The dollar could collapse if Opec officially admits considering changing the pricing of oil into alternative currencies such as the euro, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister has warned.
In an embarrassing blunder at the meeting in Riyadh, ministers’ microphones were not cut off during a key closed meeting, and Prince Al-Faisal was heard saying: “My feeling is that the mere mention that the Opec countries are studying the issue of the dollar is itself going to have an impact that endangers the interests of the countries.“There will be journalists who will seize on this point and we don’t want the dollar to collapse instead of doing something good for Opec.”
After around 40 minutes press officials cut off the feed, which had been accidentally broadcast to the press room.
> Do you mean to say that driving a more fuel
> efficient car that does exactly the same
> thing as the less fuel efficient car is a
> worse life?
Actually, I LIKE my Expedition. I drive my wife’s Saturn SL2 on occasion and I feel like I’m in a pregnant roller skate, so, yes, I do believe it’s a better life surrounded by 2.5 tons of steel.
> Do you believe that a better quality of
> light from CFLs where you can choose a color
> other than the dingy yellow of incandescents
> and even halogens makes for a bad life?
I use the CFLs. I am just worried how much it’s going to cost in five years to have them properly disposed of. Is there another tax hike on the horizon?
> If everybody started using canvas bags for
> groceries then, on average, we would start
> using more gas to get them to the market.
> That would require a bit of explanation. I
> don’t have any idea what you’re talking
> about.
Extra Gas. Your car is having to haul extra weight. Small, for sure, but the added total of everybody doing it would be a non-trivial number.
Did you know that just changing the tail-lamps to LEDs increased the weight of the vehicle enough that the mileage dropped below Fed guidelines? They had to re-program the computer to compensate. Image what the weight of 10 canvas bags would do on a round trip to the supermarket. There’s at least another two pounds.
> Then we would have to start washing them
> because they would get dirty after awhile.
> More water and electricity there.
> And still, we’d use less power than it takes
> to make a plastic bag for every shopping
> occurrence.
Perhaps . . . but then we are losing leisure time spent washing our shopping bags. Lose enough leisure time and we’re back in the caves again.
> And still, we’d use less petroleum than it
> takes to be both the raw material for the
> plastic and the energy to convert the
> petroleum into plastic.
Debatable. Wear and tear on the machines, extra soap, etc.
> And, we wouldn’t leave behind a pile of
> garbage that, quite literally, never
> biodegrades, even when it breaks down into
> smaller and smaller bits. Polymers last
> hundreds of millions of years.
Then use paper. That’s renewable.
> That’s just total fucking bullshit.
I love it when the bobber drops below the surface. You know you’ve caught a big one, then 🙂
> There is no way that any of these things
> added up to the cost of the fuel for heating
> and air conditioning. And, most do not need
> to be purchased every month the way that
> more oil and electricity does.
In Texas it would. Where I live, our Winter only lasts about three weeks.
ECA –
While monopolies and cartels are shielded from some of the effects of the laws of supply and demand, they aren’t forever immune to them. Eventually, if they raise their prices too high, people will stop buying their product.
Frank IBC >> They could easily wreck their own economies if they undermine the US Dollar prematurely.
Frank, you’re missing the point here. Bush and the GOP’s bungling of the economy has undermined the dollar.
Those countries (some which I know very well) will just de-link from the dollar and declare the Euro as the petro-currency.
I’m not sure what the downside will be for them. Not much, as far as I can tell.
It will be done purely as an economic move but it will be popular with the masses because theyu are generally PO’d at the US for Iraq and our anti-Palestinian policies.
So, in the future if/when the dollar weakens, th e negative affect will be COMPOUNDED when oil costs stay high because they’re linked to the Euro, and not the dollar.
This is just another example of Bush’s MASSIVE BUNGLING where he accomplishes EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE of his stated objective. He and the GOP have crowed and swaggered about “making America strong” but they have horribly weakened us with their damned-fool economic policies.
ECA,
First release of oil? Wasn’t that a long time ago? What is the relevance of your post. I think I must be missing something.
Mr. Trade Off,
> Do you mean to say that driving a more fuel
> efficient car that does exactly the same
> thing as the less fuel efficient car is a
> worse life?
Actually, I LIKE my Expedition. I drive my wife’s Saturn SL2 on occasion and I feel like I’m in a pregnant roller skate, so, yes, I do believe it’s a better life surrounded by 2.5 tons of steel.
Please reread the quote of mine that you diligently copied and pasted. If your enormo-Expedition were a hybrid that got 50% better gas mileage, what problem would you have with it?
> There is no way that any of these things
> added up to the cost of the fuel for heating
> and air conditioning. And, most do not need
> to be purchased every month the way that
> more oil and electricity does.
In Texas it would. Where I live, our Winter only lasts about three weeks.
Then you should concentrate on saving on your A/C bills. But, you still don’t need to set the heat higher in winter than you set the A/C in summer, that’s just silly. And, many Americans actually do just that. That was the point I was making, in case you missed it.
As for the rest of your post, if you really believe what you are saying, which is really far from any logical sense, post a link to a reputable article making the claims that these small items you mention are actually worse than the huge savings that would be gained. As for throwing a canvas bag in with your laundry, I fail to see how that would be such a big deal for you.
IBC,
There profits make MS look like a wimp.
And NO, we dont.
WE are locked in.
And both the Fuel company and the GOV are the problem.
The fuel company is bidding against itself, to force the prices up, WHICH is illegal, the only thing is they are (on paper) 4 different companies.
the fuel company and the gov PROMISED in the late 70’s to find alternatives, and HAVENT.
The Oil corps want to be PART of the solution, but want the prices so HIGH, that they WONT loose a penny. Even though Hydrogen is cheaper then Oxygen.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining5.htm
1 barrel of material breaks down to about 100 barrels of material…Figure it out.
Greg Allen –
I’m not denying the role of the US government in this situation.
And if the Saudis un-peg themselves from the dollar, it will probably be to their benefit.
What I’m saying is that Saudi Arabia, or any large country that has pegged its currency to the dollar right now, is in a very delicate position. Until the moment that they actually break with the dollar, they can’t actually show any hints of lack of confidence in it, or they put their own currency at risk.
On the other hand, no longer being tied to the dollar could indeed be bad for the Saudis. Given that their largest customer is the USA, if the new currency in which Saudi oil is sold (either the Euro or the Saudi currency) increases sharply over the dollar, that would put them at a disadvantage in terms of the US market.
I for one can’t wait to drive a fuel-cell car. Using paper bags is bound to be better, as they don’t even need to end up in a land fill. I’m pretty sure they’re recyclable. I’ve seen plastic bag recycling as well, so I’d en courage people to use that. But the production of plastic does use a massive amount of energy, as I can attenst to since I’ve worked in plastic factories. Those presses use a LOT of electricity.
IBC,
Correct.
They want our business, NO matter how low they have to GIVE it to us.
IF’ we jumped out of the OIL or went to OIL only from the America’s.. They would loose LOTS of money. AND then they would need to force prices up for the rest of the world.
1 of the problems we have is Venesualla(sp) and there leader NOT wanting to DEAL(but needs to for the money) with the USA, and JUST joining OPEC. And the USA not liking the Leader because Venisuala(sp) is a Major drug country…
#2 had it right – time to bomb the desalination plants