Better Fill up today

[Teresa]

Aaron Tippin's new song:

http://www.americansolutions.com/General/?Page=5211e44c-32fd-40a8-919f-1449531d61da


Forwarded to me by a friend:

Dear xxxxxxx,

I just finished up a radio interview with Sean Hannity and I wanted to share with you some exciting news. I was on Sean's show to debut country music star Aaron Tippin's new single entitled "Drill Here, Drill Now." The song was inspired by our "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" movement and masterfully captures the pulse of Americans who are tired of paying too much for gas while Congress does nothing about it. You can listen to the interview here.

As a country music fan, I've always known Aaron as an outspoken artist who takes a stand for hardworking Americans. And when I first heard his song, I knew it would become the rallying cry for more American-made energy. Just read the opening lines of the song and you'll see why:

Hello.....Is anybody out there listenin' in Washington D.C.
This is the suffering voice of America crying out for relief
Now I don't know what a gallon of gas costs up on Capitol Hill
But we sure know what it costs down here in Realityville

If you're anything like me, once you hear this song you'll immediately want to forward it to your friends and family so they can hear it too.

Can you help us make this song a huge hit by downloading it today and asking your local radio stations to play it?

You can download or preview the song at www.AmericanSolutions.com/DrillSong.
A powerful collision between pop culture and politics, this terrific song is sure to take America 's airwaves - and Capitol Hill - by storm.

Thank you for everything you do.

Your friend,

Newt Gingrich

P.S. In light of President Bush's July announcement to eliminate the executive ban on offshore drilling, the U.S. Minerals Management Service has decided to initiate a new plan to increase energy production on the outer continental shelf (OCS).  As part of the regulatory process, the agency is calling for public comments on offshore oil and gas development through September 15, 2008.

In the meantime, unfortunately, Congress is planning votes on bills that would actually make all or part of the offshore drilling ban permanent. Take immediate action by clicking here and letting your voice be heard in favor expanding American offshore energy production.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paid for by American Solutions for Winning the Future. Not authorized by any candidate, or candidate committee.
Not printed at government expense.

www.AmericanSolutions.com

[srkruzich]

Sigh i give up.  damn ecofruits have screwed us royally.  25% reduction in production, theres NO EXCUSE for that.  we should have enough backup refineries built to handle this.    We need to tell them to sit down shut up get the heck out of the way.  As for congress voting to ban drilling permanently, well lets make there term in office a short one!  Get them out of office.

Its a crying shame that we have enough petroleum in the ground on our soil, along our coasts that we could supply ourselves for the next 200 years and we are sitting here getting nailed because some small special interest groups want to stop it. 

[frawin]

Oct-08 Crude is trading at $95.925, down $5.25 and Oct-08 Natural Gas  is trading at $7.27, down $0.096. Gasoline may jump due to the huricane damage and refinery shut downs. A big concern for the long term is getting the coastal ship channels cleared so imported oil can get in.

[frawin]

This is welcome news:
Open Web Site Updated:  New York, Sep 15 09:00London, Sep 15 14:00Tokyo, Sep 15 22:00       
 



Bloomberg Press

 

Gulf Refiners Report Minimal Ike Damage, to Restart (Update2)

By Robert Tuttle and David Wethe

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Oil refiners in Texas and Louisiana prepared to restart plants after Hurricane Ike caused minimal damage to facilities in an area that supplies about 50 percent of the fuel and crude used in the eastern half of the U.S.

Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. refiner, said it found ``no significant structural damage'' at three Houston-area refineries shut before the storm. Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it was assessing its Texas plants and it was too early to say when they will restart.

``We think in probably a week to 10 days we should have a majority of the refineries back up,'' James Cordier, founder of Tampa-based OptionSellers.com, said in a telephone interview from New York. ``Very little damage was done.''

A total of 14 Texas and Louisiana refineries, with combined crude processing capacity of 3.57 million barrels a day, are closed because of Ike. Exxon Mobil Corp. said its Baytown refinery, the largest in the U.S., has power and damage appears ``limited.'' Ike came ashore near Galveston Sept. 13, shutting about 20 percent of the U.S.'s oil-refining capacity.

Valero said power has been restored to ``most production units'' at its Houston refinery and is working to resume electricity supply to its Texas City and Port Arthur plants. All three refineries are working on ``startup plans,'' Bill Day, a company spokesman, said in a telephone interview yesterday.

ConocoPhillips said its Sweeny, Texas, refinery has power and its condition is being assessed. The company's Lake Charles refinery is operating at reduced rates and continues the restart process. Exxon Mobil said it is checking its Beaumont, Texas, plant, which is without electricity.

`Several Days'

LyondellBasell Industries Houston refinery will be down for at ``least several days,'' David Harpole, a company spokesman said. Exxon Mobil and Marathon Oil Corp.

Shell said ``varying levels'' of services were available at its Deer Park, Texas, refinery and there was no electricity at its Port Arthur plant, which it operates in a joint venture with Saudi Arabia's state oil company. ``It is too early to predict when the refinery will resume normal operations,'' Shell said in a statement on its Web site at 6 p.m. yesterday Houston time.

Colonial Pipeline Co. said yesterday it restored operations to its gasoline and distillate pipelines, which carry from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast.

Strategic Reserve

The U.S. Department of Energy said yesterday it has released a total of 939,000 barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve because of shortages at refineries caused by Ike and Hurricane Gustav, which struck the Louisiana Coast on Sept. 1. Companies that have received oil from the reserve include ConocoPhillips, Placid Oil and Marathon Oil Corp.

Deliveries were to begin for the ConocoPhillips refinery at Wood River along the Capline pipeline system and Placid Oil's Port Allen refinery, the Energy Department said in a statement. Ike weakened to a tropical depression as it moved inland over Missouri and Illinois. The storm left Houston without drinking water and severed power to millions after ripping through America's fourth-largest city.

Citgo Petroleum Corp., owned by Venezuela's state oil company, requested yesterday for 1 million barrels of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The oil is needed for its refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, after Gustav and Ike disrupted crude deliveries, Citgo Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Granado said in a statement late yesterday.

About 2.2 million Texas households, mostly in the Galveston and Houston area, were without power because of the storm, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency said yesterday.

Ike was the first storm to hit a major U.S. metropolitan area since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.

Output Shut

A total of 99.6 percent of oil production and 91.9 percent of natural-gas output was idled in the Gulf of Mexico because of the storm, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said yesterday. Gulf fields produce 1.3 million barrels of oil a day, about a quarter of U.S. output, and 7.4 billion cubic feet of gas, 14 percent of the total, government data showed.

Shell, Europe's largest oil company, said in a statement at 7 p.m. Houston time yesterday that it had redeployed a total 175 people to offshore oil and gas facilities. A flyover of its offshore Gulf facilities found ``no major structural damage,'' the statement said.

The company will continue to deploy workers until it reached pre-storm staffing levels of 1,400 people, Darci Sinclair, a company spokeswoman, said.

Exxon Mobil also said it was sending workers to Gulf oil and gas facilities that weren't in the direct path of the storm.

Marathon said it was sending workers to the Ewing Bank oil and gas platform to asses its condition. The platform, which produces 11,700 barrels of oil and 10.5 million cubic feet of gas a day, appears ``structurally sound,'' the company said.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the biggest U.S. oil- import terminal, was scheduled to start offloading tankers today, Barb Hestermann, a spokeswoman for the port, said in a telephone interview yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Tuttle in New York at rtuttle@bloomberg.net; David Wethe in New York at dwethe@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 15, 2008 00:08 EDT

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More News


Crude Oil Falls More Than $7 as Lehman Fails, Ike Spares U.S. Refineries Lehman is Suspended From ICE Energy, LME Metals Trading After Bankruptcy Shell Found `Moderate' Damage to Offshore Oil Installations From Hurricane 




 

[flo]

MURPHY'S LAW ALIVE AND WELL -    Fri. nite when we came by Trip-Co, regular was 3.49 so Marvin stopped and filled up.  I went to Severy Sat. morning to get a pug puppy so thought I'd fill up while in the area.  It had gone up to 3.59  .  Told Marvin I had filled up but that the price had gone up 10 cents a gallon overnight and he said "good, glad you filled up cause that means the price will come down" and he laughed.  Now Frank posts that crude is down $7. Yep, that's about right.

[Teresa]

Flo...... a pug puppy?

[frawin]

Flo, crude is down but Gasoline/Diesel may go up, depending on the refining  damage in the gulf and how long it takes to bring all of it back up.

[dnalexander]

Why the Gasoline Engine Isn't Going Away Any Time Soon
Blame it on technology, cost -- and the American way of life

By JOSEPH B. WHITE
September 15, 2008; Page R1

An automotive revolution is coming -- but it's traveling in the slow lane.

High oil prices have accomplished what years of pleas from environmentalists and energy-security hawks could not: forcing the world's major auto makers to refocus their engineers and their capital on devising mass-market alternatives to century-old petroleum-fueled engine technology.

With all the glitzy ads, media chatter and Internet buzz about plug-in hybrids that draw power from the electric grid or cars fueled with hydrogen, it's easy to get lulled into thinking that gasoline stations soon will be as rare as drive-in theaters. The idea that auto makers can quickly execute a revolutionary transition from oil to electricity is now a touchstone for both major presidential candidates.

That's the dream. Now the reality: This revolution will take years to pull off -- and that's assuming it isn't derailed by a return to cheap oil. Anyone who goes to sleep today and wakes up in five years will find that most cars for sale in the U.S. will still run on regular gas -- with a few more than today taking diesel fuel. That will likely be the case even if the latter-day Rip Van Winkle sleeps until 2020.
THE JOURNAL REPORT
.

Free to Drive

Cars aren't iPods or washing machines. They are both highly complex machines and the enablers of a way of life that for many is synonymous with freedom and opportunity -- not just in the U.S., but increasingly in rising nations such as China, India and Russia.

Engineering and tooling to produce a new vehicle takes three to five years -- and that's without adding the challenge of major new technology. Most car buyers won't accept "beta" technology in the vehicles they and their families depend on every day. Many senior industry executives -- including those at Japanese companies -- have vivid memories of the backlash against the quality problems that resulted when Detroit rushed smaller cars and new engines into the market after the gas-price shocks of the 1970s. The lesson learned: Technological change is best done incrementally.



Integral to Modern Life

Technological inertia isn't the only issue. Cars powerful enough and large enough to serve multiple functions are integral to modern life, particularly in suburban and rural areas not well served by mass transit.

Ditching the internal-combustion engine could mean ditching the way of life that goes with it, and returning to an era in which more travel revolves around train and bus schedules, and more people live in smaller homes in dense urban neighborhoods.

Economic and cultural forces -- high gas prices and empty-nest baby boomers bored with the suburbs -- are encouraging some Americans to return to city life, but by no means all. In rising economies such as China, meanwhile, consumers are ravenous for the mobility and freedom that owning a car provides.
CAR MAKERS AND ALTERNATIVE FUEL


Desire Isn't Enough

That doesn't mean auto makers and their technology suppliers aren't serious about rethinking the status quo. But displacing internal-combustion engines fueled by petroleum won't be easy and it won't be cheap.

It also may not make sense. Over the past two decades, car makers have at times declared the dawn of the age of ethanol power, hydrogen power and electric power -- only to wind up back where they started: confronting the internal-combustion engine's remarkable combination of low cost, durability and power. One effect of higher oil prices is that car makers now have strong incentives to significantly improve the technology they already know.

"There are a lot of improvements coming to the internal-combustion engine," says John German, manager for environmental and energy analysis at Honda Motor Co.'s U.S. unit.

Refinements to current gasoline motors, driven by advances in electronic controls, could result in motors that are a third to half the size and weight of current engines, allowing for lighter, more-efficient vehicles with comparable power. That, Mr. German says, "will make it harder for alternative technologies to succeed."

THE ROAD AHEAD

By 2020, many mainstream cars could be labeled "hybrids." But most of these hybrids will run virtually all the time on conventional fuels. The "hybrid" technology will be a relatively low-cost "micro hybrid" system that shuts the car off automatically at a stop light, and then restarts it and gives it a mild boost to accelerate.

Cheaper Than Water

Gasoline and diesel are the world's dominant motor-vehicle fuels for good reasons. They are easily transported and easily stored. They deliver more power per gallon than ethanol or other biofuels. And until recently petroleum fuels were a bargain, particularly for consumers in the U.S. Even now, gasoline in the U.S. is cheaper by the gallon than many brands of bottled water.

Car makers have made significant advances in technology to use hydrogen as a fuel, either for a fuel cell that generates electricity or as a replacement for gasoline in an internal-combustion engine. But storing and delivering hydrogen remains a costly obstacle to mass marketing of such vehicles.

Natural gas has enjoyed a resurgence of interest in the wake of big new gas finds in the U.S., and Honda markets a natural-gas version of its Civic compact car.

But there are only about 1,100 natural-gas fueling stations around the country, of which just half are open to the public, according to the Web site for Natural Gas Vehicles for America, a group that represents various natural-gas utilities and technology providers.

Among auto-industry executives, the bet now is that the leading alternative to gasoline will be electricity. Electric cars are a concept as old as the industry itself. The big question is whether battery technology can evolve to the point where a manufacturer can build a vehicle that does what consumers want at a cost they can afford.

"The No. 1 obstacle is cost," says Alex Molinaroli, head of battery maker Johnson Controls Inc.'s Power Solutions unit. Johnson Controls is a leading maker of lead-acid batteries -- standard in most cars today -- and is working to develop advanced lithium-ion automotive batteries in a joint venture with French battery maker Saft Groupe SA.
[The Journal Report: Energy]
Harry Campbell

The Costs Add Up

Cost is a problem not just with the advanced batteries required to power a car for a day's driving. There's also the cost of redesigning cars to be lighter and more aerodynamic so batteries to power them don't have to be huge.

There's the cost of scrapping old factories and the workers that go with them -- a particular challenge for Detroit's Big Three auto makers, which have union agreements that make dismissing workers difficult and costly.

A world full of electricity-driven cars would require different refueling infrastructure but the good news is that it's already largely in place, reflecting a century of investment in the electric grid.

The refueling station is any electric outlet. The key will be to control recharging so it primarily happens when the grid isn't already stressed, but controllers should be able to steer recharging to off-peak hours, likely backed by discount rates for electricity.

Big utilities in the two most populous states, California and Texas, are adding millions of smart meters capable of verifying that recharging happens primarily in periods when other electricity use is slack. Studies show the U.S. could easily accommodate tens of millions of plug-in cars with no additional power plants. Three big utilities in California are planning to install smart meters capable of managing off-peak recharging. The estimated cost: $5 billion over the next five years.

Remembering the Past

Americans often reach for two analogies when confronted with a technological challenge: The Manhattan Project, which produced the first atomic bomb during World War II, and the race to put a man on the moon during the 1960s. The success of these two efforts has convinced three generations of Americans that all-out, spare-no-expense efforts will yield a solution to any challenge.

This idea lives today in General Motors Corp.'s crash program to bring out the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid by 2010 -- even though the company acknowledges the battery technology required to power the car isn't ready.

Even if GM succeeds in meeting its deadline for launching the Volt, the Volt won't be a big seller for years, especially if estimates that the car will be priced at $40,000 or more prove true.

Moon-shot efforts like the Volt get attention, but the most effective ways to use less energy may have less to do with changing technology than with changing habits.

A 20-mile commute in an electric car may not burn gasoline, but it could well burn coal -- the fuel used to fire electric power plants in much of the U.S. The greener alternative would be to not make the drive at all, and fire up a laptop and a broadband connection instead.

--Mr. White is a senior editor for The Wall Street Journal in Washington.

[frawin]

Oct-08 Crude settled at $97.69, down $5.47 on the day, the back months were down $5.00+ as well, Oct-08 Natural Gas Settled at $7.375, up $0.009 on the day, Nov-08 gas was down $0.181 at $7.46.

[flo]

I really don't worry that much, no more than I drive I only fill up about twice a month and then I usually have at least half a tank or more.  I get paranoid if I'm driving on the bottom half.  Yes, Teresa, a pug puppy.