own undoing to our lives. If we continue to manufacture cars (which take on the order of 20-50 barrels of oil each to produce), we will just be turning in one vice for another.

Rail lines, light rail, trolley and bikes will/should be the direction we should be moving in, but alas, our auto-centric society refuses to give up on their "god given right to drive!!! you will have to pry this steering wheel out of my cold dead hand!"

There will be massive shifts in society regarding living areas and those who continue to choose to live out in the nether regions of the city will sadly pay the price. But then again, humans are an inventive sort and will start small towns again linked by rail.

[ladjf]

51. China is making huge strides in alternate energy technologies.

Globally, solar energy in particular is climbing into prominence. The technologies are more efficient and cheaper. Each type, i.e. solar, wind, geothermal, wave and biomass is in a race to achieve economic price parity with conventional energy production. As soon as they are close to equal, oil prices will begin to drop.

[Javaman]

52. yeah, just keep thinking like that...

when the worlds most polluting country can't get a grip on the air quality in time for the olympics and are building the equivalent of 2 coal burning power stations each week, I seriously doubt they will be making major strides anytime soon to changing over to alternative fuels.

[Javaman]

14. This just in, Gore changes water into gasoline!!

not only that but he shits oil, pissed kerosene, burps propane and farts natural gas!!!

the public has been well advised to refrain from having open flames near Mr. Gore.

and I got flamed last week for replying to a post stating how people on here are deifying Gore.

just what was I thinking????

sigh.

[ProfessorPlum]

15. I'm not saying that Gore would do anything to lower gas prices

It would probably help him politically to have prices be high if he wanted to implement energy alternatives policy.

But OPEC will do what it needs to to make changing our consumption patterns unattractive.

do you really think it is a coincidence that the Saudis kept oil prices low throughout the Clinton/Gore administration, and then jacked them up by $2 a gallon once tricky Dick and Jr got elected? The same logic applies.

[Javaman]

18. Check out my answer here...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3037643&mesg_id=3038261

basically, the price of gas is dependant on several things. All of which, moron* does have control over but like everything, he took the path of least resistance with the most amount of violence.

countries no longer buying our debt + Oil borse + historically high national debt + bad economy + failing petro dollar + fiat economy + increasing rising world wide oil needs + war + turks + nigeria + name your favorite oil company = high prices.

[ladjf]

25. I don't understand the agenda of all the posts that love to

ridicule those who long for an honest and intelligent person such as Mr. Gore to take over the reigns of our corrupt government.

It's not likely that Gore will run. But, what is the purpose of crushing the hopes of those who still hope that he will be involved in the contest?

[Javaman]

27. Because trying to pin ones hopes and glories on one person

is absurdity of the highest order.

I can't honestly think of any other party that has done that before with anyone* else, can you?

[ladjf]

28. Well, our agonies and miseries of today have hinged largely on

the performance of one man, why couldn't hopes for a better future be placed in the services of someone we believe to be honest and intelligent.

If we had a capable and honest Congress and Supreme court, the necessity for stellar President would be less crucial. Since, America, at this point, is almost a complete dictatorship, it appears that we may have to select a "good" dictator to re-establish the type of Constitutional government the was intended by the founders.


In reality, Gore probably isn't going to run, a Democrat is likely to be elected and if so, the situation will improve some. For that matter, any name, taken at random from an American city phone book would yield a much better President that what we now have.

Out of curiosity, what is your hope for the political future of America?

[Javaman]

34. Sigh...

My hopes? My hopes are that the people of this nation wake the fuck up, then the rampant pinning of ones ideals on one person would become passe.

but alas, I don't believe that will happen. People in this nation only react when they are threatened, and not because their system of government is overtly corrupt.

The days of holding our leaders to task have long been supplemented by the propaganda pushed by the evening "news" with eye catching headlines of the shiny new object of the week (fill in your own ridiculous headline or celebrity of the week).

So until all TV's die or all the anchor people come to their senses, my hope for getting the mouth breathers of this nation to pay attention is sadly forgone.

As a result, since we now are in a constitutional dictatorship or corporate fascism (take your pick), it will take pissed off people to change the course of the political spectrum of this nation. And I'm not talking the minority that actually care, I'm talking about the boobs that breath in and out faux news on a daily basis. Until those hypno-lemmings break free of the mind control, I sadly see nothing changing much. At least not for a while, that is of course if the enablers in congress don't change.

I just see more repackaged "choices" who are supposed to represent the people of this nation but in all actuality represent nothing more than themselves getting reelected via the corporate teet.

Lobbying, special interests and corporate donations should be done away with. Rid the nation of the electoral college and vote by popular vote. If the prez has term limits so should members of congress. These are the things that I see that need to change if we are to have a future "politics" in this nation.

The process we witness now has been usurped by corporate forced neo-consumerism. Or dial in and vote for your favorite pop superstar politician.
Ideals, ethics, morals, spine and actual issues have now been done away with in favor of who can out talk the other, irregardless of what is said.

We now live in the era of "gotcha" politics.

My long winded reply to the future of politics as I see it.

[ladjf]

50. You have made lots of accurate and penetrating observations

of American politics.

My view is that the biggest problem with the voting constituency is that they are basing their opinions on completely subjective conjecture rather than objective deduction.

In particular, the right wing preachers are doing an amazing job of leading their lambs, and consequently the rest of us, over the cliff of theological lunacy. They are ready for the "end of time" and unless something is done to stop them, they are going to get their wish.

[DangerDave921]

42. clarify

We're not making fun of Al Gore; we're making fun of those people who deify the man. Those who somehow believe that we would be living in a virtual Eden if only he were Prez. That's who we're making fun of.

[Dr. Strange]

30. I think you just gave me a Goregasm! n/t

[Javaman]

35. LOL nt

[Speck Tater]

16. Gas prices will go up as demand outstrips supply.

Not only will gas prices never be significantly lower than they are right now, it won't be long before we start seeing lines at the pumps again. Demand growth in China and India will soon out pace supply. We will see $4.00/gal gas next, not $2.00/gal gas.

And just to put straight the rumor that's going around, Al cannot walk on water or raise the dead.

[ProfessorPlum]

20. Everyone seems to be willfully ignorant around here

It's not about Gore's magical abilities - it is what OPEC will do in the face of actual energy policy.

[IDemo]

21. If 'turning on the spigots' is what you expect them to do, you're the willfully ignorant one n/t

http://energybulletin.net/33222.html

[ProfessorPlum]

29. Well, if they cannot, then that is actually good news, as we might

see some changes around here.

[Javaman]

39. Check out theoildrum.com or energybulliten.com and you will

see that the various oil producing nations have been sinking more and more wells yet getting meager increases in output.

it's happening as we write.

something wicked this way comes.

[Javaman]

23. It's just amazing now...

first there were the folks that said that gas is going up because of price gouging etc (I'm sure this is some of that but it's not the sole cause) and then there were the others that think Al can walk and water.

Now they have taken to great tastes and put them together!

only Al can save us and everything in the universe!

I want Al to run as much as the next person but last time I checked he's still only human.

oil can't meet demand so it goes up.

basic truths.

It just completely baffles me why some people just don't get it.

[ladjf]

22. Great logic! Any reduction in oil demand will take the pressure

off of the oil prices. By simply ceasing the continual threats of war, the prices would drop. Further, as alternate sources of energy come on line, that will also impact the prices. This is rocket science. It's a matter wresting control of American Gvt. from the hands of the crooks who are now in power. (no easy task, but, doable.)

[Horse with no Name]

26. Gas prices don't need to plummet

Gas prices need to go up so that we start conserving.
However, that money does NOT need to line the pockets of the oil industry, it needs to be put back into efforts for alternative fuels.

[Quantess]

32. I disagree about gas prices.

It makes no difference what gas prices are, as long as Oil Industry giants are calling the shots, we will remain dependent on gas.

The efforts for alternative fuels are not going to take a whole lot of money to research. Money for research is not the issue. There has to be a top-down interest in making alternative fuels a bigger part of the market, and more viable to consumers. Clearly, this will never happen with someone like Bush, who is best friends with Oil.

[ileus]

44. If he can get prices back to 1.10 it'll save my family 60 bucks a week...

[rucky]

45. That is not chump change.

I am grateful to be working at home.

[Rhythm and Blue]

46. Yes, and then he'll give us all free kittens made of rainbows, and

so on and so forth.

While OPEC may have a history of adjusting oil prices, their back is almost certainly up against the wall at the moment. Oil is trading at prices that only a few years ago they had agreed would be economically detrimental (after all, you make more selling 1 million barrels at $1 profit each than you do selling ten barrels at $100,000 profit each, since you're fueling growth and thus demand as well). If they could push out more barrels, they would.

The problem isn't a bunch of wily Arabs and greedy fat white guys conspiring to put up bigger numbers at BP stations, it's that global demand is beginning to outstrip global production ability. Gore would be a good choice due to his demand that we reduce oil dependency, but don't think that will bring in an era of cheap gas. The gas-price train is going to keep chugging faster and faster. Best we hop off as soon as we can.

[Ezlivin]

47. "[F]ree kittens made of rainbows..."

"Honey come quick. There's gold in the litterbox!"

Your line is one of the best I've read in a very long while. Thanks for brightening my day.

"Free kittens made of rainbows." A classic.