| By Professor Green,
on 04-14-2008 21:00
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Favoured : 16 |
Published in : Blog, Blog |
I recently read an article in the Long Island Press titled “The Oil Crisis-Who is to Blame? It Might Not Be Who You Think,” by Michael M. Martino Jr. In the article he points out that many different factors have contributed to the recent rise in the price of oil. Until I read this article I didn’t fully understand why I’ve been paying an insane amount of money for gas lately. While pumping my fuel I would stand there and wonder who I should direct my anger towards. Why was this all happening? Should I blame the greedy oil companies, the gas attendant or just blame it on George Bush? I never thought that stockbrokers and Wall Street could have anything to do with the inflation of oil prices but I was obviously wrong. Many are quick to blame Exxon Mobil and OPEC, yet investment firms such as Morgan Stanley (who actually owns most of the oil coming into New York Harbor) may play a part as well. This is due to speculation by those involved in the trading of oil futures. Speculators drive up the price of commodities. Oil is the single most important commodity in the world and in fact Martino mentions that it is the second most significant resource to the existence of humanity, second only to water. The trading of oil shares plays a huge role behind the scenes as to what we are paying out on the frontlines. In fact we may still be living in the shadows of Enron, who got legislators to remove federal regulation of the trading of energy markets. This has lead to a lack of protection for investors in oil who trade in the commodities market (NYMEX).
We do not only use oil to heat our homes and run our cars but there are an endless amount of petroleum based products that we consume in our society everyday. According to Martino the United States makes up 5% of the world’s population yet consumes 25% of its oil, 60% of which is imported from foreign sources. The root of it all is crude oil drawn from the earth which is formed through the persistence of time and the slow decay of ‘pre-historic carbon matter’. There just happens to be more of this available in certain parts of the world than others. Nevertheless no matter how long you think the supply of crude oil will last, it is a finite resource. Therefore we must act now in our lifetime, to help start the process of decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels. By spreading a “green” way of living to all aspects of your life, you can lessen your country’s dependence on foreign imports and also help your environment.
When you have more imports than exports, along with the expense of wars (which I’m sure oil may have a little bit to do with), and as Martino states ‘the collapse of the sub-prime market,’ the value of the dollar continues to decrease as it has been. According to Martino as the U.S. dollar weakens when compared to the euro and yen, the price of crude oil subsequently rises. This is because crude oil is priced per barrel in U.S. dollars. I’m sure we’ve all heard oil companies blaming natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina etc. While these do cause prices to temporarily increase, they are not the main cause of the current crisis. Maybe the oil rigs that broke and were floating ashore on the news after the hurricane (as Martino mentions in his article) are symbolic of an empire which is beginning to collapse and wash away[1][1]. As the Evil Oil Empire continues to consume the earth’s energy, we must form a rebel alliance. We can start by playing the supply and demand game. Doing something like purchasing a hybrid car, can be your individual contribution towards the cause. Decreasing your daily consumption of oil will lessen the demand little by little and therefore the suppliers will be forced to lower the price. Just like on Wall Street, the less people want the stock, the less it trades for. Even after reading this article I'm still not exactly sure who to blame when I fill up my 4 cylinder gas tank for close to 50 dollars. I just want to make sure that I am not partially at fault.
Just another thought from the mind of the nutty Professor…………………………
[1][1] “The Oil Crisis: Who is to Blame? It Might Not Be Who You Think.” By Michael M. Martino Jr.
Long Island Press, Volume 6, Issue 15.
Last update : 04-15-2008 23:50
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Great on gas, great commuting car. Car is in great condition with all highway miles for work. 
Condition... : Used
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