WHY ARE GAS PRICES SO HIGH?

This interesting graphic from FoxNews.com shows you.

BILL WHITTLE TALKS PRIVATE SPACE EXPLORATION

        

Not really Robotech related but its pretty cool what Bill Whittle talks about here.

A WORD TO THE WISE

WHO IS TO BLAME TO FOR HIGH GAS PRICES

This video gives you the answer via Hot Air.

Yesterday afternoon, Fox Business Network’s Gerri Willis interviewed Gulf Oil CEO Joe Petrowski, who confirmed what Boehner’s timeline suggests. The government has an inordinate amount of influence over the energy industry and has repeatedly proved itself adept at picking losers to subsidize and winners to penalize.

CAUGHT ON VIDEO: GAS PRICES RISE 10 CENTS IN UNDER 2 MINS

GAS HITS $5 USD PER GALLON IN WASHINGTON DC

GAS PRICES CONTINUE TO SOAR

From CBS Tampa

Talk about pain at the pump! Some Florida drivers are spending nearly $6 a gallon to fill up their gas tanks.

According to GasBuddy.com, motorists are shelling out $5.89 for a gallon of regular gas at a Shell station in Lake Buena Vista, topping out at $5.99 a gallon for premium. It doesn’t get better at a Suncoast Energy station in Orlando, where drivers are paying $5.79 for a gallon of regular.

“Prices over in the Disney World area are much higher than any other place in Florida,” Jessica Brady, AAA spokeswoman, told CBS Tampa, adding that people regularly complain about gas prices in that area.

The Sunshine State is opening up its wallet, paying an average of $3.67 a gallon of unleaded gas, 12 cents more than the national average. And it’s only expected to go up.

“It doesn’t look like we will have relief at the pump anytime soon,” Brady told CBS Tampa. “I do think we will see prices surpass $4 a gallon. I think we will see that closer to spring time.”

One reason for the high prices is the conflict with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the waterway due to the European Union sanctions leveled against the country over its nuclear program, causing the price of crude to skyrocket. Trading on a barrel of crude today is a little over $106.

Another reason for the high gas prices: positive economic news. The drop in the unemployment rate and improved housing market numbers have caused gas and oil prices to rise.

If gas is above $4 USD per gallon by spring there are ging to be many unhappy motorists (and thus voters) this summer. 

 

IF YOU ARE IN POLITICS ITS GOOD TO HAVE ONE OF THESE

Coupon comes from Zombie at PJMedia

10 TO 12 YEARS AGO....

People said the following:

“If drilling [in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] were approved today, it would be ten years before oil arrived in refineries.” — Sierra Magazine, January-February issue, 2002.

“Oil extracted from the Wildlife Refuge would not reach refineries for seven to ten years and would never satisfy more than two percent of our nation’s oil demands at any one time.” — Senator Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), April 17, 2002.

“It would take years and years of development” to generate any supply. — Vice President Al Gore, September 30, 2000. He preferred releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve instead.

The Bush plan to drill in ANWR offers “no real action to bring oil prices down now, no real prospect of freeing ourselves from dependence on big oil and foreign oil.” — Al Gore, Sept. 30, 2000.

GAS PRICES SOAR WELL BEFORE SUMMER DRIVIVNG SEASON

Ouch! 

Higher gas prices could hurt consumer spending and curtail the recent improvement in the U.S. economy.

A 25-cent jump in gasoline prices, if sustained over a year, would cost the economy about $35 billion. That’s only 0.2 percent of the total U.S. economy, but economists say it’s a meaningful amount, especially at a time when growth is only so-so. The economy grew 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter, a rate considered modest following a recession.

High oil and gas prices now set the stage for even sharper increases at the pump because gas typically rises in March and April.

Every spring, refiners suspend operations to switch the type of gasoline they make. Supplies of wintertime gas are sold off before March, when refineries need to start making a new formula of gasoline that’s required in the summer.

That can mean less supply for service stations, resulting in higher gas prices. And summertime gasoline is more expensive to make. The government mandates that it contain less butane and other cheap organic compounds because they contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, a primary constituent in smog. That means more oil, a costlier component, is needed to produce each gallon.

The Oil Price Information Service predicts that gasoline could peak at $4.25 a gallon by the end of April. That would top the record of $4.11 in July 2008.

The national average for gasoline began the year at $3.28 a gallon. The average price for February so far is $3.49 a gallon. That’s up from $3.17 a gallon last February, a record at the time. Back in 2007, before the recession hit, the average for February was $2.25 a gallon.

Gas just broke the $4 USD per gallon threshold near the compound.  If prices hit $5 USD per gallon it will be interesting to watch what the impact will be.

ATLASH SHRUGGED SEQUEL STORY POINT REVEALED

             
Many of you keep asking me about Atlas Shrugged Part II so here is the latest news (with a teaser trailer above)

 The production boasts the inclusion of Duncan Scott, who was producer and editor on the Ayn Rand adaptation We The Living, although it’s unclear exactly what role he’ll play. He has experience as an assistant director, which would put him already ahead of the first film’s director, Paul Johansson, although Johansson almost assuredly will be involved as he played John Galt in the first.

Atlas Shrugged Part II plans on being released in October 2012.

UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS TO 8.3%

From HotAir.com

The US economy had a good month for job creation in December, according to the new report this morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  We added 243,000 net jobs and the unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percent to 8.3%:

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread in the private sector, with large employment gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Government employment changed little over the month.

As promised when the unemployment rate goes down you get GregALouge.