Fan in Chicago

Yes, My sarcasm button should have been on. But there are some regions where I had heard the envrionmental laws were delayed as the impact of emissions would not be that high. Wasn't the vigin islands one of those areas ?

Is this the same refinery that does not have to conform to all the emission controls as mainland US ? And pumps a lot of smoke in the Virgin air ?

Agreed with the temporary price increase, I was referring to the stabilized prices once the effects of Katrina have worn off (and I mean strictly from the gasoline supply point of view) Natural gas prices also will affect electricity prices so there is an all-encompassing effect with all our utility bills going up.

Je ne parlez pas Francais

Based on what ? I read this article and there is no shred of evidence or analysis to support his statement. When an "expert" needs to use words like "it doesn't take a genius", you know that there is no analysis. Sad that CNN continues to pander to any guy of the street prepared to make a shock statement and call him/herself an expert. This is why I dislike CNN so much. Not accounting for Katrina, there is definite proof that gas demand has gone down in July due to the prices. Which means that the market may have found its supply-demand balance. I think once demand drops post- Labor day, prices will ease to the $2.25 range and stay there till the next high-travel period.

Nice post ! Thanx.

Agree. Also, the entire article talks about what would happen if the US dollar were to collapse. I see little discussion about why that might happen. I can write an article about what might happen if there is a country-wide electricity failure in China for a month.

I live in suburb close to Schaumburg. Let me know if you want to talk. Note 'close' is a relative term in Chicagoland where the diagonal is ~ 50 miles No seriously, these are the suburbs and not really the big bad city that people typically equate to downtown Chicago. I love this area despite the terrible weather for 4-5 months. The restaurants, activities, proximity to Wisconsin, opportunity to bash on hapless Bears fans itself is reward enough. I can even get my friend and (excellent) real estate agent contact you if needed.

My chemical engineering background says he is the one that is stinking and not the stuff he is pouring in the tank.

I agree for turbos but not sure for regular cars. I had a Corolla which I personally did the oil changes with Mobil-1. Started burning oil at 90K miles - not sure it did a whole world of good to that engine as Toyotas are not supposed to burn oil so soon. I babied that car but it was mostly for stop-and-go driving.

That may be gas as in the gaseous form and not gasoline. Fuel from bio waste is being researched heavily and is implemented in several developing economies (India, China) for several years now. Basically, you take the waste, decompose it to form methane which is a gas that can be used to cook and power stuff like generators. The waste is sealed in a proper 'fermentor' so the stench does not get out. Don't go seeing conspiracy theories where there aren't any.

Stay safe. Not only did you have a harrowing and interesting experience but by golly, you are a good writer too. Eyes were glued to the screen for 2 minutes.

What car do you drive for it to deserve premum gasoline ?

Probably becasue the demand for oil changes has not gone up at the same rate as the demand for gasoline.

Yes, master. Okay I have no idea how to make this short but let me try. Oil is pumped from (1) wells on land, shallow water, deepwater or (2) tar sands of Canada (3) Oil shale - this is too expensive now but US has a lot of oil in this form. Transported by (1) Sub-sea pipeline from offshore wells (2) over-ground pipelines to refineries or (3) pipelines to ports, oil tankers to destination country and then pipeline distribution network to refineries. Main variables for prices: (1) Demand- Supply balance (2) Quality of oil - light sweet, heavy sour, sour etc. (3) Political situation such as conflicts, death of Saudi king , and (4) Market fears - hurricane that may disrupt supply, terrorism Hope this answers JSP's question ? I don't want to make this too long as I know people attention span is limited and I am just too lazy.

Man, that was funny !! Made my morning.

Completely agree.

yes but it also depends on where the refineries are located. On the US east coast, refineries will buy oil from North Sea and West Africa, on Gulf coast - from ME, Venezuela, Mexico.....

You think this challenged your sensitivities ? Be glad that I did not put down what else I was feeling. I have put down a logical argument for the high gas prices on a PPP posting so am too lazy to re-type it. But this is nuts especially when the naive public propogates this theory. I remember an old story that still sticks around about someone having invented a gasoline engine that could get 80 mpg back in the 70s. And that 'big oil' squelched that invention. The hidden part of that story is that the carburetor of that engine was the size of a barn.

Normally not one to make such statements without supporting logic but ... - WHAT A LOAD OF B*LLCR*P.

For those that need a link, here is information for companies importing oil from the Persian Gulf for 2004: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petrole...ummary2004.html

The same can be said for a majority of countries around the world. The real question I have is - why should anyone continue to pass judgment at the institutions and governments around the world and consider ours the best ? Different countries need different styles of governing based on their economic, social situation. I think a dictatorship and Saddam was correct for Iraq with their highly polarized religious sub-groups, level of literacy etc. (There - I said it). We as a country seem to want to dabble with any country that possesses oil and impose our will, our style of government, our social structure on them. Don't get me wrong - this is my country and there is no other country I would rather be in. But I do want us to reduce meddling in other countries' affairs. We cannot see every other society in our image. {Disclaimer - this is NOT a Bush bashing post}

I have dream - January 2007 Superbowl, Bills vs Dallas with Drew Bledsoe at QB. I can guarantee that the drooling our defense does will not be because of the Cowboys cheerleaders.

Good idea but not enough of it will be made to make a dent in the supply. Same story with Gas to Liquids (GTL technology) which converts natural gas to ultra clean diesel and some gasoline. Best case scenario, GTL makes 5% of worldwide diesel demand by 2020. We are stuck with conventional ways of producing gasoline and diesel. Short term = conservation, long term = totally different fuel for our vehicles (AND DON'T say Hydrogen please).

Tip on saving money - you can take advantage of the Fastpass thingy without staying at their hotels or paying more at the gate. Every ticket is eligible for one 'appointment' at a time. If you do a good job of always having one pending appointment, you can maximize your rides. Start early and get the popular rides done early. The crowds really start coming in around noon.