DS Gas Price Excuse Tracker 4/21/11 Update

Well it wouldn't be another day without another excuse, I mean...the "real reason", why gas prices are so high.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/21/markets/oil_gas_prices/index.htm?hpt=T1

Because it's a broken benchmark that has something to do with West Texas and Oklahoma, blah blah blah. "The answer is that the price of oil Americans see every day has little to do with the price of gasoline at the pump." Really? Well why is that?

Also, "it's important to remember that oil and gasoline prices don't move in lockstep with one another. Gas prices lag behind oil prices by a couple of weeks.....During the oil price spike of 2008, gas prices were still trying to catch up as oil prices had already started falling. That put refiners in a tight spot."

Oh my, we wouldn't want them in a tight spot, now would we? Well then, I guess that settles it then.

Or maybe not....

Because Climate Change Deniers refuse to tackle Global Warming.

http://michellemalkin.com/2011/04/21/obama-climate-change-deniers/


Time to update the list!


DS Gas Price Excuse Tracker for reasons that gas prices increase:

1. Winter months, heating
2. Hurricane in Gulf of Mexico
3. Manufacturing demands by industrial nations, i.e. China
4. Americans and SUVs
5. Market speculation
6. March and April "pressures on refineries"
7. Tensions in Middle East
8. A whale died in the Atlantic
9. A turtle sneezed in the Pacific
10. Global warming
11. Pollen levels
12. Jupiter's red spot
13. The dog ate it.
14. Gas prices take a while to come down because the stations are still selling what they bought at the higher prices
15. Gas prices take no time at all to skyrocket overnight, because reason #14 doesn't apply the other way around.
16. Oil up to pay for alternative resource research
17. Because OPEC says so!
18. A special summer blend is more expensive than the winter blend, as it uses special ingredients! But I thought it was higher in the winter because of the heating demands?
19. Summer vacation, kids are off! And since they all drive cars, this makes total sense!
20. Memorial Day weekend and Independence Day, even tho it's still May and that's in July.
21. Weak dollar causing gas prices to rise
22. Strong dollar gets it back under $80
23. Fuel supply shortage (because OPEC cut the supply in half, right?)
24. Dollar against the Euro
25. See #1 - winter heating, as it got cold in some parts of the U.S. in October, thanks to...global warming?
*NEW*
26. Libya. It's all about Libya
27. No it's not, says Saudi Arabia. Everything is fine. Not sure why the high prices.
28. Gas station owners raise the prices ahead of time, expecting oil prices to go up. But then that means #14 can't be true!
29. Because of the unrest in Libya, more countries are buying from Algeria and Nigeria, which is where the U.S buy its oil from!
30. Benchmark broken, price of oil not related to price at the pump.
31. Gas prices lag behind oil prices by two of weeks, putting refiners in tight spot.
32. Because Deniers refuse to tackle Global Warming.
33. Saudi cutting back oil because market is flooded w/oil, no reason for high $.

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Dangerous

L.A. TIMES OPINION ARTICLE:

U.S. nuclear industry: Not safe enough

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-reynolds-nuclear-plants-20110318,0,6550182.story

Notice the talk always revolves around how strong an earthquake it can survive. It's bad enough building this and the other California plant near, or directly on, earthquake faults. But....no one discusses the alleged "25 foot seawall" and it setting right on the edge of the coast, practically taking a swim in the Pacific.

Should the plate that lives in the Pacific off the California coast slip and cause a wave, will we have the same power/backup power problem as Japan did?

Remember, it wasnt the earthquake. It was the tsunami!

Worries over Calif. nuclear plants after Japan

Utility officials assure the public that Southern California's seaside nuclear plant is safe. But San Clemente residents wonder if the facility is vulnerable to the shaking and flooding.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/worries-over-calif-nuclear-plants-after-japan-24542252

San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant

With the nuclear power fiasco going on in Japan post: earthquake/tsunami.....it's time to look at some of our current nuclear power plants here in the United States....

I expected to find secure.....smart....locations......instead, I find an example of one not near a fault....but on a fault.....and, could they have put it any closer to the pacific ocean? I believe there is a few inches of beach left before the ocean waves....

Can it be any more alarming? Who is going to tell me this plant is defensible against a tidal wave from a quake in the Pacific? If the quake isn't directly under it's foundation.

Could we also attempt to poison the ocean with radioactivity should there be a breach, more effectively than this?

$100 per barrel is unjustified!

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud discusses the oil situation and the high prices, saying the high prices are unjustified.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42037137

BARTIROMO: So based on where the supplies are now, the levels of supply, is oil justified at $100 a barrel?

Prince ALWALEED: It is not justified. This is a panic situation because people are concerned. They don't understand what's going on, they just are worried about what's happening in Libya. And I tell you openly, bluntly and blatantly, if all the production of Libya disappears, one country only, which is Saudi Arabia, can cover it immediately.

See more of the transcript here

.OIL FUTURES: Crude Retreats On Rising US Oil Stockpiles

Wall Street Journal Reports:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110309-711419.html

Of significance:

Saudi Arabia has said it is increasing production to make up for at least some lost Libyan crude oil. The kingdom's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, on Tuesday said there is enough crude oil and spare capacity in the market to meet demand.

and.....:

"The inventories are weighing a little bit," said Dominick Chirichella, an oil analyst with the Energy Management Institute. "But we're still in the Libya mode."

We're still in "Libya mode". Yes, yet another "mode" in addition to the 100s of other "modes" that we use to speculate and excuse raising gasoline prices.

DS Gas Price Excuse Tracker - Update!

According to CNN HLN, the gas prices going up IS because of the situation in Libya.

Even though Libya supplies only 2% of the world's oil, they claim, it's a very rich type of oil that is used for blends. Libya's largest customer is primarily Asia.
So....if Asia can't buy Libya's oil, they will have to buy oil from Algeria and Nigeria, which according to the CNN report, is where the United States buys ITS oil from.

That's a new one! That would almost conflict with about half of the previous excuses, wouldn't it? Algeria and Nigeria? Really?


DS Gas Price Excuse Tracker for reasons that gas prices increase:

1. Winter months, heating
2. Hurricane in Gulf of Mexico
3. Manufacturing demands by industrial nations, i.e. China
4. Americans and SUVs
5. Market speculation
6. March and April "pressures on refineries"
7. Tensions in Middle East
8. A whale died in the Atlantic
9. A turtle sneezed in the Pacific
10. Global warming
11. Pollen levels
12. Jupiter's red spot
13. The dog ate it.
14. Gas prices take a while to come down because the stations are still selling what they bought at the higher prices
15. Gas prices take no time at all to skyrocket overnight, because reason #14 doesn't apply the other way around.
16. Oil up to pay for alternative resource research
17. Because OPEC says so!
18. A special summer blend is more expensive than the winter blend, as it uses special ingredients! But I thought it was higher in the winter because of the heating demands?
19. Summer vacation, kids are off! And since they all drive cars, this makes total sense!
20. Memorial Day weekend and Independence Day, even tho it's still May and that's in July.
21. Weak dollar causing gas prices to rise
22. Strong dollar gets it back under $80
23. Fuel supply shortage (because OPEC cut the supply in half, right?)
24. Dollar against the Euro
25. See #1 - winter heating, as it got cold in some parts of the U.S. in October, thanks to...global warming?
*NEW*
26. Libya. It's all about Libya
27. No it's not, says Saudi Arabia. Everything is fine. Not sure why the high prices.
28. Gas station owners raise the prices ahead of time, expecting oil prices to go up. But then that means #14 can't be true!
29. Because of the unrest in Libya, more countries are buying from Algeria and Nigeria, which is where the U.S buy its oil from!

DS Gas Price Excuse Tracker - Update!

OIL PRICES RISE, GAS AT THE PUMPS MORE EXPENSIVE...

So what is it this time?

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/22/oil-soars-near-3-libya-chaos-deepens/

The Libyan crisis, that's what causes the gas prices to increase!

But wait! There's more!

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2dd671e6-3ea1-11e0-834e-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1EjpP6Vcs

“I don’t know if anybody right now knows what is happening in Libya,” said Mr Naimi. “Whatever is happening in Libya, the disruption to oil markets has not happened. When we see a shortage in supply, we will rectify that immediately.”

He added: “There’s absolutely no reason to be concerned on the supply side even if disruption were to happen.”

According to the Saudis, what is happening in Libya, should not be effecting the price of oil! So.....why ARE the prices going up at the gas pumps?

According to new reports, it's the gas station owners raising the prices ahead of time, so that they can afford to pay higher prices when its time to buy more gasoline.

So THAT's why gas prices go up so high so fast, but......again.....why does it take so long to come back down....if the expectation doesn't happen?

You would think with something THIS important, that REALLY is what put the country in recession the last time, we would finally be able to figure out what the REAL reason is for why gas prices always seem to have to go up?

But until we do....then it's time to keep updating the now famous DS Gas Prices Excuse Tracker:


Excuse Tracker for reasons that gas prices increase:

1. Winter months, heating
2. Hurricane in Gulf of Mexico
3. Manufacturing demands by industrial nations, i.e. China
4. Americans and SUVs
5. Market speculation
6. March and April "pressures on refineries"
7. Tensions in Middle East
8. A whale died in the Atlantic
9. A turtle sneezed in the Pacific
10. Global warming
11. Pollen levels
12. Jupiter's red spot
13. The dog ate it.
14. Gas prices take a while to come down because the stations are still selling what they bought at the higher prices
15. Gas prices take no time at all to skyrocket overnight, because reason #14 doesn't apply the other way around.
16. Oil up to pay for alternative resource research
17. Because OPEC says so!
18. A special summer blend is more expensive than the winter blend, as it uses special ingredients! But I thought it was higher in the winter because of the heating demands?
19. Summer vacation, kids are off! And since they all drive cars, this makes total sense!
20. Memorial Day weekend and Independence Day, even tho it's still May and that's in July.
21. Weak dollar causing gas prices to rise
22. Strong dollar gets it back under $80
23. Fuel supply shortage (because OPEC cut the supply in half, right?)
24. Dollar against the Euro
25. See #1 - winter heating, as it got cold in some parts of the U.S. in October, thanks to...global warming?
*NEW*
26. Libya. It's all about Libya
27. No it's not, says Saudi Arabia. Everything is fine. Not sure why the high prices.
28. Gas station owners raise the prices ahead of time, expecting oil prices to go up. But then that means #14 can't be true!

Olbermann Suspended From MSNBC for Campaign Donations

How many of us are really shocked to hear this? Keith Olbermann could be liberal enough to be making campaign donations to Democrats?

I mean, honestly. Are you really shocked, MSNBC? Or was the pressure simply on after election night? Is this supposed to make it all better?

NYT report <---click here

FOX <--- click here

YAHOO NEWS <--- click here

MSNBC’s election night lineup draws criticism

Did some of the national media look in the mirror lately and see the corruption that is actually going on?

Or do they simply not want to go down with the sinking ship, as American Idol Barry is starting to be realized not as popular as thought to be?

An extremely interesting article on Yahoo News today - regarding MSNBC's unethical election coverage:

MSNBC’s election night lineup draws criticism

Kudos to Yahoo News!