Quick Fact

Hundreds of pounds of tar balls and a large tar mat have washed ashore in Louisiana and Arkansas in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac prompting officials to close miles of beaches and restrict fishing along an area of the Gulf Coast there. Tests run by Louisiana State University have confirmed that the oil matches the biological fingerprint of the oil that washed up from the huge BP Deep Horizon explosion in 2010. Testing shows that the oil has not degraded much which means it is resting in shallow trenches and not moving or dispersing. Joel Hayworth, researcher at Auburn University where further analysis is being done, said “We’re in year three and this seems to be the new normal for the Gulf Coast. For some unforeseeable time, this is going to be the new normal for the beach”. BP said some of the oil may not be from their well, but they say they will clean up this new mess.

Our Shameful Environmental Record Continues

Canada has introduced legislation to protect 150 million acres, (roughly the size of France), of forest north of Quebec from industrial development.  This protection would prohibit logging, mining and oil exploration.  It is expected to pass.

what eye thynk: Once again, another country is taking the lead on environmental issues, leaving us further isolated in our intransigence.

Green forests are one of the most efficient ways to clean carbon based pollutants from our air, and it costs nothing. Yet, here we are in the US, talking about allowing oil drilling in our national parks!

In Ohio, our governor wants to allow drilling and fracking in our state parks. I can just see the ads now: "Be the first to camp next to our latest fracking operation! Hear the noise! Smell the pollution! See the trucks passing right by your tent flap! Experience the power and roaring sounds! Imagine the excitement of waiting for the resulting earthquake! Don’t miss out, make your reservation today!"

All this to aid the big oil companies in their never ending pursuit of the almighty dollar.  When do we say "ENOUGH!"?

Big Oil and Congress -- A Model Plan for Money Management

Late last month Congress once again failed to eliminate billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies. As early as 2008 Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon all said that the subsidies are not needed, especially when oil prices are high. John Hofmeister, former CEO of Shell Oil testified before the House prior to their most recent vote to continue the subsidies. “In the face of sustained high oil prices it (is) not an issue….of needing the subsidies to entice us into looking for and producing more oil”.

what eye thynk: Big oil is raking in enormous profits and they didn’t get to be that profitable by being stupid. While they admit that they don’t actually NEED the subsidies, they do acknowledge that they really LIKE the subsidies, and will gladly continue accepting our unwarranted largesse as long as possible--or until Congress finally stands up and says “No!”.

Don’t look for that to happen any time soon. Why? Can you say “lobbyists”, boys and girls? Big oil companies spent $146M last year lobbying Congress to continue providing tax breaks they admit are unnecessary. Both Democrats and Republicans continue to spout platitudes about how subsidizing oil companies helps to keep gas prices down.  At the same time, the Congressional Research Service, a non-partisan think tank that exists solely to provide factual analysis to members of Congress, states that the termination of oil company subsidies would cause gasoline to go up by only a penny or two. But who needs facts when you have lobbyists throwing $146M at you to ignore them?

And we can’t forget the additional money that big oil spends on helping their favorite Congressmen/women get re-elected. Compare the most recent voting record on oil subsidies to campaign donation records and it appears that those who voted to continue the subsidies accepted FOUR TIMES more dollars from big oil than those who voted to end the subsidies. Anyone see a connection?

So Congress gives the oil companies millions of dollars in subsidies. The oil companies then recycle a portion of those dollars back to Congress to guarantee the subsidies continue. Essentially, we’re funding their lobbyists! That is one heck of a recycling program.

Republicans and Gas Prices. Don't Let the Facts Get in the Way.

Gasoline prices are going up and the Republican party can’t stop talking about it.

what eye thynk: The Republicans, led by Mr. Boehner who has instructed his minions to “hit hard on the gas issue”, want you to believe that President Obama and the EPA are stifling domestic oil production and the rising price of gasoline is all their fault. Bull!

Here are some facts that the Republican party refuses to acknowledge: In 2005 we were importing 60% of our oil. In 2010 our import needs dropped to 45% due to INCREASED DOMESTIC PRODUCTION. In 2011 we produced 10.3 million barrels of domestic oil each and every day--the highest domestic production since the 1980s. Currently there are more working oil rigs in the US than there are in the rest of the world combined. At the same time, our use of gasoline has actually declined 5% since 2008.

So, we are using less, importing less and increasing domestic production but gasoline prices continue to rise. Why? Two reasons--first, oil is a world commodity. Global issues like the Mid East conflict and the rising use of oil in countries like China and India impact the price of the oil we import.

The second reason may have an even bigger impact: oil speculators. Major blame can be laid at the feet of speculators who see rising oil prices as a cash hog just waiting to be exploited. I read a study on oil speculation published by the Futures Trading Commission showing that those who actually use oil account for only about 20% of oil trading. That means that 80% of the buying and selling of oil is done by speculators whose only purpose is to sell it at a profit. If they purchase 80% of the available oil at $100/barrel on Tuesday, those who need oil are forced to purchase it at $101/barrel on Wednesday. And the beat goes on.

Want to be really incensed? Follow this link to Energy Investments Inc., where you can learn that oil speculation can be 100% tax free! http://www.energyinvestmentsinc.net/index.php?&page=why&keyword=oilgas&gclid=COD1-oT8-q4CFcbc4AodGn2W0g

Goldman-Sachs does some oil speculating and admitted recently that the price of gasoline would drop by about 56 cents/gallon if oil speculation was regulated.

So why isn’t oil speculation regulated? Good question. Maybe we should ask Mr. Boehner.