Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - What else can the President do to lower gas prices?

ASU2003 · 05-01-2011, 07:45 AM

Costly gasoline clouds Obama re-election prospects - Yahoo! News

I have heard this complaint lately, and it is impacting the economic recovery. Yet, what else do you want the President to do? Is there anything? Let's see what he has done so far:

1. Recommended making sure tires are inflated and cars are tuned up.

2. Supports getting 1 million hybrid and electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

3. Hasn't taken away oil and gas companies subsidies (it's ok to be 'socialist' with this.).

4. Saved GM from GMAC meltdown so they could finish the Volt.

5. Hasn't raised gas taxes...or lowered them. He did when he was in Illinois for one summer when gas prices went over $2 (ha!), but the gas stations and oil companies pocketed a lot of the tax break. An 18 cent reduction won't do much on $4.17 gas, and that is if the stations don't work together to keep prices the same, but increase their profit margins.

6. Increased CAFE standards for the first time in 20 years, and will push research and development at auto companies. (Obama may have been in the senate for this, but he has supported higher standards)

7. Cash for clunkers (there were some problems, I'll agree. It should have been 15 year old cars that got less than 14mpg to be traded in for new cars that got over 30mpg)

8. Hasn't ended the Iraq war, which may have led to a civil war and cut oil output or destroyed the infrastructure.

9. Gave out permits and opened up new areas for offshore drilling in the gulf, until it backfired in his face last April.

What could be done, but would be difficult. Probably would get quite a few protests...:

1. More domestic drilling. Where? The way I look at it is ANWR is more of a strategic reserve so in 50 years we still have something left. There are some tar sands in the west, but it is better to pay more for outsourced gas and oil than destroy that area. We are already drilling where there is oil left. We just don't have that much, and it costs a lot more to get than OPEC oil.

2. More offshore drilling. Where? Exploration came up empty the last time someone drilled in the Atlantic. We can go deeper now, so there may be something, or it could turn up empty again. I saw an oil platform right off the coast of New Zealand a few years ago, and doubt it will ever happen in California.

3. Ban trading and speculation on oil to only legitimate companies that need to plan and forecast prices months ahead of time (Airlines, shipping, factories, etc...) not hedge funds and individuals like me (who will never use the oil).

3. Lower speed limit to 55mph. It has been done before, and it does save 20-25%, but you would need to let truck drivers drive for 2 more hours a day. But after driving on the highway last weekend for the first time this year, anybody who is driving 75-85mph in an SUV can't complain about gas prices.

4. Build a better train system. Help railroad companies transport more. The big thing here would be to get the train tracks down to the sea ports. But, it would be nice to have the ability to drive onto a train and let the train take you and your car across the middle part of the country.

5. Regulating that every car has start-stop technology. How much gas is wasted by cars and trucks sitting at red lights every day? Or we could take it a step farther and make every car into a hybrid at speeds under 25 mph.

6. Promote e85 and instead of paying farmers to not grow crops, get them to grow switch grass and corn. Even e100 like Indy cars use should be available. The big question is, why aren't there independent stations or new companies that will sell it? If they installed these at car rental places at the major airports, lots of people would use it...

7. Make cars lighter. Use carbon fiber, fiberglass, plastic, aluminum instead of steel. People should remove any unnecessary weight as well.

8. Limit the profit margin of oil companies or highly regulate how much can be made off of each gallon of gas. Set it at an amount 0.40 cents lets say, instead of 40%.

9. Get people to ride bicycles more. It might take twice as long to go places less than 3 miles, but I don't use any gasoline because of it. Lots of these trips add up.

10. Do what other countries have done and nationalized the oil industry... Then again, we are still pissed off at Cuba and Venezuela. Communism and all that...

11. Use the internet to get people to car pool more. I'm sure there are extra seats in cars and trucks going the same place I am or at least close by and on around the same date. If match.com and OKcupid can find someone who is compatible, I'm sure there are other people who are like me that would put up with me for a few hours if the cost of the trip was halved.

12. Nuclear powered oil tankers. I'm sure this one won't work now after Japan, but how much oil sludge do all these ships consume transporting oil from the other side of the world? They tried it once in the 60s or 70s, but I'm not sure what went wrong or why it costs so much. We would need to have American Navy personnel on board, but there are lots more protecting the oil supply in Iraq.

13. Do something with RVs and boats. Maybe CAFE standards for them and pushing sail boats with electric motors instead of diesel.

14. Quotas. This is the only way to limit demand when people will pay whatever price. But there will be a black market before the next day.

15. New technology. Electric vehicle batteries are getting better, motors are efficient yet still use too much power. It is expensive, and subsidies and tax credits here have the same effect of just being profit for the companies (although it might be the difference between making and losing money). Electric vehicles would work for the vast majority of trips people take. Yet, it costs money, and the infrastructure and repair ability is lacking. The price is coming down, and solar projects are getting built to provide more power.

16. Get foreign countries to use less. Climate change legislation would have done this, now some countries will use less from the problems from running out of snow melt or flooding. But if it hadn't been for the right-wing people harping on a few e-mails that were meaningless, something could have been done in Copenhagen. We might have had to use less as well, but worldwide demand would be going down. Prices would be following it as well.

17. More organic farming and using natural good bugs to control the bad bugs instead of using chemical sprays.

18. Eat more locally grown produce, and get restaurants and grocery stores to stock, use and promote the local farms.

19. Use the strategic oil reserve. It is there for a reason. The reason is not to lower gas prices.

20. Stop Saturday delivery of home mail. Increase efficiency of government vehicle purchases.

21. Buy more solar generators for military bases both here and abroad. I have used them at DOE facilities in the middle of nowhere and they work great.

22. Promote motorcycles? When the weather is nice they get good gas mileage. Get car rental places to rent them, make it easier to learn how to ride, rent tow kits for small trailers.

23. Come up with a national energy policy. Haven't we tried this before...?

24. Use more natural gas, LPG, and bio-diesel vehicles. Have every car company produce one in quantity and make it easy to refill at home or on the road.

25. AC power for trucks at every truck stop. Either for air conditioning or electronics. It is better than idling all night.

26. Make more aerodynamic cars. I'm not sure why we don't have more cars that look like the EV1 or the Honda Insight. There are other simpler changes that can be made to almost every car out there however. Just dropping the car 1.5" would be easy and help out. Having an air dam that would deploy only when it is needed in hot summer conditions (at least on my car when it had it was always down), put clear covers over fog light indents in front of car...

27. Have a true strong dollar program. Like purposely do things to make the US dollar better than foreign currency in a way that might piss off some importers/exporters. We might have to raise taxes and cut spending, in addition to having the government using any surpluses to pay of debt instead of giving tax breaks.

28. Update and insulate old homes, schools, and commercial buildings. Swap out oil heaters for other types of heat. Maybe even change building codes to get any new buildings to generate more power than they consume in certain southwestern parts of the country by having extremely thick and dense walls, solar panels, and geo-thermal heating & cooling units built during construction.

So, what else can you think can or should be done? Is it anything that the government can do, or is it people that need to change their ways?

Edit to add: There is also talk that the Democrats don't want to lower oil and gas prices. That the left can push their agenda of hurting the oil companies by forcing people to use less gasoline either by legislating it or by economically imposing it. I'm not sure I see too many people using less gas. There are still plenty of cars and truck on the road.

The other issue is, what happens if we actually do become so efficient, will it lower prices for people who did nothing and still waste lots of gas? Will it cost more to produce a barrel of oil than they can sell it for on the open market? Will there be a day when it takes more than one gallon of gasoline to pump, refine, ship, transport, and sell one gallon?

05-01-2011, 07:45 AM	#1 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	What else can the President do to lower gas prices? Costly gasoline clouds Obama re-election prospects - Yahoo! News I have heard this complaint lately, and it is impacting the economic recovery. Yet, what else do you want the President to do? Is there anything? Let's see what he has done so far: 1. Recommended making sure tires are inflated and cars are tuned up. 2. Supports getting 1 million hybrid and electric vehicles on the road by 2015. 3. Hasn't taken away oil and gas companies subsidies (it's ok to be 'socialist' with this.). 4. Saved GM from GMAC meltdown so they could finish the Volt. 5. Hasn't raised gas taxes...or lowered them. He did when he was in Illinois for one summer when gas prices went over $2 (ha!), but the gas stations and oil companies pocketed a lot of the tax break. An 18 cent reduction won't do much on $4.17 gas, and that is if the stations don't work together to keep prices the same, but increase their profit margins. 6. Increased CAFE standards for the first time in 20 years, and will push research and development at auto companies. (Obama may have been in the senate for this, but he has supported higher standards) 7. Cash for clunkers (there were some problems, I'll agree. It should have been 15 year old cars that got less than 14mpg to be traded in for new cars that got over 30mpg) 8. Hasn't ended the Iraq war, which may have led to a civil war and cut oil output or destroyed the infrastructure. 9. Gave out permits and opened up new areas for offshore drilling in the gulf, until it backfired in his face last April. What could be done, but would be difficult. Probably would get quite a few protests...: 1. More domestic drilling. Where? The way I look at it is ANWR is more of a strategic reserve so in 50 years we still have something left. There are some tar sands in the west, but it is better to pay more for outsourced gas and oil than destroy that area. We are already drilling where there is oil left. We just don't have that much, and it costs a lot more to get than OPEC oil. 2. More offshore drilling. Where? Exploration came up empty the last time someone drilled in the Atlantic. We can go deeper now, so there may be something, or it could turn up empty again. I saw an oil platform right off the coast of New Zealand a few years ago, and doubt it will ever happen in California. 3. Ban trading and speculation on oil to only legitimate companies that need to plan and forecast prices months ahead of time (Airlines, shipping, factories, etc...) not hedge funds and individuals like me (who will never use the oil). 3. Lower speed limit to 55mph. It has been done before, and it does save 20-25%, but you would need to let truck drivers drive for 2 more hours a day. But after driving on the highway last weekend for the first time this year, anybody who is driving 75-85mph in an SUV can't complain about gas prices. 4. Build a better train system. Help railroad companies transport more. The big thing here would be to get the train tracks down to the sea ports. But, it would be nice to have the ability to drive onto a train and let the train take you and your car across the middle part of the country. 5. Regulating that every car has start-stop technology. How much gas is wasted by cars and trucks sitting at red lights every day? Or we could take it a step farther and make every car into a hybrid at speeds under 25 mph. 6. Promote e85 and instead of paying farmers to not grow crops, get them to grow switch grass and corn. Even e100 like Indy cars use should be available. The big question is, why aren't there independent stations or new companies that will sell it? If they installed these at car rental places at the major airports, lots of people would use it... 7. Make cars lighter. Use carbon fiber, fiberglass, plastic, aluminum instead of steel. People should remove any unnecessary weight as well. 8. Limit the profit margin of oil companies or highly regulate how much can be made off of each gallon of gas. Set it at an amount 0.40 cents lets say, instead of 40%. 9. Get people to ride bicycles more. It might take twice as long to go places less than 3 miles, but I don't use any gasoline because of it. Lots of these trips add up. 10. Do what other countries have done and nationalized the oil industry... Then again, we are still pissed off at Cuba and Venezuela. Communism and all that... 11. Use the internet to get people to car pool more. I'm sure there are extra seats in cars and trucks going the same place I am or at least close by and on around the same date. If match.com and OKcupid can find someone who is compatible, I'm sure there are other people who are like me that would put up with me for a few hours if the cost of the trip was halved. 12. Nuclear powered oil tankers. I'm sure this one won't work now after Japan, but how much oil sludge do all these ships consume transporting oil from the other side of the world? They tried it once in the 60s or 70s, but I'm not sure what went wrong or why it costs so much. We would need to have American Navy personnel on board, but there are lots more protecting the oil supply in Iraq. 13. Do something with RVs and boats. Maybe CAFE standards for them and pushing sail boats with electric motors instead of diesel. 14. Quotas. This is the only way to limit demand when people will pay whatever price. But there will be a black market before the next day. 15. New technology. Electric vehicle batteries are getting better, motors are efficient yet still use too much power. It is expensive, and subsidies and tax credits here have the same effect of just being profit for the companies (although it might be the difference between making and losing money). Electric vehicles would work for the vast majority of trips people take. Yet, it costs money, and the infrastructure and repair ability is lacking. The price is coming down, and solar projects are getting built to provide more power. 16. Get foreign countries to use less. Climate change legislation would have done this, now some countries will use less from the problems from running out of snow melt or flooding. But if it hadn't been for the right-wing people harping on a few e-mails that were meaningless, something could have been done in Copenhagen. We might have had to use less as well, but worldwide demand would be going down. Prices would be following it as well. 17. More organic farming and using natural good bugs to control the bad bugs instead of using chemical sprays. 18. Eat more locally grown produce, and get restaurants and grocery stores to stock, use and promote the local farms. 19. Use the strategic oil reserve. It is there for a reason. The reason is not to lower gas prices. 20. Stop Saturday delivery of home mail. Increase efficiency of government vehicle purchases. 21. Buy more solar generators for military bases both here and abroad. I have used them at DOE facilities in the middle of nowhere and they work great. 22. Promote motorcycles? When the weather is nice they get good gas mileage. Get car rental places to rent them, make it easier to learn how to ride, rent tow kits for small trailers. 23. Come up with a national energy policy. Haven't we tried this before...? 24. Use more natural gas, LPG, and bio-diesel vehicles. Have every car company produce one in quantity and make it easy to refill at home or on the road. 25. AC power for trucks at every truck stop. Either for air conditioning or electronics. It is better than idling all night. 26. Make more aerodynamic cars. I'm not sure why we don't have more cars that look like the EV1 or the Honda Insight. There are other simpler changes that can be made to almost every car out there however. Just dropping the car 1.5" would be easy and help out. Having an air dam that would deploy only when it is needed in hot summer conditions (at least on my car when it had it was always down), put clear covers over fog light indents in front of car... 27. Have a true strong dollar program. Like purposely do things to make the US dollar better than foreign currency in a way that might piss off some importers/exporters. We might have to raise taxes and cut spending, in addition to having the government using any surpluses to pay of debt instead of giving tax breaks. 28. Update and insulate old homes, schools, and commercial buildings. Swap out oil heaters for other types of heat. Maybe even change building codes to get any new buildings to generate more power than they consume in certain southwestern parts of the country by having extremely thick and dense walls, solar panels, and geo-thermal heating & cooling units built during construction. So, what else can you think can or should be done? Is it anything that the government can do, or is it people that need to change their ways? Edit to add: There is also talk that the Democrats don't want to lower oil and gas prices. That the left can push their agenda of hurting the oil companies by forcing people to use less gasoline either by legislating it or by economically imposing it. I'm not sure I see too many people using less gas. There are still plenty of cars and truck on the road. The other issue is, what happens if we actually do become so efficient, will it lower prices for people who did nothing and still waste lots of gas? Will it cost more to produce a barrel of oil than they can sell it for on the open market? Will there be a day when it takes more than one gallon of gasoline to pump, refine, ship, transport, and sell one gallon? Last edited by ASU2003; 05-01-2011 at 09:53 AM..