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Everything you said in post 108 was true, but there's more to it. Like, supply and demand always works but sometimes not very well --and this cuts both ways. Thank you. I think it is debatable whether a fully functional supply and demand model can work when the commodity is a necessity. You can make the case that it can, but other than a small impact on the market that will be made, most folks have to go about their lives, and that means they will have to buy energy. They can't opt out.

OK, on the day gas prices go up and you're trying to get to work, you either pay or walk. You're stuck, but it's not permanent because you can move closer to work, carpool, buy a smaller car, change jobs --and in about a year you can fight back. Wow, that almost sounds as if a press release from the AQMD (Air Quality Management District). No, I'm not going to give up my 15 year residence, in a town I've lived in for 35 years, so I can move closer to a job that may not be there in five years. Driving to work thirty-five miles in one direction, I'm not going to rely on others for a ride. And the idea I could find one that goes to the obscure place I do 35 miles away, at the time I do, is iffy even if I would. I'm not going to drive the freeway in a match-box car with large trucks either. And in about one year, I'll still be needing to purchase gasoline to get to work.

I'm not sure what part of the country you live in, but in my region people do drive long distances to work. I know plenty of people personally that drive over an hour to get to work each day, some up to two hours.

When us big oil people see prices go up we can hire engineers, call on investors, file the permits, and build new refineries --and it takes about ten years. By then demand and prices are back down and we can't fight back for years to come. We're stuck too; this is exactly what happened last time (from DOE's Annual Energy Review) --in the '70's prices soared, but the new refineries we built never got used because people had already changed their habits and they didn't buy all the new gasoline we wanted to sell.

Don't get me wrong, we did what what we did and we got no regrets. The problem is when freepers try and say we're a bunch of crooks --that's wrong. Look, you folks get some grief you don't deserve. I agree with that. Right now I think you deserve some criticism. Crude oil prices have dropped considerably, and yet prices have gone up about 25% in the last few months. There's no escuse for that. The oil companies may get more criticism than they deserve, but that does not mean they are above being criticized on point.

folks have to go about their lives, and that means they will have to buy energy. They can't opt out.

Hey, we've already gone though the fact that America as a whole does in fact change its energy usage over time. If you're not willing to look then I'll drop it.

I think you deserve some criticism...

This is what it's really all about, you're into criticizing no matter what. That's OK, you're the good guy and St. Pete's gonna bump me down to the bad place.

Cheers ;-)