Guest #1 April 25, 2003 According to the USDOE, fuel prices are down for the fifth straight week, and I heard on Fox last night that a barrel of crude is now $25, down from $40 before the war. This is reflected at the DOE crude site. In this table, Brent North Sea is about $25, the same price it was a year ago. So riddle me this, Batman: If prices at the pump spiked so fast when the cost of crude jumped in November (despite the alleged 3-week leadtime it takes for the price of a barrel of crude to be felt at the pump), WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG FOR PRICES TO DROP?! I know nothing about finances and the stock market. But I can assume that the price spike is driven by rampant speculation, and the long decline is caused by the losers on the other side of the wave, trying to keep the price high enough that they don't lose their shirts when they cash out. Opinions?"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyIvan 0 #2 April 25, 2003 Quote WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG FOR PRICES TO DROP?! Can you say: GREEDY MOTHERF%$%$%? __________________________________________ Blue Skies and May the Force be with you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mountainman 0 #3 April 25, 2003 Hell... I'm just happy that it's dropping. I enjoy paying about $1.279/gallon again. http://www.brandonandlaura.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n2skdvn 0 #4 April 25, 2003 thank the over paid exec's at the top of the food chain in corprate america....if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN my site Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,121 #5 April 25, 2003 >But I can assume that the price spike is driven by rampant > speculation, and the long decline is caused by the losers on the > other side of the wave, trying to keep the price high enough that > they don't lose their shirts when they cash out. Opinions? Of course. This is capitalism, after all. If you can charge more for something and can still sell it, you do it. If there are alternatives, and people are willing to forego your product if it's too expensive in favor of the alternative, then you drop prices rapidly to remain competitive. No one's willing to go for alternatives, so oil companies set basically whatever price they want, limited only by competition with _other_ oil companies. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #6 April 25, 2003 I've seen a new technique that basically accelerates the natural process by which organic matter is rendered into crude, and is then further refined into finished fuel products. Promising, but of course, it takes energy to do this, and as we all know, the Spice must flow... "The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aero04 0 #7 April 25, 2003 It is all about the almighty dollar. If the price of the crude oil increases, the oil companies want their share of the profit. When the price of crude oil drops, they hold onto the higher price as long as they can to make the most profit they can. Same reason gas prices skyrocket in the summer. More people taking trips so more gas is needed, so they jack up the price to make an even bigger profit. Really sucks for the rest of us. And you know when crude oil finally runs out, the oil companies are going to say they have this new power source to replace the oil that they just dicovered. Truth is they have had it for the last 20 years, but supressed the technology so they could continue to make a killing on the oil. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,121 #8 April 25, 2003 >And you know when crude oil finally runs out, the oil companies are > going to say they have this new power source to replace the oil that > they just dicovered. Truth is they have had it for the last 20 years, > but supressed the technology so they could continue to make a > killing on the oil. We have them _now_. Today you could go to your local dealer and buy an electric Toyota Rav4, a natural-gas Honda Civic GX, or a Passat diesel and run it on biodiesel. No one wants to use any of these alternatives, so they don't get used. If there's someone to blame for our dependence on oil it's us. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jraf 0 #9 April 25, 2003 If you are still wandering what operation "Iraqui Freedom" (hahaha what a funny name) was all about think again. Or perhaps see who profited the most of it. In other words Americans and Iraquis both died so that the fuel price at the pump could be raised. It will never go to old levels. And who is going to pay for the total increased costs to the economy, plus the more expensive gas? You and I and the rest of us.jraf Me Jungleman! Me have large Babalui. Muff #3275 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cuchulinn 0 #10 April 25, 2003 Still at 197.99 this moring in Central Cal! SMA#18 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #11 April 25, 2003 Bill, From a scientific standpoint, what do you think of this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trent 0 #12 April 25, 2003 Yes it is about the almighty dollar, but not in the way some of you may think. I know, I know... it's trendy to villify government and big business, but there are actually some financially reasonable excuses that fuel prices don't drop as soon as they raise. Primarily, it's because the crude that these companies have in process at the time of the price change was purchased at the price a month or weeks ago. They're not going to take a loss on a whole gross of crude, so their prices don't drop until they've purchased crude at newer prices and processed it. Think about it. BUT, they definitely do not hesitate to raise prices even when they've got a stash of the cheaper stuff left. No excuses for that, except for "that's business". They make money where they can, and avoid losing money whenever possible.Oh, hello again! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdhill 0 #13 April 25, 2003 So... fuel prices continue to drop.... jump tickets continue to go up... j All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. - Edmund Burke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,121 #14 April 25, 2003 >From a scientific standpoint, what do you think of this? It's another way of using biodiesel. B100 biodiesel is vegetable oil mixed with sodium methoxide to break down some of the long chain hydrocarbons. If you want to use regular vegetable oil in a diesel you can but you have to heat it a lot, which is where conversion kits come in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scoby 0 #15 April 25, 2003 Quote>From a scientific standpoint, what do you think of this? It's another way of using biodiesel. B100 biodiesel is vegetable oil mixed with sodium methoxide to break down some of the long chain hydrocarbons. If you want to use regular vegetable oil in a diesel you can but you have to heat it a lot, which is where conversion kits come in. Do you have any thoughts on thermal depolymerization? There is an outfit that claims to have improved the technique and can turn nearly anything organic into oil. They are building a plant at a turkey processing factory to reprocess turkey offal. They claim 85% efficiency (15% of the energy in the input material is used to fuel the process). There was an article about it in Discover magazine...sadly the USA Today of scientific magazines..but it was serious. It's not a perpetual motion machine (the energy is in the input material), but it does seem to good to be true. They claim the US produces enough organic waste in a year to satisfy the oil needs of the nation. And, of course, it's carbon neutral. Anyway, it's at www.discover.com in the current issue, and the company is at http://www.changingworldtech.com/home.html. Is this what it seems it is? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,121 #16 April 25, 2003 I saw that, and the only thing I wonder about is the thermodynamic efficency. If it's 85% as they claim, then it will work. The product will probably stink, though, which might be a problem - not all the fatty acids will be polymerized. Sorta the opposite of biodiesel, which smells pretty good (like french fries.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bodypilot90 0 #17 April 25, 2003 Quote like french fries freedom fries Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,121 #18 April 25, 2003 >freedom fries Liberty fries? Victory fries? It's a truly US type of protest. We rename a food out of protest (a food that was originally named that by US GI's in WWI) but keep on eating it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
