Posted on 08/23/2005 4:24:01 PM PDT by MikeA
Gasoline prices are at record highs again.
One thing is certain: Oil companies are not the culprits. In California, where gas prices are among the nation's highest, the oil industry has been repeatedly investigated yet no evidence of "price manipulation" has ever been found.
Though other factors cause high gas prices, such as high taxes and increasing world demand, environmental regulation is among the primary reasons.
Furthermore, 18 different gasoline formulations are in use across the United States, making it much more costly to produce and distribute gasoline. These blends aren't needed due to requirements of automobile engines, nor are they required by oil companies. The blends, including different ones used at different times of the year and in different geographic areas, are imposed by environmental regulations. Among other things, the regulations force refiners to incur greater costs in switching from the production of one blend to another. They also force refiners to produce a more costly "summer blend," which is partially responsible for the rise in price.
The situation is worse in California, where environmental regulations are strictest. California was one of three states to require the removal of the octane booster MTBE in January 2004. This reduced the gasoline supply by almost 10 percent, because MTBE accounted for about 10 percent of the volume in the old gasoline formula.
As a result, gas prices were predicted to increase by 35 to 40 cents per gallon. Given that the average price in 2004 was almost 30 cents higher than in 2003, these predictions weren't too far off.
California also imposes the harshest emissions requirements in the country, necessitating the use of a more costly, special blend of gasoline not produced anywhere else. It's no accident that gas in California is generally 30 to 40 cents above the national average.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Click the link provided under the title of the article to get the full article since the above is an excerpt.
I thought since the media is busy whipping up stories about how Republicans will suffer the wrath of the voters in 06 because of gas prices, I saw one such article posted on FR earlier today, I would resurrect this oldie but goodie from the LIBERAL San Francisco Chronicle that had to admit it is DEMOCRATIC environmental policies in the last few decades, especially that of the Clinton administration, that have tapped out fuel supplies and refinery capacity. The article's only short-coming is not explaining that most of these onerous cleaning burning fuel regulations are a product of the Clinton/Gore/Carol Browner Nutjob EPA.
That being said, pressure needs to be put on the Bush administration to stop talking about Iraq for a minute and roll back the Clinton-era clean burning fuel mandates which have put such a squeeze on oil refineries and created dozens of boutique fuel blends per each state. Bush could look like the hero all in one felled-swoop and if Democrats try to attack him for rolling back those costly regulations, he can force them to explain why the Democrats are on the side of high gas prices.
Heck, we Californians, a state that hates Bush and loves Democrats, is being the most squeezed by these Democratic enviro. policies since Clinton's clean burning fuel regs. means California cannot get oil refined outside of California since no other state produces the mandated fuel blend we use. But the idiots here in my home state will continue to blame Bush for the price of gas while voting for the same numbskull Democrats whose wacked-out environmental fanaticism has helped create some of the highest gas prices in the nation. And oh yes, we'll scream until we're purple against any oil exploration off the California coast.
Bush's fault.
Of course it is....open the drilling back up!
Exactamundo regarding the last paragraph in your post!
As a fellow Californian, but a transplant, I had no idea the state was such a crazy place until I moved here 18 years ago. Now I know why a lot of folks in Washington State, where I was living, called this state the land of the fruits and nuts!
Leftists and sheetheads..
?...must be the worldwide internationale British Refinery Czars?
nukes
George Soros
I dropped my teeth when I saw this.
I'm serious.
I was laughing and my bridge fell out.
Got an appointment in the morning to see
what's going on. (What I think is going on
is a very high dental bill.) But it was worth
it.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
"As a fellow Californian, but a transplant, I had no idea the state was such a crazy place until I moved here 18 years ago. Now I know why a lot of folks in Washington State, where I was living, called this state the land of the fruits and nuts!"
The thing is, California was a conservative state up until the early 90s. We elected Ronald Reagan twice! It is the people you speak of who re-located to Washington and elsewhere to escape high taxes and overcrowding who were the conservatives. The fruits and nuts remained...or they moved in from the Northeast.
It is the influx of Northeasterners, particularly New Yorkers, during the 80s and 90s as people moved out of the Rust Belt and into the Sun Belt that turned Californa to the left. Heck, Gray Davis, Barbara Boxer and I think even Dianne Feinstein are all native New Yorkers! Need I say more??
And the Hispanic influx helped to further take the state to the left, especially when Democratic demagogues convinced them Republicans hate them.
No, it's not native Californians (of which I am one) who turned this state to the left. It's the liberals who took it over in the last few decades.
Anyway, it's nice to know we got a conservative transplant like yourself! : ) We need more. But I fear most conservatives now avoid California like the plague. Can't say as I blame them.
read later
I'm a native Californian, and I've always called it the land of the fruits and nuts. I do try to disassociate myself from most of Ca. I'm also proud of the fact that I live in a red county too.
Im amazed to see this in the chronicle
China
"..Now I know why a lot of folks in Washington State, where I was living, called this state the land of the fruits and nuts!"
That may be so, but Washington State has cloned themselves after California and are vying for the MOST LIBERAL state status, soon to be won.
"The newly non-elected democratic governor of Washington state (3 recounts funded by left over Kerry campaign funds) has now stated she intends to ram through legislation for the same expensive car emission standards as California. Even though we don't have 1/100 of the pollution problems or air quality problems California has, the witch still feels she has to suck up to the environmental demlib idiots so she can buy votes for 4 years from now."
Amazing. You'd think this election stealer had a mandate to ram her tax hikes, spending increases and now environmental extremism down the throats of Washington income earners. Funny how the Dems. said Bush had no right to get anything done as president because he "didn't really win the election." But it's okay for that hag Greggoire to govern as far left as she wants.
Oh well, the one bright spot is she's a one-termer and may piss off enough people to turn Washington state a little more red.
Oh, absolutely! I'm from the east side of the state, and the west side is very liberal. It's like two different states.
No offense intended by my "fruits and nuts" remarks, guys! If so, I apologize. I meant to infer that we sure do have them here, but not every Californian is. Some of us have the good sense to be conservatives!
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