While fully agree with you on the part 1/2 of every barrel of oil goes to other than fuel related product, going back in time to the alternatives to the other half will take some major social adjustment. With that said let's go back to ca 1890, before Duryea drove the first horseless carriage down the street. No plastic, no electric (except in major cities), no paint sprayers, no oil furnaces and a host of other No's. Surprise, natural gas was in use and of course, the one made from coal. We not only grew our own clothing material - we actually made it too. Your commentary is not at all zany and we could go back to making ceramics and glass which were the "in" before
synthetics, but this is doubtful as those that control the flow of oil know this to be just as sure as you and I. The price will peak long before they put themselves out of business. The current is nothing - wait until winter when people need heat! Gonna be a rough year and corncobs might even make a comeback.

What r u talking about ethanol ??? Do you think that anyone in Brazil or any other latin america contry eat "mamona" ??? (http://bp3.blogger.com/_JNSg0ssSpzg/RfFjGlZ23FI/AAAAAAAAA3I/69nXvXyB05Q/s1600-h/180px-Illustration_Ricinus_communis0.jpg)

This is a huge lie ! How can a person say something like that !!!

I can´t believe that someone actually believe that in that argument !

So instead of doing something simple like using less gas you choose to do nothing but bitch, complain and whine about all the other things we could be doing.

Ya i agree totatly they r slackers and lack drive and ingenuity

Ya nobody with a brain would believe in that argument
http://getcreditsavy.com

I seriously cannot believe this ridiculously disgusting rant. I would only expect something like this to come from a capitalist snob.

Yes, I think your driving less is going to HELP save the planet. Stop being an ultimatum-ist douche.

I have a plan that involves intelligent use of resources too: it's called stop driving loathsome vehicles like Hummers, for one.

RIDE A DAMN BIKE! There's your social realignment for you, right there. Just to negate your abhorrent rant a little further, the 'anti-gasoline fascists' are more concerned about the pollution and waste than stopping you and all your non-existent friends (who are gasoline junkies) from having your 'serious driving' to the corner store fun.

Also, you should contact MIT if you've figured out how to make materials with advanced synthetic properties from cotton, that's amazing!

And yes, I agree that we make WAY TOO MANY THINGS from petroleum, but those things don't constantly emit poisonous, climate-altering gasses, nor do they make you into a blabbering, loud mouthed fool of a columnist.

And as for your 'serious driving', sir, I'd be really, really surprised if you didn't drive to somewhere you didn't need to (like the store) at the very least once a day.

Social change starts with individuals, loudmouth.

I don't see how anyone, unless they are AlGore,
typed that way for a reason, or from California, the
state that likes to cut it's own throat, and then
bleed all over the rest of our country. Why anyone
believes in GLOBAL WARMING! ooooh, ooooh.
Where is there any more oil, than right here in the
USA. But people, WAKE UP! You've been sold a bill of goods, and been deceived by the greed of your
politicians, and bankers, and lawyers. Get a grip!

Obviously your post comes across just a bit selfish. Other activities also cause harm to the environment, true. It does not logically follow that driving your car is without harm, and I've read this blog long enough to know that you probably get logic.

Personally, I think we do all drive too much. And the "proof" is that we drive less as gasoline becomes more expensive. In that respect, I actually think high gas prices are a good thing. They provide the incentive to use less and to find alternatives to oil.

Personally, I think would could make gains without even driving less. Back before G. W. Bush burned off all of his good will, I had a wish for encouragement to do something positive. We'd invaded the Middle East, and gasoline was becoming expensive. I wanted him to look into the teleprompter and ask the American people, for God and country, to drive slower. He could have credibly put it in the context of Christian duty.

Cars are more efficient at speeds lower than 75 miles/hr. There was a time that G. W. Bush could have made it patriotic and down right Christian to slow down. And I don't mean driving like grandmas. He could have asked us to drive within the posted speed limits, simply because it is the right thing to do.

There are many places in our country where it is not safe to drive the posted speed limit because it is too slow for the prevailing traffic pattern. Wouldn't it be something if enough people slowed down to change the pattern? We wouldn't have to even drive less, just with a bit more patience, and we be doing a global good.

Gary, So basically what you're saying is everyone else is wasting
oil on petroleum based products so I'll continue to waste oil via
gasoline/driving? Unless you've come up with the alternative oil
product and plan on mass producing it, don't you think it would be
good if we all did our part in consuming less of it? Is driving less
or buying less of these petroleum based products really that much of a
hardship for you? If so, I think you might have other issues.
Perhaps you suffer from
"I'm-a-boomer-who-only-cares-about-myself-ITIS".

Actually, the writer STILL hasn't mentioned the worst. Everyone should read http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/100303_eating_oil.html

Do you know fertilizers come from petrolium and petroreum based products? Forget about gas, it's the availability of food we all should be worries about!

Gas prices are rising because we as consumers are doing nothing. SUV's and trucks took over the streets despite warnings. So that sparked the go ahead for tthe gas price rapings. All we have to do is as a people just buy one brand exclusively. That one day boycott idea has no chance of working But to pick one gas, and cut our consumption as much as possible and watch the power of the people work. What are the candidates for president's plan to deal with gas rape? We need to get on this quickly. This will not stop as long as we sit on our ass and take it. It's up to us.

I THINK AMERICANS SHOULD BE FINED FOR TOSSING THINGS THAT CAN BE RECYCLED IN THE GARBAGE,
ALSO FINED FOR TO MUCH GARBAGE,

PAPERS CAN BE BURNED !
PLASTIC AND METAL CAN BE RECYCLED INCLUDING FOIL !

Perhaps you could explain to us oil-patch slackers how you intend to make every hydrocarbon molecule in a barrel of oil into gasoline. Lol.

There is a significant drop off in gas mileage at all speeds above 55 mph. 55 mph was picked because it is the unhappy meeting point of speed and fuel efficiency.

75 mph is extremely wasteful of gasoline. not as wasteful as 76 mph, but significantly more wasteful than 55 mph.

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brad said...
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The biggest problem with this rant is that the reason why only 1/2 a barrel of oil goes to make gasoline is because 100% of it CAN'T MAKE GASOLINE.

The weight of the hydrocarbons in a barrel of crude range from C70 to C1. The heavier stuff winds up as asphalt for roads and roofing. It's heavy, it's thick. The C20-C50 weight stuff winds up as lubricating oils, waxes and polishes. Next up, C15-C20 winds up as "diesel" fuel. C10-C16 or so winds up as jet fuel, C5-C10 is gasoline for cars, lighter stuff winds up in various products, and the lightest, C1-C4 stuff is liquid petroleum natural gas.

Refineries can tweak the process so they get more say gasoline to diesel as a ratio coming out of their catalyitic cracking units. They can mess with reformers to help change the ratio of what they're getting out of the crude. But they can't just take the crude oil and make all of it into gasoline. That's just not how it works.

This guy knows nothing about science. I bet he doesn't believe in EVILoution either.

This guy is literally so dumb his internetz license should be revoked.

First off, some of you need to relax, look at the picture he included with the article, and realize that the writer's just trying to have a good time.

Second, I'm also looking forward to $7/gallon gas because that is the only thing that will ever cause real energy reform. The only way anything will ever change is through creating a spread in supply vs. demand. That's the only thing that is sure to get the attention of big capitalist companies.

And no, consumers don't have enough discipline to "boycott" gas, because that's not how markets work. They will always buy as much as they want to buy and can afford to buy.