[Eagles6]

Good post.Oil is responsible for the biggest economic change in history and has allowed the US to excel. It heats our homes, transports us, brings us our food and a host of other amenities and necessities. Nothing else comes close in energy value, except nuclear.

We are becoming more efficient in it's use and also cleaner.

The next idiot that rages against big oil, ask them what we used before oil was discovered.

[jazusamo]

Exactly...And when politicians think they can score some points by pandering for votes they go after them for gouging or try to tax them more which only hurts the consumer.

[ridesthemiles]

Some one needs to do an indepth investigation of the oil futures traders on Wall Street.

They are the biggest influence on the price per barrel, IMO. They are getting VERY rich, and they are laughing at us.

[alloysteel]

"...what we used before oil was discovered."

Beeswax, tallow and whale oil? And that was just for lighting purposes. For power, we used horses and oxen, or wood-burning steam locomotives and riverboats.

What small quantities of seepage petroleum were used, was primarily as a form of patent medicine. It fulfilled the primary requirement of medicine in those days, by tasting like H*ll.

Kerosene became the salvation of the American frontier.