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The Ironies of Oil
Townhall.com ^ | December 31, 2014 | Victor Davis Hanson

Posted on 01/01/2015 7:50:34 AM PST by Kaslin

Gasoline prices are on the verge of crashing down to below $2 a gallon. The price of oil may dip below $50 a barrel.

Even with renewed demand from a global economic resurgence, energy prices continue to fall. The U.S. has suddenly become the world's largest combined producer of oil and natural gas.

That fact -- along with a desire to weaken hostile Iran and Russia -- has prompted the oil-rich Gulf sheikdoms to keep pumping oil even as the price falls. In their game of petro-chicken, the desperate sheiks hope that either their poorer enemies will run out of cash, or that fracking in the U.S. will become unprofitable and cease.

Everyone seems to have forgotten about "peak oil" -- the catchphrase of the new millennium.

The world in general, and the United States in particular, supposedly had already burned more oil than was left under the Earth. Under President Barack Obama, gasoline prices had soared. When he entered office in January 2009, gas prices averaged around $1.60 per gallon. Four years later, by spring of 2013, gas prices had climbed beyond $3.50 a gallon.

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Russia
KEYWORDS: energy; gasprices; oil; oilandgas
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To: Gasshog

$1.68 in Lake Dallas, TX, 1 hour ago — according to GasBuddy.

There has been a gas war ongoing for the past week or so at a few stations there.


21 posted on 01/01/2015 9:19:44 AM PST by justlurking (tagline removed, as demanded by Admin Moderator)
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To: Mariner

Oh Noes!

Import tariffs!

Isolationist! Nativist! Xenophobe! Muslophobe! Heretic!

You must be banished for even breathing such a thing! The Bush family will send Mexican assassins to do away with you!

We cant have secure supplies of our own! We cant have an independent economy! Noooooooo....that would keep us out of Arab wars, insane Islamic internecine fights! We can’t have that!

Don’t you understand?! This is the New World Order!

Interdependent economies, chronically underperforming, permanent warfare and policy dictated by a self selcting transnational elite!

It’s paradise, don’t you understand?!

Er, /s


22 posted on 01/01/2015 10:03:03 AM PST by Regulator
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To: Beagle8U

Wouldn’t be surprised if the Euro block started having locally grown grain shortages of their own. India, Russia, Australia, Canada, and the USA until recently all contributed to the export market.

ISIS’ negative influence upon agriculture should become apparent next growing season. Stealing even the seeding grain and evicting the farmer will have consequences.

As for Egypt, the carry capacity with Oxen is 4 million not the current 85 million, fed with imports supplementing above the 25 million margin supported with modern agriculture locally.


23 posted on 01/01/2015 1:30:13 PM PST by Ozark Tom
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