OIL Facts. We have gone backwards to serve Bush's masters.

[TruthIsAll]

• The U.S. has 4.6% of the world’s population, produces 21% of Gross World Product and uses 26%, produces 9%, but owns only 2-3% of world oil.

• Half of U.S. oil is imported. One-fourth of oil usage comes from OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries).

• Of the 15% of net oil imports coming from Saudi Arabia, two-thirds relies on a single processing plant and two terminals, all vulnerable to long-lasting sabotage or attack.

• OPEC’s cartel power to keep oil prices above competitive levels is estimated to have cost the U.S. economy about $4-14 trillion over the past 30 years---roughly a year’s Gross Domestic Product.”

During 1977-85 (thanks to Jimmy Carter):
GDP rose 27%,
oil use fell 17%,
net oil imports fell 42%,
imports from the Persian Gulf fell 87%.

OPEC lost half its market, destroying its pricing power for a decade. If that 5.2% annual gain in oil productivity was repeated starting in 1/2000, Persian Gulf imports could have been gone by 5/2002.

The key to the huge 1977-85 oil saving was Detroit’s 7.6 m.p.g.-better cars.

Two decades ago, we gained 3.25 m.p.g. every 21 months while improving safety, peppiness, and emissions.

If 25% of cars in 2000 were the popular 48-49 m.p.g. hybrid-electric models, or 15% were ultra light hybrid SUV’s , they could displace Gulf imports.

[Massacure]

1. The current gas economy standard is 30 years old

I bet we could double it within a few years.

Hell, if Bush really cared about homeland security, then he would have done that. No more OPEC countries funneling cash to terrorist groups.

[Old and In the Way]

2. Great insight.

Can you imagine where we could be with energy if Carter's initiatives were maintained by Reagan/Bush? But, nooooooo, Bush had his Oil industry friends to take care of and pockets to line. Out goes the Department of Energy, conservation, solar/alternative technology...in comes cheaper oil.

So Bush Republicanism has delayed the inevitable investments for 25 years and we are now paying the price in American blood for a declining resource. The road not taken...

I hope Kerry picks up on this and makes this a centerpiece of his campaign and administration.

[ramapo]

3. Been driving backwards for years

Really can't blame Bush on this one. Blame American society, even Clinton.

Clinton/Gore/Congress caved to the auto lobby and wouldn't raise CAFE standards. Everyone looked the other way while the industry played tricks with SUVs being classified as trucks.

Americans insisted on buying hugh gas guzzlers.

We deserve gas priced at $3-$4/gal. We pay it for milk and water. Not to mention inflation-adjusted price of gas would be much higher to meet 1980ish prices.

[shraby]

4. Higher gas mileage must not be

that hard to implement..a Renault car (yes French) in the 1960s got 40 miles to the gallon. We had one and actually ran out of gas one day because it went so far without buying gas that we forgot to keep track of it. That was when gas was around 26 to 29 cents a gallon.

[cliss]

5. Thanks, TIA for the facts.

My eyes zeroed in on one very important statistic: notice on the first sentence: the US produces 21% of the Gross World Product but consumes 26%. There's an important statistic.

We are in the negative by 5% on our balance of trade. This means that we are a net debtor nation.

We currently owe China over $100 billion. Stan Goff says that we are involved in a credit-debt scam which leaves other countries holding the bag.

He said that because we insist that petroleum purchases must be traded in dollars (petrodollars), we make so much money off this scheme that we are essentially getting our oil for free.

But the day will come, he says, when other nations not only don't want to continue like this, but they can't go on.

If other countries were to start using the Euro (like Putin has been threatening for a long time) we would be shot out of the water.

USA = lunatics.

[salinen]

6. Since our standard of living

is a consideration of National Security, this country would start a war to maintain it. Oops, we already did that.