Is $100 a barrel of oil high enough to force change?

Question

Higher oil prices in the US = less consumer spending thus leading to an economic slowdown and also increases inflation pressures. More money flows out of the US into Saudi Arabia and gives OPEC more monopolistic powers. The environment continues to degrade as oil consumption increases with globalization. There are proven alternative energy and fuel solutions available now but what does it take to implement it into the market? How high does oil have to get before people start getting serious?

Why aren't Ford, Chevy and GM building more hybrids? Hybrid sales have just surpassed SUV sales, so demand is evident. The big 3 can revitalize the US auto industry overnight... expand production, hire more workers, dominate hybrid market in cars & trucks.. and make profit!!!

Another option: Ethanol is produced from corn... so wouldn't this help the American farmer? If demand outstrips supply, we can always buy extra corn from Mexico, improve their GNP and curb illegal immigration problems.

Answer 1

Ethanol is a complete joke.

Ethanol takes more energy to make than it contains.

Ethanol has 76,000 BTU

It takes 98,000 BTU to just make the 76,000 BTU ethanol

It also takes 1,700 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of ethanol.

It also is subsides by the government of $1.38 a gallon

Flex Fuel vehicles get about 30% less gas mileage because the lack of energy in ethanol

Ethanol 76,000 BTU

Gasoline 116,000 BTU

Answer 2

what change is that? walking to work? or caring the groceries on the backs for 4 or 5 miles? reducing the consumption of everything? I mean how much less do we have to use in heating, driving eating and drinking water will we have to do so satisfy all the enviromental nuts out there? you should only let supply and demand determine prices not moral considerations. if a person can afford to drive an suv let him, just show consideration for us car drivers who can't always see over them when they block our views in a turning lane. prices should never be used as a control tactic to force moral codes on others. the free market is not designed for that.

use moral codes for yourselves and never force them on others through priceing, legislation or taxation. you won't like your self and others wont' like you either (you referring to people in general on both sides)

the real problem is that the oil companies are practically a monoploy, the owners of oil get together (think opec) and decide how much to pump, what prices to charge and what oil fields will be drilled and what will be locked up to keep prices artifically high. supply and demand is being government controled, and the free market is not allowed to work like it is supposed to. I am sure this is all against the law somewhere. the bankers have a monoploy on money creation in most countries (except the axis of evil countries) kind of a interesting conincidence don't you think?

and as for ethanol, I think we should never use food for fuel, never. food is more important gas pollutes alot less than ethanol and basically they can make an engine that runs on alchol you produce youself via fermentation tanks.  nothing like a hit or two of it yourself to get a buzz. you can use anything with sugar and yeast to make alcohol, anyone with a simple education of chemistry can do it. you can use potatoes (moonshine anyone?) yams, apples plums anything with sugar in it. they can make engines that use whatever fuel  you have on hand (CHO carbon hydrogen, oxygen ) combinations in fact they already have the technology it has been around for years. I mean for us fatties we can suction out the fat in our bodies and use that for fuel, melt it down and burn that, we can use fat off the meat we trim, we can use fat of animals slaughtered for meat, after all oil is nothing but fat.  in this case unsaturated mostly, alcohol is biodegradible.

RRRRRR

Answer 3

No 100$ just means the government is doing exactly what they want making more money.  We have lots of oil in the U.S  in fact my uncles work in and around Elk Hills oil reserve in Kern County Ca they have been capping productive wells for 20 plus years they Government and Auto Industries and Oil companies cant afford to stop what they are doing.  Why use something of yours if it keeps gaining value and you dont have to.

Answer 4

Oh sure. The people in So. Cal. will just stop commuting to work.  Their families don't need a home, and food to eat.  Oh yeah.

Answer 5

The retail price of gasoline forces change, not the price per barrel of oil.  In countries that have taxes four times as high as ours on gas (that is, most of the world), the people have changed their consumption habits.  The Big Three are too ossified to react to market conditions.  They should have been the world leaders in intermediate technology (hybrids and pure electrics).  Instead they solve problems by thinking up new slogans.  America couldn't produce enough ethanol to make a difference without creating mass starvation in other areas of the world.  The ethanol we already produce has produced hunger in Mexico, because Mexico is an importer of corn, not an exporter. Corn grows in a temperate climate with ample moisture, not in a desert.

Answer 6

While everyone concentrate on Hybrid products, the government should also empose a mandatory law on engines sizes as it happened during the late 1970's fuel crunch when engine horse power was down and most of the big blocks engines disappeared, from 455's,409', 390's etc... The Federal gov't. should empose a law that certain  sizes of engine can only be used to different transportations.  Cars can only have 4 cylinder engines, trucks will be 4/6 cylinders and 8 cylinders only to heavy duty trucks...By doing so, we save more energy then what we are now. All new and antiques vehicles that we have now, will not be affected by the new law, so the owner can have the old previlage to keep what he/she's got. I think that we save a lot of energy by doing so, until bio fuels is abundant, and hybrid vehicles actually prawls the street in millions...

Answer 7

Oil prices have fallen somewhat and are now below $90/bbl.  In fact, $100/bbl is not even the record price in real terms.  The price of oil in 1984, when corrected for inflation, comes o $102/bbl.  Based on this, I suspect the price will need to get as high as $150/bbl before people make any real changes in their life styles.

Answer 8

No way.  I agree with the guy who said $300 per british barrel.

Answer 9

No.

$300 might do it, as long as there are no other price increases in the rest of the economy. If everything goes up 3 times, then $300 would be like no change. I have been told that solar cells would be economically competitive if the cost could be reduced three fold.

By the way, there are hybrid SUVs. How do you count one of those, as a SUV or as a hybrid? I would count it as both.