Posts Made By: Mel Maki

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

The Dems didn't write about this. It was widely reported in the news. I chose a citation from BBC in my initial post. Here's one from Fox:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/idaho-police-arrest-dozens-suspicion-conspiracy-riot-gay-pride-event
If your comment pertains specifically to me, then why the pleural context? 

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

What about half the people polled just the other day who believe Democracy is dying in America?
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3524708-almost-half-in-new-poll-sees-likelihood-us-will-cease-to-be-a-democracy-in-the-future/
Note the penchant for Trump supporters to support violence...

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

"It is the POLICY of the Biden administration to get rid of the carbon energy business in the US"
That's FALSE. The expressed policy in this regard is specific to overseas ventures but does not get rid of them: 
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/biden-orders-us-stop-financing-carbon-intense-overseas-fuel-projects-2021-12-10/
The refineries are only now close to 100% capacity and could have been supplied much earlier if the oil companies chose to do it. They chose not to. They could have also acted on the thousands of leases they have for land to drill on but haven't acted on this, either. 
I'll remind you that the oil from Keystone would have been fined for export and not consumption in the USA so your argument isn't valid for our needs. 
The Republicans have a simple mantra that works for them politically: "drill, baby, drill" and it appears that you more or less agree with it...

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

I find it informative that you say the Saudi's can ramp up production but the US cant.....If the will were there to do it then we could do it. The 1st step would be to clear some of the obstructions to greater production that the US has been piling on the oil industry..... Funny how we got to being energy independent under Trump and even raising our exports, lowering pump prices. Then all of a sudden that all turned around and you claim we cant reverse it? 1st thing is finding the will to do so.....and this administration isnt the least bit interested in that.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

Again, the cost of a barrel of oil is determined by the global market. If the latter decreases, the cost of gas decreases. The Saudis can ramp up their production now without the need for new drilling so they are in a position to lower the global cost of oil whereas the US can not. The global cost of oil has skyrocketed because of the war in the Ukraine and that is independent of additional drilling in the US. It is the global cost of a barrel of oil that has to come down in order to reduce gas prices significantly. I think both you and Mel subscribe to the drill baby drill mantra but that doesn't address the global cost of a barrel of oil that subsequently reduces the cost of gasoline. 

Originally Posted by James Lacey

Mel,

We are already producing oil domestically at all-time highs. Some experts say it would be nigh impossible to produce more than we currently do. Plus, it's not like there is a dial in the White House Biden can turn to increase oil production. If you want more oil production today, you must have started many years ago. I'm not trying to blame the "former guy," but who was President years ago?

This problem is multi-faceted, and I get it. The guy in charge always gets the blame. But the truth is they are often at the mercy of policies, decisions made years ago, and market forces that are out of their control.

For example, oil is trading today at around $118 per barrel, and gas is about $5 per gallon on average. In February, oil was trading at about $115 per barrel, and gas was $3.30 per gallon.

Many things control gas prices. They also do not correlate directly with domestic production or even the price of oil.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/mar/09/facebook-posts/oil-production-bidens-first-year-par-trump/

Gas is high because they shut down production in the U.S." under the Biden administration.

Originally Posted by James Lacey

Really? Are you guys complaining about Democrats blocking nuclear power when Republicans do everything they can to stop the green energy movement? You have got to be kidding me.

I suspect that if you look at the history of nuclear power in the US, I doubt it's as simple as, "THe FriGteNed DeMOCrAts havE blOCkEd da Nukulur!" Republicans and Democrats have blocked or hindered nuclear development since no one wants it in their backyard. Of this, I'm sure.

And talk about fear-mongers. There are no bigger fear-mongers than the Republicans. According to Republicans, I'm supposed to be afraid of Southern caravans heading to the border every November like election-cycle clockwork. I'm supposed to be scared of Teachers grooming and indoctrinating children, while at the same time, I should arm them with weapons around my children. No one used fear and anxiety more than Trump to influence voters. Get out of here with your "dEMoCRats aRe FeARMonGErS!" malarky.

Regarding green energy, we have an early and unusually severe heat wave in Texas this year. Many people were concerned about whether our isolated power grid could keep up, especially after its failure during the winter storm of 2021 that knocked out power to many for as long as a week during multiple days of sub-freezing temperatures. However, so far, the ERCOT power grid has been performing admirably. Why, you ask? Because Texas invested heavily in green energy years ago. During this heat wave, wind and solar have provided us with almost 40% of our energy needs. This outcome is all the more interesting since even our beloved Senators Cornyn and Cruz disparaged our green energy investment during the winter storm of 2021 and blamed it for the failure of power plants that run on natural gas! The pipelines that feed the plants froze in the extreme weather since they were not winterized enough, but somehow that was the fault of windmills and solar panels.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/14/us/texas-energy-record-solar-wind-climate/index.html

Wind and solar power are 'bailing out' Texas amid record heat and energy demand

Texans are cranking on the air conditioning this week amid an unusually early heat wave, setting new records for electricity demand in the state, which surpassed 75 gigawatts on Sunday and smashed the 2019 record. Texas grid operator ERCOT projects it could approach that peak again on Tuesday.

But unlike previous extreme weather events in Texas, which led to deadly blackouts, the grid is holding up remarkably well this week. Several experts told CNN that it's owed in large part to strong performances from wind and solar, which generated 27 gigawatts of electricity during Sunday's peak demand -- close to 40% of the total needed.