Better Fill up today

[W. Gray]

The Denver metro area has had the ethanol requirement since 1988.

We even have an 85 octane gas which I dont seem to see anywhere else.

At the same time, that law passed, the Denver metro area was and still is, required to have emissions inspections to see if an auto is contributing to pollution.

It began as annual and is a huge pain. Some time after the law passed, new cars were exempt for the first four years. After that it has been reduced from annually to every other year. Still a pain.

Fact is, most new cars have rather good pollution equipment that seem to last as long as the car does outweighing the need for such a bureacratic program. Our last car that did not pass was a 1988 model. After, a mechanic worked on it, it passed. We would not have been allowed to drive it had it not finally passed.

The requirement for ethanol and emission inspections was because Denver metro failed the federal pollution minimums.

Now that Denver metro has recovered (more or less), there has been consideration to dropping both programs. Environmentalists, however, have interceded to the point the state is considering making ethanol a requirement statewide.

Additionally, the emission inspection business has become so big that deleting it would eliminate a major business along with a good number of employees.

[Dale Smith]

Reading about all this, and seeing how much your gasoline costs out in Kansas, all I can say is "Thank God" for my hybrid Toyota. I am currently averaging 57.4 mpg on my 54 mile commute each day.... and on Hwy trips, I am averaging 45 mpg. (As you can see, it gets better with in-town driving, it uses the electricity more than)

[frawin]

Crude oil closed up $5.00 at $104.52 and was up $3.00/Barrel clear out to 2015. The inventories came out today and we are importing 760,000 more barrels per day than we were a year ago this same time. The market trend points to the possibility of much higher gasoline prices ahead. Natural Gas also took a $0.39 jump for the day.
Frank Winn

[Kjell H.]

Gas went up again today and  diesel is as high as it has ever been. Hope mom & dad can get back to Kansas without having to sell the  5th wheel to buy diesel. 

[frawin]

Kjell, crude is trading pretty flat this A.M, but it will go higher. Eventually the higher price will bring it back down but there will be a lot of damage to the economy by the time it does. I have been in the Crude and transportation businness for almost 40 years and I have seen the US energy usage increase every one of those years. The US has 4.6% of the world population and uses almost 25% of the world oil production. The biggest reason that Oil has gone up so much in the past few years is that we have created an industrial revolution in China and the Chinese people are all wanting what we have, which includes automobiles and that takes energy. China is now the second largest user of crude oil in the world. When we think we are getting all of these cheap clothes and appliances from China we need to think again we are paying more for those goods than we think, the additional cost is in energy costs, lost jobs for our people and in lower quality. I get so aggravated at hearing our politicians say we need to find more oil, why don't someone say we need to conserve. If we cut our energy consumption 2% a year we would be reducing our imports by 400,000 barrels per day . When I first started with Phillips almost 40 years ago the posted price for the best grade of crude oil was $2.67/barrel. The only way this Nation will conserve is through forced conservation, and no politician wants to take that on. I think I saw where you were from Norway, I spent time on Norwegian Oil Tankers and the officers and crews were first class. The Norwegians were the only tanker operators that let their officers take their wives on the ships for entire voyages. Well so much for that, the looming energy crisis is the biggest threat to our economy and our American way of life.
Frank Winn

[frawin]

Crude oil broke the $106.00/barrel technical barrier this A.M.

[Jo McDonald]

The price at the pump is a heart stopper, and a back pocket breaker!!
Diesel here at Aransas Pass is 359.9 a gallon.  Fred said last evening he figures it will take $400.00 for us to get from here to Elk City State Park.  And park we will have to do, for a while at least. 

  My heart goes out to the  families that must drive to work and to participate in their young families lives.  Our activities have been curtailed this winter - so Frankie, we are trying to do our part on conserving ( because $$$$ wise we have to )  LOL

[frawin]

Crude oil is trading at a new all-time high of $107.00/barrel this morning, and there is quite a bit of long activity which indicates even higher prices to come. Better keep your tanks full for now.
Frank

[frawin]

Crude oil broke another technical barrier and a new intraday high of $108.00/Barrel today. Appears to be lots of long contracts indicating it is going higher.
Frank

[Teresa]

We just got home form Wichita... and in Augusta gas was  $3.11 a gallon
TripCo is 3.18 a gallon.
P&J's is 3.19 a gallon.

We had 1.4 of a tank when we pulled into Augusta on the way home tonight and it cost us  well over $50.00 to fill up.
Highway robbery it is!