INSIDE KING ARTHUR'S CASTLE We have all been at the receiving end of higher oil and gas prices. As consumers, we often feel helpless in the face of rising costs, especially 'lorrie' truck drivers. What we face, in addition to the real shortages arising out of the larger market for fuel, is the effect of speculators on oil prices. Guessing correctly when there will be shortages feeds the processes of financial speculators who have nothing better to contribute than their own designs on making money since they know that the demand for oil is fairly reliable, but they use speculative cash to drive prices to even higher levels so that they can make an excessive profit.
Oil price speculation is capitalism at its worst. What can we, or anybody, do about it? At some point consumers have to say no and, together say that they want a new world energy pricing order based on the need to agressively develop renewable energy sources.
The World Could Alter the Nature of the Oil Industry as an Ecological Necessity
One possibility is for world consumers to influence the use and the distribution of oil products. This may be a necessary feature of our future steps to save the planet in any event, but it makes sense to drive prices up so that real substitutes for oil will come into the market place. This may have to be done artifically, if Saudi Arabia and the leading oil producers cannot agree to facilitate the move by the 'world' away from oil dependence.
One thing consumers can do is to be more specific about who they will buy oil from. For example, consumers could refuse to buy oil from companies that have a low ecological rating as defined by an independent statistical body. This is what consumers do when they refuse to buy diamonds from countries that ship 'blood' diamonds, those diamonds that have a 'record' of unethical operations by sellers or producers involved. Similarly, oil products could be taken off the list of acceptable products by governments raising tariffs to their use. These tariffs would have to last until substitutes for oil fuels were available and the oil industry had reorganized its oil production to higher valued added products, as for building homes and shelters or for use in oil energy-use reduction activities.
Redefine the Uses to Which Oil May be Put
It seems logical that oil could be used as a product of goods and not as a fuel in much the same way that we use wood to build homes. The wood locks up the CO2 and is ecologically friendly unless it burns or rots. Oil can be similarly locked up or left where it is as a lower value resource. A lasting redefinition would require massive investment in the alternative fuels to oil and coal. In the longer term China and India would be the main beneficiaries since because of their large poplations they would reduce the higher death rates arising from continued oil consumption. Yes, the world is dying and we need to have these higher population communities in mind.
The Boycott Approach
Some consumers have the idea that it might be possible to affect oil prices by use of boycotts, such as the one outlined below intended for Canadians that I received in my email box today. I won't say who it was from as they might be targeted, but here goes what was in the email for me to forward on to whoever was interested in their ideas, if only to be knowledgeable about what was going on in the world:
Quote:
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy gas on a certain day' campaign that was going around last April or May! It's worth your consideration. Join the resistance!!!!
I hear we are going to hit close to $ 2.00 a litre by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?
We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to 'hurt' ourselves by refusing to buy gas.
It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can Really work. Please read on and join with us!
By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $1.17 for regular unleaded in my town.
Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a litre of gas is CHEAP at $1.14, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace...not sellers.
With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting
ourselves.
How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas.
But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.
Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies, ESSO and SHELL.
If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.
But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Esso and Shell gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) .. and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.
If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!
If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!
Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all!
(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am... so trust me on this one.
How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all in. I suggest that we not buy from Esso and Shell UNTIL 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!!
I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we can make a difference.
If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO BELOW THE $1.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.
UNQUOTE
In any event, it is interesting to speculate would could happen as compared with what should happen. The IMf has its latest views which are worth noting. http://www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/2008/042108.htm