One political note on gas prices

[Buzz]

Fritz wrote:
The more I get to know people, the more I realize why Noah let only animals on the boat.

Today’s odd’s on favorite for best sig line caption.
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[deckeda]

The video from Climate Town that will come AFTER this one is most relevant to this topic. (Although, some topics such as Keystone and Biden are mentioned more than once, due to the ridiculousness of certain politics.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJOuyckvDGY

^^ In the meantime, you get to see how American oil companies are doing juuuuust fine, regardless of production. Sports fans will note the frequent examples provided therein.

[pdq]

Fact checkers are busy at work, but they have a lot of political BS to counteract.

First, a graph:



See that teensy little purple edge at the bottom of the graph? That’s the oil we import from Russia. We’ll never miss it. Unfortunately, they won’t miss the sales too much either, unless other countries join in and stop buying.

US production took a dive in 2019 due to COVID-related decreased demand (and a resulting collapse in prices). It’s been heading back up ever since then.

Regarding Keystone, there are a wealth of fact-check articles out there to confirm the following:

First, the Keystone XL pipeline…was meant to expand the flow from Alberta to Steele City, Neb., but the full route from Alberta to the Gulf Coast has been completed. The issue was not whether oil from Alberta should come into the United States at all but how much. Even without XL, some of what isn’t transported by the existing pipeline is shipped by rail.

There are three existing Keystone pipelines from Canada into the US. The fourth, Keystone XL, was only going to ease delivery of the environmentally (and quality-wise) worst form of oil, heavy tar-sand oil to the US, mostly for export to other countries (see below).

Second, imports of crude oil from Canada have doubled since the beginning of 2008 — even without the expanded pipeline.

There is an excess of ways to move oil from Canada, (other pipelines, rail, etc) and the lack of Keystone XL (which was not going to be done until 2023 at the earliest) is not limiting imports from Canada.

Third, not all of the oil flowing into the United States was going to be refined and sold here. Much of the oil from Alberta was intended to go to the Gulf Coast, where there’s a lot of refining capacity. But part of the plan was also to then ship refined oil out of the country through the Gulf of Mexico. (About two-thirds of refined products on the Gulf Coast are exported.)

In 2017, the Trump State Department stated that approving Keystone XL would have only a “minimal” effect on the price of refined petroleum products — meaning primarily gasoline — since gas prices are largely driven by “global market factors.”

Mostly a post-pandemic recovery of demand, without (yet) an increase in oil pumped throughout the world.

In other words, the GOP talking points are all BS. But you can’t be surprised at them trying - it’s mostly what they try to sell people these days.

Republicans Wrongly Blame Biden for Rising Gas Prices

Politifact: Oil production in Biden’s first year on par with Trump

Ex-Obama Adviser Fact-Checks Fox Anchor on Keystone XL

Forbes: The Real Reason Behind Surging Gas Prices

[Bill in NC]

And don't forget there's a history of recessions following an "oil shock" like we're currently experiencing.

[SteveG]