Rush
to exploit new offshore oil hampered by shortage of drilling ships
As President George W. Bush considers
repealing a ban on drilling off most of the coast of the United States, a
shortage of ships used for such drilling promises to impede any rapid
turnaround in oil exploration.
Slow growth in oil supplies, at a time
of soaring demand, has been a major factor in the spike in oil and gasoline
prices. In recent years, a global shortage of drill ships has created a
critical bottleneck, frustrating energy company executives and constraining
their ability to exploit known reserves or find new ones.
As oil trades at more than $135 a
barrel - up from $68 a year ago - drill ships around the world are booked
solid for the next five years. Some oil companies have been forced to
postpone exploration while waiting for a drilling rig.
So, you hate
"big oil" and the soaring gasoline prices they are forcing on you?
You've bought into the Democrats and Republicrats rhetoric about greed and
"unjustified" profits, and you can't wait for someone to be elected
president and get even with those evil corporate robber barons that are
profiting at your expense.
Well before you get all excited about tearing down the energy industry, stop
and think for a moment about what makes your comfortable life possible.
Your heat and most of your electricity are provided through the burning of
oil and natural gas. The thousands of plastic items in your home, car
and office are all made from crude oil. Much of your clothing is woven of
fibers made from petroleum.Without the hard work and ingenuity of the men
and women who work for the energy companies, we would be living in the 17th
century - no electricity, running water, cars, trucks, airplanes, ships,
factories, waterproof clothing, soda bottles, safety glass, sterile food and
medical containers, air conditioners, televisions, microwave ovens, X-Boxes,
I-Pods, or any of the millions of other products made using power generated
from the burning of fossil fuels.
Let
me tell you what we've done here in congress. We told you that drilling in
ANWR is off limits. We told you that drilling off the coast of Florida and
California is off limits. We told you, Mr. Big oil, that there wouldn't be
any new leases for drilling in the Gulf while China and Venezuela and even
Cuba pursued these leases and have just signed 100-year leases on the oil in
the Gulf of Mexico. We here in congress have promised, as all three
presidential candidates have also promised, to introduce and pass in the
next term a cap and trade legislation bill that will increase the price of
gasoline according to the EPA by an additional $1.50. Some people say it
could be as high as $5 additional per gallon. We have said that we're
shutting down oil fields in Colorado. We won't let you develop shale oil
fields in several Western states. And yesterday we passed legislation that
would let us sue OPEC with the full understanding that they'll never
retaliate. Yes. We have allowed environmental attorneys to sue you big oil
fiends for future possible destruction of Alaskan Eskimo village
In
the past few months, American workers, consumers, and businesses have
experienced a sudden and dramatic rise in gasoline prices. In some parts of
the country, gasoline costs as much as $4 per gallon. Some politicians claim
that the way to reduce gas prices is by expanding the government’s power to
regulate prices and control the supply of gasoline. For example, the House
of Representatives has even passed legislation subjecting gas stations
owners to criminal penalties if they charge more than a federal bureaucrat
deems appropriate. Proponents of these measures must have forgotten the
1970s, when government controls on the oil industry resulted in gas lines
and shortages.
Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the
World.
Many
parts of
America, long
considered the breadbasket of the world, are now confronting a once
unthinkable phenomenon: food rationing.
Major retailers in
New York, in areas
of
New England, and on
the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as
demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some
consumers are hoarding grain stocks.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores
Inc's Sam's Club warehouse division said on Wednesday that it is limiting
sales of Jasmine, Basmati and long grain white rices "due to recent supply
and demand trends."
The news comes a day after Costco
Wholesale Corp, the largest U.S. warehouse club operator, said it had seen
increased demand for items like rice and flour as customers, worried about
global food shortages, stock up.
Sure, oil companies make a lot of cash. But, for that
money, they get us to work, get ambulances to the hospital, keep our homes
warm, and employ thousands of our friends and neighbors while financing
their retirement, paying their health care, and providing energy to
millions. Because of capitalism, they have the incentive to do that. I've
yet to see what our government does for us with their rather large chunk of
each gallon of gas we buy, and I've yet to see them offer to return it or
suggest a gas-tax-windfall-tax-tax.
Well there may not be a space
asteroid heading toward us, but there is an economic one -- and the threat
to our future is just as severe.
FULL STORY HERE
Opposing
Socialism
Let
me tell you what we've done here in congress. We told you that drilling in
ANWR is off limits. We told you that drilling off the coast of Florida and
California is off limits. We told you, Mr. Big oil, that there wouldn't be
any new leases for drilling in the Gulf while China and Venezuela and even
Cuba pursued these leases and have just signed 100-year leases on the oil in
the Gulf of Mexico. We here in congress have promised, as all three
presidential candidates have also promised, to introduce and pass in the
next term a cap and trade legislation bill that will increase the price of
gasoline according to the EPA by an additional $1.50. Some people say it
could be as high as $5 additional per gallon. We have said that we're
shutting down oil fields in Colorado. We won't let you develop shale oil
fields in several Western states. And yesterday we passed legislation that
would let us sue OPEC with the full understanding that they'll never
retaliate. Yes. We have allowed environmental attorneys to sue you big oil
fiends for future possible destruction of Alaskan Eskimo village
In
the past few months, American workers, consumers, and businesses have
experienced a sudden and dramatic rise in gasoline prices. In some parts of
the country, gasoline costs as much as $4 per gallon. Some politicians claim
that the way to reduce gas prices is by expanding the government’s power to
regulate prices and control the supply of gasoline. For example, the House
of Representatives has even passed legislation subjecting gas stations
owners to criminal penalties if they charge more than a federal bureaucrat
deems appropriate. Proponents of these measures must have forgotten the
1970s, when government controls on the oil industry resulted in gas lines
and shortages. 
Many
parts of
