AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

Posted in Uncategorized on June 30th, 2006
Some columns are so easy to write. I just pick a subject that interests me, decide where I stand given everything I can find out about it, and then back up my opinion with proof. I thought this was going to be one of them. Gas prices are going through the roof and it seems pretty damn obvious what going on. We have two Big Oil men in the White House (Bush and Cheney) and they’re paying back their donators by letting them rape the consumers at will. With Big Oil posting record profits and Congress and our executive branch doing nothing about it, I was geared up for some serious Republican bashing. But a funny thing happened on the way to the lynching.
Every article I could find took the stand in one way or another that Bushie and his Boys were lining their pockets with campaign monies from Big Oil and that alone is the reason we’re all paying more at the pump. The Cincinnati Post practically accused every paper in the U.S. of covering for Bush while they ran off with our money, and the Boston Globe flat out called the Bush Administration looters. The problem is, while they did a good job of showing us how much money the Republican Party was raking in from Big Oil through campaign financing, they didn’t do anything to show me this was unique to the U.S. and therefore linked to our beloved president’s policies. Well, computer in hand, Ol’ H.C. set out to do just that. First stop, Canada, where Paul Martin (Canada’s Prime Minister up until just recently) and his left wing administration would surely show me how not bowing to the oil companies would translate into cheaper gas for the masses. First I had to do some math as Canada sells it’s gas in liters instead of gallons, (God, I hate math). After multiplying every liter price by 3.78541 (no wonder the metric system never caught on here, sheesh) something strange happened. Not only is our gas cheaper, $2.91 a gallon U.S. vs. $3.98 a gallon in Canada (all of this will be in U.S. dollars), but gas in Canada has been going up faster by percent than in the U.S.of A. From June of 2004 to June of 2006, gas in the U.S. went from $1.66 /gal to $2.91 /gal, a rise of 175%, in that same period, gas in Canada went from $2.18 /gal to $3.98 /gal, a rise of 183%. Gee, I didn’t know Paul Martin was an oilman too, those bastards are everywhere.
In fact, the price of gas throughout most of the world is not only higher than we’re paying, (just check out this list that CNN published) but has been rising faster in most countries than in the U.S.A. This doesn’t do a very good job of proving that the Bush administration is behind the high price of gas.
Well, maybe if I took a different route I could prove how Bush has been helping Big Oil rape us. Let’s look at how the price of gas has paralleled the price of a barrel of oil, maybe we can find something that proves it’s not following the trends that it should. When the price of a barrel of oil was at $35 (spring of 2004) the price of gas in the U.S. stood at $1.74, by June 2006 the price of a barrel of oil was $70 and the price of gas was again $2.91, with refinery costs being relatively stable, it’s right where it should be.
So what about the profits H.C.? Big Oil is raking in record amounts. Well, that’s true, and very frustrating, but their profit margin is based on a percentage of a dollar, as is most businesses. The products in your store are based on the same model, given that fact, your local merchant makes more money on selling something that cost $10 than he does on something that costs $5. Therefore, gas makes more money for the oil companies at $3 a gallon than it does at $1.50. This business model didn’t start under Bush, it’s always been that way. It’s also the way they do business in other countries, not just the U.S..
By now your probably getting frustrated, as am I, that there’s not an easy villain to crucify. If not our corrupt government, if not the big oil companies, if not that bastard Bush, THEN WHO’S TO BLAME!! Well, first, you have to understand that oil is a global commodity and that its supply and demand has to do with a lot of factors out of our control. China and India for instance, have been buying cars left and right (China increased car sales by 24.1% in May ‘06) and with an improving standard of living are adding oil and gas heat to their homes. This is increasing demand on a market already short in supply. Add to that the War in Iraq (one thing you can blame on Bush, but a small part of the total picture, less than 2% of the world’s supply), an unstable situation in Iran, government takeover of oil wells in Venezuela, war in Nigeria, and Katrina disrupting refineries and you have a stage set for high prices. All of this is reflective in the price of oil worldwide, not just in the U.S..
As for the U.S. we all need to face the reality, we consume too much gas. Big S.U.V.s, Two cars in every family, Boats, and recreational vehicles like jet skis and snow sleds are all contributing to the problem. We’ve all been acting like gas was a never ending fountain for us to enjoy whenever and however we wanted. The truth is, it’s coming to an end whether you admit it or not. The consumption of oil worldwide has now reached 90 million barrels a day, production, at full capacity, is only 94 million a day. Not much room for growth. If China and India and a few other countries continue to grow at their present rate we will soon find ourselves either without oil or at war for it. I know it’s hard not to want to blame someone for our situation, but unless we find some way to alleviate the world’s need, we’re going to find ourselves in a much worse way. No matter who’s in office. It’s interesting to note that even with the price of gas nearly doubling in two years; our consumption is only down 3% for May ‘06. New technology for cars will help, but it will be years before enough of them will be on the road to make a difference. The only thing that can help us now is for all of us to seriously cut back. The problem is, we’ll all think our needs are too important, and that someone else should do it. Bitch all you want, at who ever you want, but the times of never ending oil supplies are almost over, and that’s the inconvenient truth. H.C.