Feds watching oil futures for signs of price manipulation
Avoiding the underlying issue which most here believe had lead to the run up in price of oil, some members of Congress and government agencies are watching the futures markets and making rule changes to ensure that the price of oil is not inflated.
This type of market intervention has to be handled with a very even hand since the one thing no one wants to see is a defacto price cap that fails to allow needed price rises to manifest in the face of scarcity. This would ensure that shortages emerge sooner rather than later. As hard as it is to face, prices must be allowed to rise as demand growth outstrips supply growth or shortages will amost certainly be the result. Some are still holding their breath for a supply surge. Maybe? Instead of trying to subsidize the cost of gas which is already running us 600 billion dollars per year, Congress must be willing to move quickly to re-develop mass transit, in my opinion, and increase cafe standards as fast as possible, and make a massive effort to increase wind and solar power, be careful with biofuels because of the knock on effects in the commodities markets.
I take this news of investigation in the market very seriously in light of the recent awakening to this website. I am awaiting the promised report in November on the world's major fields spoken of by Matt Simmons being done by the IEA(or is it the EIA?) Who can keep track?
My concern is that the publicity this site is now receiving, spiking up to 40k hits per day with a reach to some four million visitors per year, means we too have to be careful about our stated facts.
We may find that we are no longer viewed as just another group of conspiracy theorists as most of our price predictions for the last three years have been right (relatively speaking)
Just wondering what some of you think of this. If the grassroots part of peak oil is completed, the message is out, now we need to get with our legislators who are being forced to deal, and come behind the efforts of dedicated professionals.
Just some thoughts. I know that the intent of most of the people here has been to deal with a very difficult issue both personally, and to make sure that the word does get out so the country has a chance to mitigate the impacts of this.
I was not impressed with Jim Cramer calling Hirsch an alarmist the other day for predicting $12 gasoline and then shortages. Robert Hirsch in my mind has as much if not more credibility on this issue than anyone.
Where are we at people? If people are coming here for investment advice and we don't realize it, we could be contributing to a price bubble, or the other way around. The point is without that official report in our hands about the supply data for those 250 major fields we also are speculating and inferrring from scant data.
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I think we have the attention of enough people now that things need to shift gears here. I am hoping that Aaron Wissner's Conference in Michigan will get picked up by the national news. In case you have not heard here is part of the e-mail I received.
The deadline for presentation proposals for "The International
Conference on Peak Oil & Climate Change: Paths to Sustainability" is
March 31. The conference begins in the on Friday, May 30 and runs
through Sunday, June 1, 2008. The location is the Calvin College Fine
Arts Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. Presentations are needed
for
both break out seminars and main stage topics.
International authors and speakers include Richard Heinberg, Dr. David
Goodstein, Megan Quinn Bachman, Julian Darley, Stephanie Mills and Pat
Murphy. Featured speakers include U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers, Mayor George
Heartwell, Sharon Astyk, Ann Woiwode, Chris Bedford, Tom Richter, Tim
Hudson, Aaron Wissner, Tom Stanton, Kurt Cobb, Dr. Olaf Lidums, Dr.
Linda Schweitzer, Christina Snyder, Cynthia Price, Mark Baeur and
Thaddeus Owen. Fifty break out seminars focus on sustainability topics
including transportation, food security, environment, renewable energy,
community education, and conservation.
The event is hosted by educator Aaron Wissner and his Local Future
nonprofit organization. Wissner was featured in January on the front
page of the Wall Street Journal for his peak oil education and
preparation efforts. The Post Carbon Institute is a primary conference
sponsor.
Since then he has gotten some other luminaries to speak. On the sidelines of ASPO last year Boone was saying peak is here. Simmons is out in the eye saying it, Hirsch, Heinberg. This report due in November about the state of so many fields is supposed to fill in gaps in the data and to my mind is very big.
I am at the point where the politics of all this are not so interesting to me anymore. I am what they call a primevel soup guy. I nurture issues I think are important and have discussions about them then my gifting is done. I wrote to Senator Sanders and told him to choose to invest in efficiency and public transit rather than trying to tax and cap. I'm not sure he agreed. And that is'nt to say that the US could not get along for a long time with subsidies, the farmers have enjoyed that protection for a very long time. I just think it is better to let the prices rise and make sure the door is open for innovation and funding to find the future of American energy and transportation if there is going to be one.
So, it is my sense that I will not be involved in peak oil as an issue in 2009. We all have our giftings, I have cleared my conscience of this as a policy issue that I am obligated to. I have done what this one man can do and now I can only watch and see what the American people will do with it.
I will pray the best, God's best, which is by far the best anyone can hope for. This issue is in a transitional stage right now, by January a new paradigm will begin and new leaders will join those already in the public eye. What will happen then I do not know for sure. I appreciate all of you whackos, the folks I agree with and the ones I don't. You have all shown alot of courage taking this issue on, handling it in your personal life and even daring to share it when you knew the masses would not listen. That type of courage is something to be proud of and I am sure it will serve you well in the future.
See you guys around. Good work.