Can anyone tell me roughly what percentage of its oil that the US gets from the Middle East? A friend of mine said it was only 10%, but that figure sounds a bit low to me.
USA gets about 60% from foreign sources. I think about half of that comes from the middle east. Europe gets more of its oil from the Middle East than the USA.
Please check the following link from the American Petroleum Institute. http://api-ec.api.org/media/index.c...=display_body&er=1&bitmask=001007000000000000 We import 22% of our oil from Persian Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia being the chief supplier. Also check out this link http://www.usrom.com/Countries/usa.htm About halfway down the page there is an article regarding projected imports.
Woooo. $1.43 for a gallon of petrol. It's no damn wonder you're going through the stuff. A few less 6litre monsters and you might be able to be less dependent on those Middle Eastern types that don't like the US that much.
This is one of the great misconceptions regarding auotmobiles in the USA. There are not many 6 liter engines being produced for autos. The vast majority of autos have fuel efficient 2-3 liter engines.
And we bitch about high gas prices- imagine that? 6 liters? That's for soccer moms. My 8 liter gets 8 miles a gallon.
I was hearing (yes, I am repeating something I can't really remember) that when we pump one gallon of gas in Ohio, where I live, that 10 cents goes directly back to the Princes in Saudi Arabia. That would be the key factor in any debate. Yea, we use some much gas and a certain portion comes from a certain nation. What really matters is how much are they really getting from us. If we started our own boycott, we could hurt them. I simply think back to some travels around the globe. As Gringo said (nice sig BTW) we complain about our cost. Enough said. Second, we rely too much on driving places when we could walk or use public transit. I for one ride the bus when I need to go downtown for teo reasons. One, the parking is expensive and you have to look for it. Two, I never know how long I will be and like to not to worry if I put enough quarters in the meter. While in South America, we would walk for many, many blocks to do some basic things like go to market. In the USA, when I get hungry, I drive two blocks to McD's for a sandwich. This is culture. Even corporations have cultures. Some like Ben & Jerry's have a proactive, counter-culture while others like Enron seem to have other priorties. We as a nation, as a state even as dynamic as a neighborhood have cultures. We need to make grassroots changes starting at home. I know run/jog/walk to work. Yea, it is only 2.3 miles one way, but I win in more ways than one. That aside, I was asked by some young, hippie wannabe college student to put some flyer in my business window. I don't like these things, but took a look. Many times these things are for "legalize Marijuana" and the like. I don't allow this kind of stuff. It turned out to be some "ditch the car day" that is said to be a national thing. One day a month...don't drive...that simple. I know if we all did this, we could make them feel the drop. In Santiago, Chile they have this same system not because they want to save gas, but to save the air and conjestion. Conjestion was the key. Too many drive downtown so on certain days, like our local trash days, certain cars can drive downtown. This is determined by the first letter on your plates. Then again, I recycle at home and at work. Being able to screw the princes is an added bonus.
I remember reading the same figure. IMHO, anyone driving a viechle that is too big for their needs is making a contribution Saudi Arabia and the society most responsible for funding Al-Qaeda. (And they have nothing to be proud about.) I owned an electric viechle for a while and think with some effort a hybrid powered electric car can be made practical for most people. The best example currently on the market (at least is California is the Toyota Prius.) http://www.corolland.com/prius-review.html http://www.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car9.htm Electric cars are further away, but only because battery technology is needs to improve its storage capacity by about 5x. But everything else is there. An electric motor is actually MORE efficient and powerful then a standard car motor. Some people race electric cars at 120 miles per hour. The ideal solution would be a hybrid car that used an small motor to charge an electric car that used Ethanol as its fuel-base. This would cut the Middle East out of the picture, and support American farmers try to eke out a living at the same time. http://www.e85fuel.com/
No, it would support huge agribusiness interests like ADM. Ethanol is a pretty poor energy source anyway, it's little surprise that it hasn't taken off despite the huge subsidies given to it.
The figures on this link state that 59% of the oil delivered in the US is imported. Of the imported oil, comes 18.7% comes from the Persian Gulf. So approximately 11% of our oil comes from the Persian Gulf. (Right? Somebody please check my math. It's crap)
So English people should boycott Ireland and anything Irish because of the IRA and several break away groups? Get real, stop looking at the Middle East as some evil enemy, that's how you got into this mess in the first place. More people should travel there for a holiday and see the reality. There are some amazing holiday resorts, golf courses, race courses, hotels, they are just human beings.
This comparison would make sense if the Irish goverment was funding the IRA and its ilk. Saudi royal family fund terrorist organization because it helps them stay in power. They are a much bigger threat to US national security than Iraq can ever hope to be. Most Saudis want a democratic government but the princes prevent any populist revolution by essentially paying protection money to terrorists. And do you want to take a guess on where that money comes from?
We fight for the right to preserve our low gasoline prices. Perhaps if the people in Europe would stop acting like the Middle East's bitches then they could cut the same deal.
And then we could all live in the 40 degree (C) temperatures that would result in another 300+ million people having the same disregard for the World's (1) natural resources and (2) ever worsening environmental situation, that the average American has. Or maybe it's just narrow mided myopia that just Ian is suffering with, but I somehow doubt it. Your low prices are also helped by the fact that you produce a healthy amount of the stuff domestically. But what I said is true, if the average US citizen could avoid being stricken down with 'Ian McCracken' syndrome, and actually look towards reducing fuel consumption (through whichever vehicular method - car sharing/smaller cars/using public transport/actually walking somewhere etc ), then the US wouldn't have to get dragged into conflicts that so obviously concern themselves with oil production. Currently, the US isn't as popular as a nation who depends so much on oil, should be in the Middle East. I can't see that changing for the foreseeable future, so one of the few ways to increase US national security would be to decrease the oil consumption - and go down the road to isolationism that certain people keep threatening to do.
If we drive fuel efficient cars, the terrorists will win. If we let someone else ride in the car, the terrorists will win. If we ride the bus, the terrorists will win. If we walk a couple of blocks to get somewhere, the terrorists will win. If we don't put a little American flag on the car and increase drag and waste fuel, the terrorists will win.
Oil from Russia Here is Slate.com commenting on an article from today's Washington Post about a possible oil deal between the US and Russia: The WP goes to page 25 with a story about a new partnership that in the paper's own words, "could be among the most far-reaching changes to the international order in the aftermath of Sept. 11." According to the article, Russia, which currently supplies almost no oil to the United States, could be in the near future supplying the U.S. with as much as 1 billion barrels a day, or nearly 10 percent of U.S. imports, "replacing Saudi Arabia's supplies if necessary." The catch, however, seems to be that getting oil from Siberia to the U.S. is no easy task, and could, one Russian analyst estimates, cost an extra $1.25 per barrel. http://slate.msn.com/?id=2070660 Here is the article from the Post: Russia Sees U.S. As New Market For Oil Reserves
This world would be a much better place to live in if everyone had an environment as clean as the US. Our low prices are almost entirely due to the low taxes that we place on gasoline. Europe pays the same amount for oil, they just tax the hell out of it. Britain and Norway both produce a good deal and yet have prices way above US levels.
> According to the article, Russia... could be in the > near future supplying the U.S. with as much as 1 > billion barrels a day This sounds very strange to me. Russia's proven oil reserves are very small - they won't go 5 years without a permanent crash in their production. Besides, their oil already goes to europe. We would just have to go back to Arabia in a while anyway (although it certainly is possible the people who run Arabia in 5 years will be different than the people that run Arabia now).
It's not one billion barrels a day, it's one million. From the Washington Post article: Some oil executives here estimate that Russia, which currently supplies virtually no oil to the United States, could soon provide as much as 1 million barrels a day, or nearly 10 percent of U.S. imports, replacing most of Saudi Arabia's supplies if necessary. As Russia's surging oil industry recovers from its post-Soviet hangover, it has now surpassed Saudi Arabia in oil production.
As Colin pointed out, the environment in the US is far superior to that of most nations, including Europe and the UK. The fact that we "drag ourselves" into conflicts over oil production has much to do with the fact that other nations do not. As Europe sits around and waits for themselves to get weak and prompt yet another World War, the US employes preemptive tactics to avoid the same. Europeans would be wise to be pro-active on these issues once in a while, since we are not doing this solely for our own benefit. Of course, Europeans are used to taking it up the you-know-what from their own governments (in the form of confiscatory tax policies) so it doesn't surprise me that $5 per gallon gas prices are tolerated. When the price approaches $2 here in the US, the American people get upset and go looking to see who's SS is responsible...and then we do whatever butt-kicking is necessary to see that it stops. The Europeans would be wise to flex a little spine once in a while, rather than hoping Americans will fight their battles for them, even though all the while they chirp behind our backs ungratefully.
My God what a load of .... Hey Colin said it so it must be right What exactly does that sentence mean? The environment in the US is superior to that in Europe ... hmmm, no. I'm still lost. You may have picked up on the 'cause and effect' rules of existence. If, the EU or Europe as a whole decided 'to stand up for itself' (or whatever misinformed red-necked sound bite you wish to throw around), there would be lower fuel prices - thus there would increased fuel usage - leading to increased levels on pollution from vehicles. Emission levels in EU are low and the higher prices over here give rise to fewer people wanting to use them (proportionately). It really is rather simple. A $4 gallon (as it is about over here) makes people decisions for them, as to whether they drive half a mile to the shops, or walk. Or use public transport, or have 3 cars per household. High gas prices, mean less gas consumption. It's simple economics. And when you add into the equation of 300M+ people all doing it, then you get to my initial point. I wasn't arguing that we should try and get our prices down - more that the US (for it's own good), should increase it's prices. But I realise a spineless US President would be committing political suicide. If you come over here, you'll find that other things are being taxed out of people's grasp - such as alcohol and especially cigarettes (£4+ per pack of 20). I guess with your posts, the rest of us see why the US isn't necessarily the greatest place on earth.
And the taxes from it are used for other issues. I just can't understand this attitude 'Yeah we fight for our gas prices, y'all could have the same prices if y'all had a little bit of backbone etc etc' ad nauseum. We might want those prices, be we also realise that prices like those in the US are condusive to increased car ownership and usage and consequently increased pollution. Simplistically, pollution is bad (hmm 'kay?), whatever we can do to reduce it will be beneficial to the Earth. If that means $4 a gallon, then so be it. I'll just have to get a smaller car and occasionally walk somewhere. It's an attitude that I did expect from certain factions of US citizens, but it's a little upsetting for the cause, if those who debate the point against me, simply say that we could be the same as the US if we tried - unfortunately, you miss the point.