Comments on: Without Competition, Oil Companies to Suck Money Out of Our Wallets

By: SteveEV

SteveEV — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:27:00 +0000

We don’t need to mandate anything. The IRS already has provisions to encourage work from home. Make it more well known and easier to claim. Gas prices will take care of the rest. Make more bike routes available too.

By: SteveEV

SteveEV — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:22:00 +0000

The keystone risk includes the responsibility for any spills along the route. The IRS ruled that that oil is not subject to fees for an emergency response fund usually associated with oil pipelines. The local communities get that task while the oil is on its way overseas and the profit goes to Canada. I am all for supporting our northern neighbor but not if it poisons our kids.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:50:00 +0000

I share some of your analysis. Saddam lied about WMDs in order to keep other companies/external enemies at bay.

The Iranian leadership is worried about internal problems and is creating external enemies in an attempt to minimize internal opposition.

I really doubt that the leaders of any of these countries give a flying fig about Israel. But Israel is a great tool for keeping the religious crazies excited and they, in turn, keep the reformers quietened.

We’ve got to drastically cut our oil use. The Middle East is likely to be in turmoil for the next several years. People are not going to tolerate the sorts of governments they’ve had in the past and their first attempt at self government is not guaranteed to be satisfactory. Oil is a tool that they will likely use to gain advantage with other countries.

We don’t need to be one of those other countries.

By: kafantaris

kafantaris — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 07:50:00 +0000

Iran is in a serious dilemma. On the one hand it wants to show the world all it’s got and put it at ease, while on the other hand it fears that such show ‘n tell will give its enemies a roadmap to bomb it.
Saddam Hussein faced a similar dilemma ten years ago. Though he wanted the world to know he had nothing to hide, he also wanted to bluff his archenemy Iran into believing Iraq still had WMD.
Bluffing did not go well for Saddam, and it might not go well for Ahmadinejad.
But since the price tag for ridding Saddam proved high, we ought to reflect what we are asking of Iran now. On the eve of a threatened attack, we are asking it to take us to the depths of its arsenal and show us all it’s got.
Such great expectations are a sign we have been talking to our friends too long and are in need of a broader perspective. Exactly when was the last time we asked Pakistan, India, China or Russia to show us their arsenal?
“But those countries are not advocating the destruction of Israel.”
True, but Israel is not a thorn on their side either.
Surely, however, we can see beyond the hyperboles and figure out their underlying purpose. Or have we forgotten that not all Iranians are thrilled with Ahmadinejad?
He sure hasn’t.
Nor has he forgotten that that his countrymen hate Israel even more. So he tells them that Israel will be wiped from the face of the earth. Expectantly, this nonsense unites them against a common enemy. It even becomes a diversion from the misery and isolation brought on by his anachronistic regime.
Quite clever work by Ahmadinejad — and not a rial spent or a bullet fired.
So why are we letting the crazy talk about destroying Israel get us all worked-up — to the point of turning the world topsy-turvy again.
Can we not plainly see the machinations of an unpopular regime trying to hold on to power?

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Thanks

By: Ty

Ty — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:01:00 +0000

which is why the keystone pipeline is such a bad deal for American consumers. We get all the risk and oil gets all the benefits.

By: Obama: “the American People Aren’t Stupid” (on “Drill, Baby, Drill” Strategy) - CleanTechnica

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:48:07 +0000

[…] we covered last night, drilling more for oil isn’t going to make gas prices fall, and as Obama notes, this has been the “bumper […]

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:16:00 +0000

The Nissan Leaf uses 0.35 kWh of electricity per mile.

At $0.08/kWh one can drive a Leaf a mile for 2.8 cents.

In order to drive a 40MPG gasmobile for 2.8 cents per mile you’d have to be able to buy your gas for $1.12/gallon.

Can we just get on with the transition away from oil? Let the oil companies suck air….

By: rommel43

rommel43 — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:38:00 +0000

I dont think you could effectively mandate that let alone get it passed by alot of the libertarians and republicans

By: Tinfoil

Tinfoil — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:01:00 +0000

“Investing in public transportation – something Republicans in the House of Representatives are currently trying to kill – will give more people alternatives to the gas pump, while at the same time taking more cars off our gridlocked roads.

Programs that encourage ride sharing, bicycling and walking give Americans more choice too, and send less of our money to oil companies and foreign countries.”

There is one major change that Congress and the states can legislate that will have an immediate impact on consumption and, therefore, fuel prices… telecommuting. Most white collar workers only need a phone and computer to work – why not mandate that they must work from home 3 days each week? Developers, accountants, salespeople, marketers, etc could all do their jobs from anywhere. Think about the implications…