In large part the oil price is a result of constraints on low oil refinery capacity, plus historic low investment in oil exploration. New oil discoveries take a while to come on stream.

The Middle East is way down the list of 'culprits'.

http://weekbyweek7.blogspot.com/

Australia as an independent soverign nation is free to have its federal government spend huge budget surpluses on R & D researching alternate fuels and other sources of power. Bio-deisel, bio-fuels, ethanol and many other fuels which do not contain oil can and are being developed in other countries.

Brazil has a choice of ethanol 100%, ethanol/petrol blend, lpg,the motorist simply chooses their preference or the cheapest on the day, and with the flick of a switch away they go. Many more countries are progressing in this and other ways, but not Australia.

Howard Government conservatism is all that's holding this country back, conservative people can only work with conventional thought patterns. Hopefully at the next federal election we elect a progressive government, and begin to make up some of the lost ground, which we have lost over the past decade.

Week after week we have people writing columns on OLO making silly statements.
No wonder we all write in to correct things.
John Mathews writes:
"Prime Minister John Howard has called for an all-out debate on energy in Australia. But what he doesn’t want is an all-out debate on petrol prices - because that’s a debate that he can’t win."
That is the silliest statement I have heard. John has already won.
He walks every day. He has more energy than all of us and has won the debate on energy in a walk. Petrol has risen to about $1.45 a litre and Beazley does nothing.
It should read:
"John Howard has called on all his scientific mates to blast Kim Beazley on the uranium energy question"
The next sentence also needs rearranging
"To avoid that nuclear blast the Labor Party has given Howard an easy run on petrol prices and uranium."
As Humphrey would say "Now that is the beginnings of a beautiful friendship"
A debate is won by Howard if the two combatants are on the same side.

Who says ethanol will be cheaper? Ethanol, which could bring prosperity to the inefficient sugar industry and would supposedly be better for the environment has never, until now, been touted as a cheaper buy than petrol - although it is said to be cheaper to produce than petrol. It has always been a saviour for an inefficient industry favoured by the National Party and as a sop to the greenies.

Fuel prices have not gone down in states where ethanol is blended with petrol. Anyone who thinks that alternative fuels have anything to do with saving the motorist money is in for a big shock.

Get used to petrol prices, get used to inflation.

What a revolting article.

The US invaded Iraq because it had to. US policy for 60 years had been to prop up squalid little dictatorships. We saw what the final result of that evil policy was on September 11, 2001. The USA has no choice but to spread democracy and overthrow fascist governments, we will see more 9/11s.

The chart of Iraqi oil production shown in the article does not match up with the claims that the author makes for it. The author claims a loss of 'one to two million barrels a day' in oil production. In fact, the chart shows that in May this year, Iraqi oil production was back to pre-war levels, and that by January 2004 (less than a year after the invastion), production was already at 80% of pre-war levels. Did the author hope no-one would look closely at the chart?

Since Iraqi oil production is now at pre-war levels, does the author predict that the oil price will drop sharply over the next few months?

And even if the author's conclusions were true (and the facts show they are not), what a small-minded, selfish, cruel thing to say!

"The Iraqi people now have a fighting chance to live in a democratic society. But I'm not happy, because I am paying more for petrol!"

Maybe I will enrol in one of the author's courses at Macquarie University. Since he doesn't feel the need to use accurate facts, passing should be a breeze.

David Jackmanson
http://www.letstakeover.blogspot.com

What is the pseudo-left?
http://www.lastsuperpower.net/disc/members/568578247191