Do you care?

Darrell Barker

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

dARRELL bARKER
www.kickgasatthepump.com

American Tax payers are doing that.

It’s time to STOP this slick oil scam.

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

Check it out and then join me with Pickens

www.pickensplan.com

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

BUT, (oh the proverbial “but,”)

Ok, but keeping tires inflated, like Obama says, can improve gas mileage by 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow his advice, but if everyone else did, and followed MY advise, we could reduce our consumption even more and we can do it NOW, not 20 years from now.

What say ye?

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Filling up the gas tank is taking an economic toll on three-quarters of American households, the highest level in more than two years, according to a poll released Friday.

In telephone interviews conducted July 27-29, 75 percent of 527 respondents told CNN/Opinion Research that high gas prices are causing financial hardship for them or their households.

That was up from 60 percent saying gas prices were causing hardship in late April and 69 percent in April 2006.

The poll had a sampling error of 4.5 percent.
–From CNNMoney.com’s Andrew Tangel

Sigh,

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

Gasoline pricing has come down for 9 straight days in a row.

I’m not going to be pleased. I REFUSE TO BE HAPPY.

The fuel crisis has reeked havoc on our economical stability

and STILL TOO HIGH AND WE ALL KNOW IT.

I’m still going to Pass Gas via www.kickgasathepump.com

Darrell Barker

Fuel prices fall for 8th day in a row to a level not seen since early June.

I’m glad to have some “good news” to report in here.

Darrell Barker

www.kickgasatthepump.com

Speculation in the Oil Market. I like what Murray has to say.

Read This:

Dear Mr. Barker:

Thank you for writing me about speculation in the energy market. It is good to hear from you on this important issue.

As you know, high oil prices are having a severe impact on families, businesses, and our entire economy. The price of crude oil has jumped from approximately $60 per barrel in early 2007 to more than $140 per barrel in July 2008, and prices remain highly volatile. This volatility and the increase in price have had a detrimental effect on many aspects of our economy, particularly impacting small businesses as well as on American families trying to budget their expenses.

Questions have been raised regarding whether excessive speculation by investors in commodity markets is contributing to the price volatility of oil. The federal government, through the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is responsible for oversight of commodities trading markets to prevent manipulation and excessive speculation from occurring.  In the past few years, there has been a massive increase in the amount of trading activity that takes place on the energy futures markets.  However, annual funding to support the CFTC’s has not kept pace with the increased market activity that it monitors. In addition, CFTC’s regulatory structure has not evolved and has become outdated in comparison to the growing complexity of today’s global futures market.  These deficiencies are hindering the government’s ability to conduct oversight over market activity and properly regulate trading.

As a result, I have coauthored legislation with the Senate Democratic leadership to provide the CFTC with new authority and resources to curb excessive speculation. This bill, S. 3268, the Stop Excessive Speculation Act of 2008, would help the CFTC address its current challenges by strengthening its access to information on oil market trading, increasing its staff and resources, and closing existing loopholes that have been used to avoid regulation and transparency. In addition, S. 3268 would create working groups to investigate the markets and effects of speculation. These new regulations would greatly enhance the ability of the federal government to monitor energy market trading and stop illegal activity that could be inflating oil prices.

Enhancing government oversight of futures markets is key to ensure trading is adequately regulated.  However, we must continue to develop a comprehensive energy plan that will decrease our dependence on foreign fossil fuels and allow for the transition into using clean, alternative forms of energy.  Diversification of our energy supply is imperative to decreasing our dependence on oil and to averting future energy crises. As the 110th Congress continues I will work with my colleagues to pass legislation that will increase regulation over market speculation, further alternative energy development, and increase our energy independence. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, and please keep in touch.

Good letter eh?

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasathepump.com

]]> http://kickgas.wordpress.com/2008/07/19/senator-murray/feed/ 0 Kick Gas At The Pump . com http://kickgas.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/10-places-to-ride-out-the-gas-gouge/ http://kickgas.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/10-places-to-ride-out-the-gas-gouge/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:09:48 +0000 kickgas http://kickgas.wordpress.com/?p=107 ]]> If you can afford the gas to get there, move to these 10 places

where you spend less time in your car to live life.

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

on not drilling off shore.

Life is more than just getting around, it’s about preservation too.

It’s my opinion, IF YOU CARE, that the two oil men up in the whitehouse

have manipulated conditions and have had secret agreements with

the Saudi’s to bring this quest for more oil drilling about.

Now Congress is CONSIDERING IT.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/17/congress.oil/index.html

Sigh,

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

to you by US. We consumers are mostly responsible for this drop

because the oil companies are experiencing less demand from

we consumers as we desperately cut back on our driving.

CAN’T YOU SEE NOW THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE THIS

ON OUR OWN ALL ALONG?

How many emails have you gotten that suggested we

all tell someone and they tell someone to not buy gas

on this day or that day or from that oil company? Many huh.

And yet we couldn’t find a way to organize it for our own

benefit, so we suffered by our own lack of vision and insight.

Now, it’s happening but not the way it should have.

CNN Money today says:

Oil prices plummeted by the second-largest margin on record Tuesday as investors feared a further decline in U.S. demand after hearing comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Let’s run with THIS revelation and put the oil rig screws to them by further conservation.

Darrell Barker
Kick Their Gas

The biggest drop in oil prices in 6 years

High prices for energy are hurting me and my family and I strongly urge Congress to act immediately to lower costs for all Americans.

Rampant speculation in the commodities futures market is driving up prices out of proportion to marketplace demands. The problem is speculators are increasingly buying and selling commodities such as oil even though they have no intention of using the product. The unregulated speculators are pocketing billions of dollars at our expense. The cost of food has gone up, the price at the pump has gone way up, and I’m already concerned about how much more it will cost to heat my home this winter.

To lower oil prices for all Americans we need to increase domestic supply, exploration, alternative energy sources and conservation. We also must protect bona fide speculation and hedging.

To address excessive speculation, Congress should promptly take the following actions:

1. Re-establish strict position limits on energy commodities – Position limits have existed since 1936 and work well at curtailing excessive speculation. Any trader that is not hedging with the intention of taking physical delivery of a related commodity must be subject to strict position limits in all contract months.

2. Close the London Loophole – Foreign Boards of Trade with U.S. Terminals trading futures contracts that cash-settle against U.S. contracts should face the exact same regulations as U.S. exchanges. It is not fair for U.S. futures exchanges to face more regulation than their foreign counterparts trading in U.S. commodities.

3. Regulate “swaps trades” – All trades in the over-the-counter (OTC) swaps market must be subject to strict position limits. It is unfair to exempt swaps dealers from the same regulations that other market participants face. Experts have estimated the size of the OTC markets as nine or ten times larger than the futures markets.

4. Fully close the “Enron loophole” – “Exempt Commercial Markets” that trade U.S. contract which are nearly identical to fully regulated contracts should no longer be exempt from the same regulations that apply to Designated Commercial Markets such as the NYMEX.

5. Bring transparency to all energy trading – Positions of traders in all markets should be reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and should be properly categorized based on where the trades occur and who is doing the trading. This will provide vital information that can be used to detect and prevent market manipulation.

Thank you for listening to my concerns. By adopting these common-sense solutions, Congress can dramatically reduce the price of oil and gas, providing immediate relief for businesses and families like mine.

Link Here To Tell Your Congressman/woman

Link here to put $10.00 LESS each fillup in the pockets of speculators.

$9.00 in the last two days.

There IS a god.

Fill er Up.

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

The agreement by the Group of Eight industrialized economies — which includes the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia — was struck during the G-8 summit in northern Japan.

The goal must be compatible with “economic growth and energy security,” the leaders said in a statement. They also said it must be done with cooperation from all major economies, including China and India.

However critics argued that the 50 percent reduction target was insufficient, and have called for ambitious midterm targets for countries to cut emissions by 2020.

“At this rate, by 2050 the world will be cooked and the G-8 leaders will be long forgotten,” Antonio Hill, spokesman for Oxfam International, told The Associated Press.

“The G-8′s endorsement of a tepid 50 by 50 climate goal leaves us with a 50-50 chance of a climate meltdown. Rather than a breakthrough, the G-8′s announcement on 2050 is another stalling tactic,” he said.

Kim Carstensen, Director of the WWF Global Climate Initiative, was equally scathing: “So little progress after a whole year of minister meetings and negotiations is not only a wasted opportunity, it falls dangerously short of what is needed to protect people and nature from climate change.”

Ben Wikler of AVAAZ, a group that champions environmental concerns, said: “The failure to act on 2020 targets is a failure to take responsibility, and our members around the world feel that there is a childishness to not taking responsibility.”

The European Union is on record as wanting an agreement to require developed countries to cut their emissions by 25 to 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2020. The United States, Japan and Canada oppose those targets.

Previous efforts to prompt coordinated global action on climate change have stalled.

Ten years ago, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change passed the Kyoto Protocol with the goal of limiting greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The United States was the only one among 175 parties — including the European Union — to reject it. Washington has long argued that China and India should be required to address their rapidly rising emissions. President Bush opposed the Kyoto Protocol because it did not include strict emissions limits for China and India.

During the Bali conference on climate change last year, the United States reluctantly signed onto an agreement calling for two years of additional negotiations on reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The Bali pact is meant as a guide for more climate talks, which will culminate in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009.

Darrell Barker says:

The insipid denial of the president to act is equal to his denial that this is the only world we have on into the far future. Bush needs to stop obsessing with the “after life” in lieu of RIGHT NOW.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Mikhail Glikberg remembers when he made a decent living as a taxi driver in Boston. He could work a 12-hour shift and take home up to $80 a day after expenses.

That was a few years ago. Now, with gas above $4 a gallon, he pays up to $60 a day at the pump instead of $15. He’s lucky if he clears $20.

“Sometimes I ask myself at night when I don’t make anything, “Why do I do it?” said Glikberg, 51, who has cruised the Boston streets for 17 years. “Whatever I make, I spend on gas.”

While all drivers are reeling from soaring fuel prices, cabbies are feeling the crunch more than most. They spend an average of $14,400 a year on gas, up 42% over the past two years, according to the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association, a Rockville, Md.-based trade group.

But unlike those in other industries, cabbies can’t just raise rates to cushion themselves against the price spike. In most places, taxi fares are regulated by the local government, leading drivers to petition officials for help. The latest drive came Monday, when New York City cabbies asked for a $1 fuel surcharge.

Drivers are doing what they can to reduce their expenses and make more money. Some are working longer hours or more days. Others are trolling for rides less or spending more time at the airport, where they can shut off their engines. A few are turning in their car keys and looking for other jobs.

“Some drivers are literally deciding whether to buy a tank of gas or buy food,” said Donna Blythe-Shaw, staff representative for United Steelworkers, which represents the Boston Taxi Drivers Association, which is asking for a fare hike.

Raising rates

At least 34 communities, including Las Vegas and Philadelphia, have raised rates over the past two years, according to the trade group. Another 11 – Miami and Chicago, among them – have approved temporary fuel surcharges ranging from 50 cents to $2.50 per trip. Other places, such as Boston and Milwaukee, are considering giving a boost to cabbies’ bottom lines.

“Because most cities are in the process of adjusting the rates, drivers are holding on,” said Alfred LaGasse, the group’s chief executive office. “But some communities are awfully slow to respond.”

Boston cab drivers, who haven’t seen meter rates change in six years, want fares to go up to 45 cents per one-eighth mile, an increase of 15 cents, and the starting rate to rise to $2.75, a 50-cent jump. This would hike the cost of a 4-mile ride by about $5, Blythe-Shaw said. The Boston Police Department, which regulates rates, should decide whether to approve the proposal in coming weeks.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, meanwhile, Monday asked the city for a fuel surcharge of $1 when gas costs more than $3.50 a gallon and $1.50 if it goes above $5 a gallon, said Bhairavi Desai, the group’s executive director. Cabbies now are paying up to $1,200 more a month for fuel, which is coming out of their pocket, she noted.

The city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission, however, said that current circumstances do not warrant a surcharge, noting the drivers have received two fare increases since 2004.

Government officials say the surcharges and rate hikes generally have not met much opposition from the public. They said they favor surcharges pegged to the price of gas because they are easy to implement, temporary and can be re-evaluated. That’s why Miami, for instance, recently revamped its laws to implement a fuel surcharge, said Cathy Peel, director of Miami-Dade County’s Consumer Service Department.

Balancing interests of passengers

However, officials said they have to keep in mind the interests of passengers and the tourism industry. Higher fares could have a ripple effect. And, they could even backfire on cabbies if a rate hike prompts more people to walk or take public transit.

“At some point you have to ask what’s going to stop people from taking a cab,” said Norma Reyes, commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Consumer Services, which oversees rates. “Will a fare increase reduce the income a driver is making because less people will take cabs?”

Even the fuel surcharge isn’t helping, some say. But many cabbies have little choice but to bear it and find a way to make ends meet, said Diego Feliciano, president of the South Florida Taxicab Association. Often, cabbies are immigrants with little experience beyond driving, he said. This makes it hard for them to find other jobs, particularly in a weak economy.

Take Henry Gomez, who has driven a cab in Chicago for 12 years. He said he finds passengers take the surcharge out of his tip. So he has to drive more, cruising up to 14 hours a day instead of 12.

Moreover, he’s lost his weekends. Gomez used to work a half day on Saturday and take Sunday off. Now he works a full shift on Saturday and a half day on Sunday.

“I have to work more hours to make less money, but I don’t have a choice,” said Gomez, adding that another line of work isn’t an option for him. “If they keep raising prices, I don’t know what I’m going to do. But with this economy, where are you going to find a job?” 

Submitted by Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

I’m putting my proverbial neck out here .  .  .

           Because I am aware of the idealogical religious wars going on

between the Muslim clerics and their nefarious minions of suicide

bombers and fanatical followers against we “infidels,” and because of the growing political influence they

sway over their host country, I say this:

         Behind closed Mosk doors, the muslim clerics are pressuring the oil rich political powers

that be to “get the infidels” where it hurts, IN THEIR POCKET BOOKS.

         This could be why we are paying $140 a barrel for our oil. I’m NOT saying it IS,

I’m surmising  that it could be the real smoking gun here.

             Looking back on the 911 events and the obvious religious motives, and since most clerics don’t

have weapons of mass  destruction, I can’t help but think they are now all about hurting we “decadent

infidels,” we vunerable oil dependent American and Europeans and our way of life.

         “Osamo Been Forgotten” saw how it’s war with Russia severely crippled the Russian

government economically and that’s why I think they symbolically hit the Twin Towers, in part, in a real

attempt to stab at the “financial heart” of America.

             I suspect this is what might be happening with the surge of crude oil.

What Say Ye?

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

in my life time. It’s not about supply and demand, it’s clearly about

humans arbitrarily raising prices just because THEY CAN.

I also have a controversial theory I’ll post after this one.

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

I mentioned that crude oil was $100 a barrel. It’s now, as of today, $140.

I know of no other business that has EVER had a 40% increase in pricing in

within a short 5 month period in my life time.

If this isn’t MARKET MANIPULATION, then I don’t know what is, it smacks

the legal face of the anti-trust laws with it’s suspicious price fixing implications.

Meanwhile Dow Jones tumbles 350 points in large part due to this most disheartening news.

Sigh,

You can fight back, REGAINING 30% of that hit BACK by buying my book.

www.kickgasatthepump.com

Darrell Barker

having just put water in the tank to avoid paying the hundreds of dollars

to fill it up upon returning it.

They say it runs “ok” for the mile of so it takes to drive the truck to

return it. The next customer rents it, and finds out what the previous

customer has done.

Video

Sigh

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

World Oil

World oil demand is surging as supplies approach their limits.

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

Interesting car designs too.

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

http://economatters.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/all-major-auto-manufacturers-are-designing-their-own-electric-cars/

Honda began production of its new FCX Clarity fuel cell car Monday. The Japanese automaker will produce about 200 of them over the next three years. Honda would not say how many will make it to the U.S., but those that do will be leased only in Southern California.

The FCX Clarity converts compressed hydrogen gas into water in a process that releases a stream of electricity that powers the car. Fuel cars are “zero emission” vehicles, releasing only water vapor exhaust. It gets about 79 miles per “gallon equivalent” in city driving and 68 on the highway, according to Honda. (Electric motors produce maximum turning power at low speeds, and the cars have single-speed transmissions, so fuel economy on the highway is lower than in the city.)

In California, a three-year lease will run $600 a month, which includes collision insurance and maintenance.

Honda has previously estimated it will cost about $1 million to build each car.

General Motors already has a test fleet of about 100 fuel cell-powered Chevrolet Equinox SUVs in the hands of “ordinary consumers” in California, New York and Washington D.C.

We were able to test drive an early version of the Honda FCX last year in Washington D.C. The car Honda is now building is nearly identical.

Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.

Observe the Speed Limit

While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas.

Observing the speed limit is also safer.

Remove Excess Weight

Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle’s weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.

OK, do the math, taking the average savings of these recommended tips above and adding them to my 30% savings using my technique you are now looking at a fuel savings of over 50%.

Alrighty then, say you pay $50.00 to fillup your tank, by doing these things above you get to drive $25 worth longer on the road than you otherwise would.

What’s not to love?

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

Out-of-control gas prices are choking off the American dream for working families. But instead of boosting the economy by investing in jobs and renewable energy, George Bush gave tax breaks to millionaires and oil companies. And he’s spending $10 billion a month on the war in Iraq.

John McCain? More of the same. He’s voted with Bush to help the special interests, not working families. Now he wants to give even MORE tax breaks to Big Oil.

Enough! It’s time to fight back.

Download a flier and a fact sheet about how the Bush-McCain love affair with Big Oil is harming working families. Share it with the people you know.

• Since President Bush took office, gas prices have risen from $1.47 a gallon to more than $4. Bush’s administration has done all it can to protect Big Oil’s profits—in fact, the top five oil companies have made $525 billion in profits under Bush. Last year alone, ExxonMobil made $40 billion in profits—the largest single-year profits ever made by a U.S. company.

And John McCain is right in lockstep with Bush.

• McCain’s tax plan would give $3.8 billion in tax cuts to the five largest American oil companies.
  
• Like Bush, McCain protects Big Oil’s profits. Last year, McCain was the only senator to miss a vote on the energy bill repealing tax subsidies for oil companies. In 2005, he voted against a temporary windfall profits tax on oil companies to fund tax credits for working families. Previously, he opposed ending tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies related to depletion and drilling costs.
  
• McCain has received $723,777 in campaign contributions from oil and gas industry PACs and employees—almost twice as much as Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

While all this is going on, working families are struggling with stagnant wages, soaring health care costs, home foreclosures and disappearing jobs as well as impossible gas prices.

But Big Oil execs are raking it in. Take a look at some of their 2007 pay packages: ExxonMobil’s CEO Rex Tillerson got $21.7 million. Occidental Petroleum Corp. CEO Ray Irani got $34.2 million. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. CEO James Hackett got $26.7 million. And ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva got $15.1 million.

Interesting.
Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

“WORK TO PREVENT AN UNJUSTIFIED RISE IN PRICES?”

What a load of real crap that is.

Stating that you will try to prevent that which you created to
try and fool we consumers is plain greedy insanity.

“A meeting” ! ! ! ! This is down to a MEETING?

Folks, let’s not be stupid for they’ve BEEN having meetings with Cheney
and Bush for years and if you don’t think this rise in oil is all by a “because we can”
manufactured attitude and for no other reason than to rape the world
of it’s hard earned money, then please call me, I’ve a dry oil well in Kansas for sale.

I am SICK OF THIS BS.

Darrell Barker

AOMORI, Japan (AP) — The world’s top industrialized nations and leading oil consumers pledged Sunday to fight skyrocketing energy prices by increasing efficiency and accelerating investment in new technologies, while urging producers to expand production.

Energy ministers from the Group of Eight countries, joined by China, India and South Korea, voiced concerns over record oil prices and said both producers and consumers would benefit from greater market stability.

Ministers, meeting in the northern Japanese city of Aomori, focused Sunday on how they could diversify their energy sources to both control rising demand for oil and rein in emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

“We simply must increase the level and breadth of investment all around the world,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. “That means promoting aggressive investment in renewable energy and other alternative energies technologies, as well as the development of tradition hydrocarbon resources.”

The 11 nations, which account for 65% of the world’s energy consumption, grappled with oil prices that have hit record highs. Prices made a massive 8 percent gain Friday to $138.54 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The G-8 countries – the United States, Russia, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Britain – laid out ways of cutting their dependence on oil in a statement.

They pledged to launch 20 demonstration projects by 2010 on so-called “carbon capture and storage,” which would allow power plants to catch emissions and inject them into underground storage spaces.

While that technology is still in its infancy, proponents say it could eventually allow the expanded exploitation of the world’s abundant supply of cheap coal without polluting the environment and speeding global warming.

There were clear rifts, however, on how to approach the expansion of nuclear energy. The carefully worded joint statement called for assurances on safety and security of nuclear materials, but several nations said they were enthusiastic about building new reactors.

The International Energy Agency, in a report issued last week, estimated the world would have to construct 32 new nuclear power plants each year from now until 2050 as part of an effort to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent.

“I think we’re on the verge of a new nuclear age and that will be a positive thing for the world,” said John Hutton, British secretary of state for business enterprise and regulatory reform.

Germany, however, said it would not join the effort. Jochen Homann, Germany’s economics minister, said Berlin was sticking to its decision to phase out nuclear power.

The G-8, China, India and South Korea also established the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation to promote best practices in conserving energy.

While the participants called for more oil production, it could take months to get a response. Production levels have been flat for three years and Chakib Khelil, the president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has said the group will make no new decision on output until a Sept. 9 meeting in Vienna.

The ministers met amid rising concerns that soaring oil prices could trigger global economic troubles. Fanning such fears, both Japan and the United States have announced higher unemployment rates in recent weeks.

“The situation regarding energy prices is becoming extremely challenging,” warned Akira Amari, Japan’s trade and energy minister. “If left unaddressed, it may well cause a recession in the global economy.”

The Sunday meeting followed a joint statement by five top energy consumers – the U.S., Japan, China, India and South Korea– that warned high prices were a menace to the world economy and more petroleum should be produced to meet rising demand. They argued the unprecedented prices were against the interests of both producers and consumers, and imposed a “heavy burden” on developing countries.

The group, however, diverged over oil subsidies. The International Energy Agency has estimated that oil subsidies in China, India and the Middle East totaled about $55 billion in 2007.

The United States urged countries such as China to lower oil supports, which buoy demand, while poorer developing nations said removing subsidies could trigger political and economic unrest.

It’s about time.

Darrell Barker says: It’s ABOUT TIME
www.kickgasatthepump.com

The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline rose 0.2 cent to $3.988 a gallon, 0.1 cent shy of the record $3.989 set Thursday, according to the motorist group’s Web site.

The average is expected to top $4 in the next few days, after a surge in crude oil prices that has added more than $16 to a barrel of oil since Wednesday. Crude settled at a record $138.54 a barrel Friday, up by $10.75, after setting an all-time intraday high of $139.12.

The $10.75 gain was the biggest one-day advance in dollar value ever, nearly doubling the previous mark of $5.49 set Thursday.

Weakness in the dollar, geopolitical concerns and an analyst’s prediction of $150-a-barrel oil by July 4 helped spur Friday’s advance.

California pays the most for gasoline, according to the survey, averaging $4.415, followed by Alaska at $4.288. The average price is $4 a gallon or more in 13 states and the District of Columbia; on Saturday, Maine became the 13th state to join the list.

Missouri has the lowest average price at $3.784, followed by South Carolina at $3.788.

Gasoline prices in the survey have risen for 30 of the past 32 days, setting records on 28 of those days. The price fell 0.3 cent Friday.

On its Web site, AAA says the information is gathered by Oil Price Information Service based on credit card swipes at 85,000 gasoline stations across the nation. 

Darrell Barker says: How high does it have to go before you impliment my 30% reduction in your fuel costs?

www.kickgasatthepump.com

I have done it, so can you

Darrell Barker

– Rising oil and gas prices have lawmakers and consumers scrambling for solutions, but it is unclear whether anything can be done to lower energy costs in the short term, experts say.

The price of oil has doubled over the past year. A barrel of crude oil cost about $65 in June 2007; it is currently hovering around $130 a barrel.

Prices have skyrocketed as a result, with some American consumers paying more than $4 a gallon. The national average is $3.95 per gallon, according to a AAA survey published May 29. A year ago, the national average was about $3.20.

Observers say several factors, domestic and global, are responsible for the price increases.

Although demand is falling in places like the United States and Europe because of high prices, it is surging in emerging markets like China and India.

Meanwhile, concerns are rising that supply — battered by political instability in some oil-rich countries and a decision by others to not increase production substantially — is not keeping up with demand.

Additionally, the declining value of the dollar, the currency used by the international oil market, has made it easier for Asian and European countries to purchase oil.

Some experts say speculation may also be playing a role in the rising price of oil. Many investors look to commodities like oil to act as a buffer against inflation, which typically occurs when — as is the case now — interest rates are low and the dollar is weakened. Other experts say the effect of speculation is minimal to negligible.

Whatever the cause, federal and state lawmakers are anxiously searching for short-term relief. Their options, however, seem limited.

The gas tax holiday debate

Two presidential candidates, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton, proposed a federal gas tax holiday this year to provide some savings for American consumers.

The plan would place a moratorium on the 18.4 cent-a-gallon federal gas tax for the summer, the time of year when Americans tend to drive the most.

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, an Illinois senator, called the proposal a gimmick. He voted for such a tax holiday in his home state in 2000 but said it provided little benefit for consumers.

In addition to Illinois, three states — Florida, Indiana, and Georgia — have enacted gas tax holidays over the past decade. Lawmakers in several states are mulling similar cuts this year, according to published reports.

The combination of local, state and federal taxes can total more than 40 cents a gallon in some parts of the country, according to the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group that represents the American oil and natural gas industry.

Florida had a month-long gas tax holiday in August 2004. A state Department of Revenue statement announcing the end of the holiday said the state’s drivers saw a decrease of 11 cents a gallon because of the tax cut.

An Illinois government study examining that state’s suspension of motor fuel sales tax of about 7 cents a gallon in July 2000 said that although the tax holiday decreased prices at the pump, “the degree to which the reduction was passed on to motorists cannot be precisely measured.”

It is difficult to predict how much consumers would save through a gas tax holiday because of the many factors — from oil companies to retailers — that contribute to the price at the pump, experts say. Any of them along the supply chain could pocket the savings from the tax cuts.

“The idea is that if you have this tax holiday, then the 18.4 cents a gallon [federal gas tax] will all go to the consumer to be saved,” said Doug McIntyre, an analyst at the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “The question is whether the retailers would pass that all along or would try to capture some of that reduction as well.

“No one really knows.”

Short-term solutions

The debate over the gas tax holiday raises the broader question of whether there is anything the U.S. government can do to reduce the price of fuel in the short term.

“I think if anybody had a good answer, it probably would have been implemented by now,” McIntyre said.

Some lawmakers recently proposed that the government release oil from an emergency stockpile but were rebuffed by the U.S. Energy Department.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 701 million barrels of oil and is generally used to respond to supply crises. That stockpile has been used twice in U.S. history: During the first Gulf War in the early 1990s and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The reserve exists to deal with the “physical interruption of the flow of oil to our country,” U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said during a recent House hearing. “We don’t have that issue today.”

New deliveries to the strategic reserve, however, have been halted.

“There is very little the government can do in the very short-term, other than providing misinformation about the potential for government to act,” said Gilbert Metcalf, an economist at Tufts University.

He said that raising the price of energy may prove more beneficial. It seems counterintuitive, but the high prices could reduce demand and fundamentally alter consumer behavior, he said

“We are not going to do it by reducing the price,” he said. “It’s saying to people: ‘Don’t go buy a fuel-efficient car; we’ll just lower the price when it’s too painful.’”

“Our best bet is to wean us off oil.”

Darrell Barker says: www.kickgasatthepump.com

Saba, a 24-year-old church pastor, made it to the shoulder just past the Ben Franklin Bridge and waited more than 30 minutes for someone to stop and lend him a cell phone. Then he waited a while longer for AAA to arrive with fuel.

With gas prices hovering at $4 a gallon, motorists like Saba are putting less fuel in their tanks — then coming up empty on the highway.

Though national statistics on out-of-gas motorists don’t exist, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that drivers unwilling or unable to fill ‘er up are gambling by keeping their tanks extremely low on fuel.

In the Philadelphia area, where the average price for a gallon of regular broke $4 on Friday, calls from out-of-gas AAA members doubled between May 2007 and May 2008, from 81 to 161, the auto club reported

“The number one reason is they can’t stretch their money out from week to week,” said Gary Siley, the AAA mobile technician who helped Saba.

“Some of them are embarrassed. … They say, ‘I was trying to make it till Friday,’ and they couldn’t do it,” said Siley, who has assisted numerous out-of-gas motorists.

Saba blames himself for not paying enough attention to the fuel gauge, saying he doesn’t normally let the tank get so low. But he said the spiraling cost of gas has led the church to reduce its use of the fuel-guzzling van.

And when he does get gas, he puts in only a half-tank.

“If the prices were lower, I’d probably just fill it up,” Saba said.

Research from The Nielsen Co. shows that drivers have been making more frequent trips to the pump but limiting how much they put in the tank.

Convenience stores, which sell about 80 percent of the nation’s gas, are seeing fewer fill-ups, said industry spokesman Jeff Lenard.

“When the pump hits a certain dollar amount now, you’re seeing more customers stop,” said Lenard, with the National Association of Convenience Stores. “They’re purchasing fewer gallons.”

And that means playing Russian roulette with the gas gauge.

In Dallas, Courtesy Patrol — a roadside assistance program operated by the sheriff’s department — reports a doubling in the number of daily fuel calls from stranded motorists in recent months. Sheriff Lupe Valdez herself recently came to the aid of a mother and her two children who had run out of gas along an interstate.

In some cases, motorists have gotten stuck in the middle of the highway, creating a dangerous situation, said Lonnie Lankford, a Courtesy Patrol shift leader. “It’s just breaking the backs of the people, these gas prices,” he said.

Transportation officials in Oregon and Tennessee also report increasing numbers of stranded motorists in need of gas.

AAA Mid-Atlantic, which has nearly 4 million members in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia, reported a 15 percent year-over-year increase in calls from members with empty tanks.

“We’re seeing a lot of frustrated motorists who are trying to cut corners, and this is one way they’re doing it,” said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Catherine Rossi. “But they’re shooting themselves in the foot, or the wallet, in the long run.”

That’s because perpetually running on fumes can damage a car’s fuel pump — requiring repairs that make a full tank of $4 gas seem like a bargain.

As for Saba, he was just thankful he made it back to North Philadelphia in time for his 11:30 a.m. church service.

“What I was thinking to myself was, at least the weather’s nice,” he said. “It was beautiful outside and that made things a lot better.”

Darrell Barker says: www.kickgasatthepump.com

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Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

Sigh,

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

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Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

one of their dealers.

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Darrell Barker
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Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

Memorial Day travelers face headwinds

Chief executive of Shell, Jeroen van der Veer,

answers back.

Check it out.

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

You should know about this very cool website that’s focused totally on our transportation needs.
 
This new Drive Smarter Challenge campaign builds on the 6° concept with a fresh, new website and a sophisticated interactive challenge.
 
A calculator computes not only your individual savings through your driving actions, but also computes a running tally of savings by everyone who has taken the challenge.
 
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Nevertheless, they don’t mention MY driving technique, that, in addition to their $600 average yearly savings, you’ll add $600 MORE in savings too.
 
Hang in there.

Darrell Barker
www.kickgasatthepump.com

The Senate Judiciary Committee called the hearing to explore the skyrocketing price of oil, which earlier in the day crossed $132 a barrel for the first time. The committee questioned executives from Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), ConocoPhillips Co. (COP, Fortune 500), Shell Oil Co. (RDSA), Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and BP (BP).

“Normal supply and demand says prices should be around $55 to $60 a barrel,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the committee. “Prices should not skyrocket like this in a properly functioning, competitive market.”

Congress – a House committee has set a similar hearing for Thursday – is tapping into growing public anger over rising oil and gas prices. Before the hearing even began, a heckler in the crowd shouted: “Stop ripping off the American public – bring these oil prices down.”

But the oil executive said prices are being driven by global market and geopolitical forces largely beyond their control.

“We cannot change the world market,” said Robert Malone, chairman and president of BP America Inc. “Today’s high prices are linked to the failure both here and abroad to increase supplies, renewables and conservation.”

Malone’s remarks were echoed by John Hofmeister, president of Shell.

“The fundamental laws of supply and demand are at work,” said Hofmeister. The market is squeezed by exporting nations managing demand for their own interest and other nations subsidizing prices to encourage economic growth, he said.

In addition, Hofmeister said access to resources in the United States has been limited for the past 30 years. “I agree, it’s not a free market,” he said.

Indeed, Peter Robertson, vice chairman of Chevron, said that the industry needs to make “massive investment” in oil exploration and development of new technologies.

Robertson, urging conservation, cautioned Congress against further taxing oil companies or undoing some of the mergers of the 1990s.

“Americans need companies that can effectively compete for access to new resources,” he said. “Punitive measures that weakened us in the face of international competition are the wrong measures.”

John Lowe, executive vice president of ConocoPhillips, said Congress should enact a balanced energy policy. Such a policy could include measures to encourage alternative energy sources, remove the ethanol tariff, promote energy conservation, cut regulations around refining and improve access to oil in the United States.

“We musk work together to find a real solution,” said Lowe. “U.S. oil companies should be viewed not as scapegoats, but as assets.”

Congress: Familiar ground for execs

The hearing marked the second time in as many months that top oil industry officials have been called before Congress.

In April, roughly the same line up defended their firms before a House committee. The hearing was ostensibly called to ask the executives why they needed some $18 billion in federal subsidies in light of their record profits, but quickly delved into a Q&A on bigger questions in the energy business.

Lawmakers criticized the firms for not investing enough in finding new oil and developing renewable resources and told them, in thinly disguised terms, that they’d be forced to enact extra profit taxes if Big Oil continued to post such large earnings.

The oil men said they’re making business decisions in the best interest of their shareholders. They repeated their often-stated position that the best way to lower prices and bring more oil to market is to open up wide swaths of the U.S. that are currently off-limits to drilling.

Although lawmakers don’t vote on energy issues strictly along party lines, Democrats generally want to increase taxes on Big Oil and use the money to fund renewable energy research.

Republicans generally favor opening up the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, large parts of the Rocky Mountains, and areas off the east and west coast that have been closed to drilling since the 1970s following a public backlash after several big oil spills.

The parties are widely apart on the issues – a Republican effort to expand drilling recently failed in the Senate – and a compromise is not expected soon.

But both the Democrat and Republican proposals are long-term solutions that would have little impact on the nation’s energy picture for several years, if not decades.

In the short run, experts say there’s little politicians can do to bring down the price of gas.

Recent proposals to suspend the gas tax from Democrat presidential contender Hillary Clinton and presumed Republican nominee John McCain were roundly criticized for leaving the government with a cash shortfall while possibly encouraging more driving, and by extension higher prices.

A measure to stop filling that nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve was enacted last week with wide bipartisan support, but has done nothing so far to stem surging crude prices.

Darrell Barker of www.kickgasatthepump.com says: What another fine mess you’ve gotten us into Ollie.

We Can Solve It