A few weeks ago, state Sen. Dina Titus stood at a gas station and blamed high gas prices on Rep. Jon Porter, whom she’s challenging in the Third Congressional District.
Titus, a Democrat, said Porter had time and again gone along with Bush administration policies that help Big Oil and hurt consumers. She also raised the issue last week in the state Senate, proposing a gas tax holiday, even though economists don’t think such a move would help the situation at all.
Republicans have also gotten into the act, pointing to failed promises by Democrats to address gas prices during the 2006 election.
Here’s what voters need to know about the price of gasoline: Elected officials are better equipped to reduce Earth’s gravitational pull than they are to reduce gas prices. The laws of first-year college economics apply here.
“Anybody who says they can get the price of oil down next year, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” UNLV economist Bill Robinson said.
The rapid growth of the Indian and Chinese economies, which means more cars and thus the need for more oil, has driven up demand. Meanwhile, oil producing countries, most of which are members of a price-fixing cartel, can’t produce much more than they do.
Demand up, supply the same, higher price. There’s no getting around this.
Moreover, the slackening dollar is adding to the upward pressure. When the dollar was strong, foreigners bought it because it was considered a safe investment. Now investors are turning to oil futures.
Politicians refer to this wholly rational behavior as “speculation” and often pretend they can do something about it.
But oil is traded on international markets and can’t be controlled by American regulators.
Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would cut crude oil prices by about 75 cents per barrel by 2025, according to a recent Bush Energy Department report. Oil was trading above $140 last week. So not much help there.
Offshore drilling? That wouldn’t start for three to five years.
Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, who was in Las Vegas last week to promote his energy program, said new drilling would have a “psychological” effect on market players and drive down prices.
Nope.
“There’s no psychological effects in those markets,” Robinson said. And if there is a psychological issue, he said, it’s related to fear of what might happen in the Middle East.
This isn’t to say a rational long-term energy policy isn’t possible and highly desirable, and no doubt it should have been crafted and executed on Sept. 12, 2001.
Both McCain and Democratic nominee Barack Obama, who was also in town last week to talk energy, have some ideas.
McCain would give tax credits for efficient, low-emission vehicles and add to our store of carbon-free nuclear power. (He favors the nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain, assuming it can be proved safe.)
Obama, who in the short term would put cash in middle-class pockets to fill tanks, would invest heavily in solar, wind, geothermal and biomass alternative fuels. (Environmentalists and economists detest his advocacy of corn-based ethanol because it drives up food prices and isn’t energy efficient.)
A smart energy policy is especially important to Nevadans, because we could benefit greatly from a diverse energy menu with our vast stores of wind, solar and geothermal energy. A carbon-free future would also mitigate global warming, which will hit us first, and hit us hard.
Moreover, Nevada is one of the most petrol-dependent places in the country. Las Vegas is dependent on gas to deliver tourists, fresh flowers, liquor, food, everything. We also think public transit is for losers and coastal beatniks.
Carroll Doherty, associate director of the Pew Research Center for the Public and the Press, said gas prices are front and center in voters’ minds. Energy is a top issue for 77 percent of them, compared with 54 percent in 2004. For some, this constitutes a concern about our long-term energy needs, but for many, it means gas prices.
Gas prices over which politicians have no control.
For those of you concerned about nuclear safety and waste products there is a much better alternative. Thorium based (rather than uranium based) nuclear power. This technology was demonstrate in the 50's and 60's but was abandoned because it was much harder to produce weapons grade material (compared to uranium). The military considerations favored the uranium fuel cycle.
More specifically LFTR (liquid fluoride thorium reactors) compared to uranium reactors burn fuel 100x more efficiently without reprocessing, result in ~100x less waste and are inherently safer and should cost less to build.
In addition, since LFTR is a high temp low pressure process it can use water or air cooling. Thus Ut/Nv etc, where water is scarce, could replace it's coal fired plants with low cost, clean thorium power plants. Much more cost effective and reliable than the wind and solar plants that California is building. (fyi, California's electricity currently costs 2x Utah's and they are on a path to keep it that way.)
Comparison: Uranium vs Thorium Based Nuclear Power
Uranium LWR /// Thorium LFTR
Fuel Reserves (relative) ************************* 1 /// 100
Fuel Mining Waste Volume (relative) ****** 1000 /// 1
Fuel Burning Efficiency ********************* <1% /// >95%
Radioactive Waste Volume (relative) ********* 40 /// 1
Radioactive Waste Isolation Period ***10000yrs /// 80% 10yrs, 20% 300yrs
Plant Cost (relative) ***************************** 1 /// <1
Plant Thermal Efficiency ****************** ~33% /// ~50%
Cooling Requirements ******************** Water /// Water or Air
Plant Safety ******************************** Good /// Very Good
Weapons Grade Material Production ****** Yes /// No(very hard)
Burn Existing Nuclear Waste **************** No /// Yes
Development Status ********** Commercial Now /// Demonstrated
for more info see
www.energyfromthorium.com/
www.energyfromthorium.com/ppt/thoriumVsU...
charlesH (BS Physics)
Orem, Utah
Las Vegans need to realized the importance of gas prices.
The higher the gas prices then less people come to Vegas.
The less people that come then the less jobs will have.
The less people that come then the less money is collected by the government.
If gas prices get to a certain tipping point then it will cause a long term recession in our city and state.
Wake Up!!!!!
Reid, Ensign and US house members need to make this the number one issue.
No more playing games.
BLAME EVERYONE, SAD FACT 35 Years of do nothing Congress, now is too late. So we blame everyone else
I speak as a Democrat who is fed up with the many little dictators within the Democrat party that are keeping us from developing our own resources.
While I am not certain about Senator McCain, at least he is willing to use our resources rather than send our wealth to foreign non-friendly countries. Senator Obama is continuing to follow the policies of the Democrat party that had kept us from our own resources for over 20 years. Senator McCain appears to be more of a JFK Democrat who is strong on defense and national issues.
This year I will most likely vote Republican, though McCain is not a typical Republican.
Hey you "oil heads", get your head out of that little tiny box that keeps you thinking that the only hope for America is more oil.
Oil is fast becoming inappropriate for personal transportation. What is becoming appropriate is electricity. Electric cars are coming, and they're coming fast. Get ready.
Now the only area open for debate is what should generate the electricty. That's worth debating. But no more of this blame game over oil. It's over for oil. O-V-E-R.
If oil is over then we have a problem.
There is no electric car that is pratical for the America public unless you are never going to take a trip more than 200 miles and never going to carry more than 2 people and one bag.
How long will it take to develop that a better electric car?
The electric companies during the summer are already running at capacity. If one brings on 100 million electric cars than do you realize how many more energy plants we will need. How long do think that will take?
I believe Obama's plan said his plan will take 30 years to implement.
How about some common sense?
Lets drill for oil now while the long term conversion takes place.
It we do not then we are risking jobs in Las Vegas.
Higher gas prices will continue to kill jobs in Las Vegas.
At the risk of being cut to pieces, I dont think there is a White House candidate who will address this problem in the correct manner. All they will do is like taking a big broom and just sweep the problems ahead all the time. The problems are there staring everybody in the face, you have cheap gas in the states, only $4+ a gallon, and its bringing the economy to its knees. Europe have on average between $8 and 9 a gallon, and the EU economies are still managing. Electric cars MUST be the way forward, recharged with GREEN energy, that is a must or the changeover wont work. However, as long as the motor industry still sits there with its fingers up its posterior, then nothing will happen.