| i fear that fuel prices will continue to rise right up to the point where Bush's 4th reich starts nuking the mid-east. then i suppose nothing much matters at that point. |
Yeah, that make a lot of sense. The oil is expensive, so we destroy the place that has the most of it, so that we then have none.
It's not Bush's fault. Oil production and exports are controlled by OPEC (Orginization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). They regulate the amount produced and the cost of the exports. The energy crisis of the seventies was a perfect example of how much control they have over prices.
European oil prices are much higher due largely from taxes. The U.S. does not have the socialist programs that most europeans countries do, and so we are not taxed as much.
Further, the U.S. has very few oil refineries. We have not built any in 30 years due to various reasons. That also raises the price.
Yes, the U.S. does have massive oil reserves. There is a massive oil reserve stretching from Arizona to southern Utah (enough to run the U.S. for about eighty years), but the reason it isn't used is not becuase of enviromentalists. It is a stratigic reserve incase of nuclear war, or other disaster. Since it is safely underground, no one can hit it.
We pay about $2.70 here in Arizona.
