Comments on: Gas Prices, Gas Gouging, Peak Oil, Elasticity, Supply Demand

By: newculture

newculture — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:44 +0000

Thanks, I haven’t …
Thanks, I haven’t seen anything like this before, so I think its a useful tool.

By: sunstorm007

sunstorm007 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:44 +0000

Actually supply and …
Actually supply and demand does just that, set prices. There is an equilirium price at which a comodity will be supplied and a price at which it will be bought. Firms cannot stray too far off the mark of the equilibrium, or they simply will not sell anything, as long as there are alternative suppliers (competition that is). Profit Maximization dictates that firms do not artificially jack up prices, if they do they will lose revenue.

By: zappos49

zappos49 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:43 +0000

Yes, this problem …
Yes, this problem is two fold. One is simple supply and demand, but also the US dollar is less valuable compared to other currencies buying power and buying commodities like oil. Prices of oil have not gone up so much compared to other currencies.

By: newculture

newculture — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:43 +0000

Or perhaps the …
Or perhaps the dollar is falling in value because the oil is less available.

Peak oil will not change based on who is in office.

Mr. Paul certainly does have some interesting thoughts on tax and monetary policy, but won’t necessarily make him effective in dealing with the consequences of peak oil.

By: zappos49

zappos49 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:43 +0000

Oil is expensive …
Oil is expensive also because our dollar is falling in value so we have to pay more for a barrel of oil.

VOTE RON PAUL

By: milofonbil

milofonbil — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:42 +0000

After peak oil, the …
After peak oil, the supply curve must change so that it is steep (ineleastic) no matter what the price level since there is not anything that can be done to meet the demand. Production continues to decline although it’s at maximum.

By: fishing1861

fishing1861 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:42 +0000

One thing your …
One thing your forgetting though is oil is an inelastic commodity. Unless an alternative energy source is found that can compete with oil it is unlikely for demand to significantly decrease. So in short it is doubtful that prices will fall unless more supply is brought online which is also unlikely. Which is also unlikely. So high prices in my opinion are here to stay.

By: newculture

newculture — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:42 +0000

Why would he?

We …
Why would he?

We want the the Strategic Oil Reserves in the event that people are freezing to death due to lack of heat, or are starving to death, due to the tractors being idle.

Or, we want that so that we can have it for the military.

Either way, there is absolutely no reason to use it now. That oil will not slow down the rate that oil is going up, or that gas is going up, other then for a few months at most.

Peak oil is simple: increasing demand + fixed supply = price goes up.

By: lakesideguy2009

lakesideguy2009 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:42 +0000

can one of you …
can one of you einsteins out there please explain why bush has not released some of the strategic oil reserves?

By: newculture

newculture — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:41 +0000

Radical …
Radical conservation and curtailment will certainly be necessary if we hope to keep things functioning as we transition to a lower energy future. The book “Plan C” by Pat Murphy goes in depth on a lot of the ways in which to do this.