What killed the 2008 season!

[JF Massicotte]

We pay 4.91 in Montreal....

 

[Chris Hayes]

Actually, at this time the oil industry IS the government.

The oil industry is the government? Wow, thats a pretty bold statement considering the blocking of drilling for OIL in ANWR, off the coast of florida (despite china drilling there), as well as on the continental shelf. Regulations out the whazoo when it comes to building refineries. Oh yeah, the oil industry is the government. LOL!

 

[JF Massicotte]

You guys still have the lowest price in the world... sooner or later it had to go up and reach similar value you see everywhere else.

 

[Tim Shriver]

No new refineries = gas shortage = high prices

Demand continues to rise. Plenty of crude right now.
Just not enough refineries.
No one wants them in their backyard.
The oil companies dont wang to build them as it would cause prices to fall.

Supply and demand. They limit the supply, we increase the demand.

Tim

 

[Tim Shriver]

You guys still have the lowest price in the world... sooner or later it had to go up and reach similar value you see everywhere else.

Not exactly correct,

$1.00 a gallon in Qatar right now.

Some other prices for a gallon of gold..in US dollars.

Brazil Brasilia $3.12
Cuba Havana $3.03
Taiwan Taipei $2.84
Lebanon Beirut $2.63
South Africa Johannesburg $2.62
Nicaragua Managua $2.61
Panama Panama City $2.19
Russia Moscow $2.10
Puerto Rico San Juan $1.74
Saudi Arabia Riyadh $0.91
Kuwait Kuwait City $0.78
Egypt Cairo $0.65
Nigeria Lagos $0.38
Venezuela Caracas $0.12

This according to CNN..

Tim

 

[Chris Hayes]

Not exactly correct,

$1.00 a gallon in Qatar right now.

Some other prices for a gallon of gold..in US dollars.

Brazil Brasilia $3.12
Cuba Havana $3.03
Taiwan Taipei $2.84
Lebanon Beirut $2.63
South Africa Johannesburg $2.62
Nicaragua Managua $2.61
Panama Panama City $2.19
Russia Moscow $2.10
Puerto Rico San Juan $1.74
Saudi Arabia Riyadh $0.91
Kuwait Kuwait City $0.78
Egypt Cairo $0.65
Nigeria Lagos $0.38
Venezuela Caracas $0.12

This according to CNN..

Tim

lol. Technically the price of a gallon is less there, but I GURANTEE you it hurts the people in each of them countries more than it does here to fill up. Average personal income in the United States is around 40,000 a year, vs less than 10,000 in most of them countries.

 

[Jon Faubion]

I just spent 426.00 on 54 gallons of "gas" for the main hobby I have, combine that with near 4.00 a gallon diesel and it adds up quick lol. The fuel for the short chasing we do is minimal compared to what the racing eats up.

I am lucky as both the wife and I work in town, we have a combined tally of 15 miles a day.

I noticed it went up 15 cents here overnight, for gas anyway.

Put 300 worth of diesel in the truck yesterday, should hold me for awhile lol.

 

[Dennis Sherrod]

lol. Technically the price of a gallon is less there, but I GUARANTEE you it hurts the people in each of them countries more than it does here to fill up. Average personal income in the United States is around 40,000 a year, vs less than 10,000 in most of them countries.

Chris,
I think you are absolutely correct. One must compare overall cost on everything before comparing the price of a gallon of gas. Before the US Dollar lost some of it's value against the Euro, prices were pretty comparable on lots of things in Europe, except for the cost of gas.
Of all of those places listed, I would much rather pay the $3.50 Plus per gallon as live in one of those locations. Some of them are beautiful and nice to visit, but it ends there.

 

[Eric Treece]

I am really going to set myself up to be an ogre here, but with everything going on in the world today.........global warming (myth or not), this gas crisis looming on the horizon, etc etc........nowhere have I ever heard anyone talk about the POPULATION. Does anyone really think we can keep reproducing the population like we are and it not having some sort of major impact on our daily lives? Think about it folks........anyone remember the commercial where they tell two friends and they tell two friends and so on and so on..........guess what, it works like that with population too for the most part. I sure as hell know there are ALOT more cars on the highway today then when I was 18!! We can all stare at the big white elephant in the room hoping it will go away, but guess what........it isn't. What is the solution? I don't know? But it should at least be something for everyone to think about and not just swept under the rug.

 

[Peter Nicholos]

I guess it could be worse. According to 2007 data France was paying $6.85 a gallon. Of that cost $4.33 was in taxes! While we were paying $3.03 a gallon. Of that cost $.38 was in taxes.
Here is the link.
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/2007_fcvt_fotw492.html

 

[Joe Zemek]

As high as gas prices are this year, next year promises to be worse, with each year getting worse for a few years. The rising demand in the rest of the world, especially India and China, is the primary driver. It's not going to get better anytime soon, and it will take a massive focused global effort to make it better.

So, while chasing locally is still doable, the chasecationers have a tough decision to make. This may be the year to bite the bullet and go chasing, because the next few years may make us all nostalgic for gas under $4/gallon.

I am trying to decide if I should trade in my '01 S10 and for what if I do. I can use it as a motel room if need be... but perhaps I'd rather triple my fuel economy with a small diesel.

 

[Tim Shriver]

Some folks have found a way to get a little help.
Being part of a spotter group that is a 501c3 non-profit entity
may allow a person to claim some mileage deductions on their taxes.

Every little bit helps. The days of large trucks and
cars for chasing is coming to an end.
Soon we all will be using mopeds, micro-cars and camels...

Tim

 

[Susan Strom]

Sometimes I'm glad I only shoot lightning. I only have to drive a few miles in any given storm.

You must live in a good lightning town. Arizona has nice lightning but there is a lot of urbanness around Scottsdale (Phoenix) so I drive long distances to remote parts to increase storm chances and to vary foregrounds. Southwestern states are big too, mine is 116,000 sq miles - all of which I chase (except the southernmost borderlands of Arizona (can be unsafe) and the Mojave western deserts closer to Calif-no rain and furnace-like in summer). Total states chased lightning in...10 (40 to go...LOL kidding...kind of )

Seems like similar travels as tornado chasing in the Plains; although with tornado chasing I seemed to drive longer stretches in a shorter time period (10 days out there 600-900 per day depending) so maybe it seemed like more, but cumulatively lightning is more. With lightning it is a few hundred miles approx 4x-5x per week at least from July-1 to early Oct...so basically chasing all the time during Monsoon. I don't buddy up; only by cell phone. My chase friends can't really come along due to the long-niters - one has a spouse, another a family and another has motorcycle injuries and can't really go far. At least they know where I am though.

 

[Dave Gallaher]

The oil industry is the government? Wow, thats a pretty bold statement considering the blocking of drilling for OIL in ANWR, off the coast of florida (despite china drilling there), as well as on the continental shelf. Regulations out the whazoo when it comes to building refineries. Oh yeah, the oil industry is the government. LOL!

I apologize for not reminding you of the 160,000+ troops hunkered down in Middle Eastern oil fields, or the Special Forces overseeing the pipelines and fields in South America. I won't violate forum rules by posting the resumes of our top electeds, most of whom are from the energy industry or its subsidiaries.

Besides not building new refineries, the industry has actually closed something like 50 refineries during the last 20 years through mergers and other stratagies. Those refineries were up and running; they were closed to reduce capacity. There was no issue of 'getting permits' for already functioning refineries. They have merged to the point of virtually eliminating competition among themselves, so collusion isn't necessary. They were offered sites at US military bases to build new refineries, and they passed.

Keeping refining capacity under tight controls guarantees that demand can outpace supply whenever the desire arises to upgrade profits a few more points. It is not in their interest to build new refineries, so blaming it on regulations is not necessarily 100% accurate.

 

[David Drummond]

Ok, I started this thread to discuss how the high gas prices were going to affect chasing, not to ensue a huge discussion about the world politics of gas prices, which is verging near the political discussion cut off line in some places here. Let's just keep it about how it affects chasing.