Chris Estes

Gas prices have dropped for 60 days straight.  Gas prices have dropped 60% since Summers high.  Gas prices near my house are $2.00-2.10.  The high gas price I remember from this summer was over $4.00 which means that gas prices should drop to around $1.60.  I never thought we would see prices this low again.  Oil prices demonstrate and codify negative circumstances – it is nice to see – since gas prices effect more people directly than does much of Wall-Street’s short comings.

Read the CNN.com/Money.com article referencing the low gas prices.

Gas price drop: 60 days straight

National average price for gallon of gasoline falls to $2.105. Peak was $4.114 in July.

Remember $4 gas? Soon it will be $2 gas.

As the nation’s economy worsens, the demand for oil and gas wanes. As a result, prices drop. And drop. And drop.

The price of gas fell overnight Sunday for the 60th consecutive day.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell 2 cents to $2.105 a gallon, according to a survey released Sunday by the American Automobile Association.

A gallon of gas has dropped nearly in half since hitting an all-time high of $4.114 on July 17. It’s been nearly two years since prices were this low, according to AAA figures.

At the high end, drivers in two states are paying an average of $3 or more: Alaska, at $3.181 a gallon, and Hawaii, at $3.049.

But there are now 16 states where the average price has fallen below $2. Missouri had the cheapest gas in the nation, at $1.816 a gallon.

The rapid decline in gas prices comes as the price of crude oil continues to collapse. Crude prices, which make up roughly half of gasoline prices, have fallen more than 60% since hitting a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11.

Crude for December delivery fell $1.20 to settle at $57.04 a barrel on Friday.

I was cruising news on the Volatile Stock Market when I found the latest round of off beat news.

Apparently an organization of Truck Drivers is going to hold a convoy protest in Washington, DC.  Protest or marches on Capital Hill are nothing new and in fact don’t draw that much attention.  But if you have a convoy of big trucks driving from Landover, MD to Capitol Hill during rush hour you are sure to get a few people’s attention.

Though I don’t think they will accomplish their goal it certainly is optimistic.  I like to see that and I support their cause.

Read the Article on Market News

Truckers and Citizens United to Hold Massive Convoy On Capitol Hill; Ask Congress & Pres. Bush to Address Gas Prices

Last update: 2:56 p.m. EDT Sept. 22, 2008

WASHINGTON, Sept 22, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ — Truckers and Citizens United (TACU), a nationwide organization that represents the interests of thousands of professional drivers and trucking employees, is gearing up for a massive convoy around Capitol Hill on Tuesday, September 23rd, to ask Congress and President George W. Bush to back energy legislation that would make gas prices more affordable. For months, the volatile shifts in gas prices have led to higher prices for local business operators, including truckers, and consequently almost every type of consumer good they transport.

The convoy, which could slow traffic in the nation’s capital for hours, will start at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, and travel to downtown Washington, DC, where it will parade around the U.S. Capitol by mid-morning. The group wants Congress and the President to pass and sign energy legislation before Congress adjourns that would address the hardships caused by record-high gas prices and curb rampant oil speculation. Hundreds of truckers are expected to participate in the event, with drivers bringing their rigs from New York, West Virginia, Maine, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Arizona, and Texas.

The truckers are calling for legislation to reduce high gas prices that are severely hurting the trucking industry and legislative reforms that will stop excessive oil speculation. Specifically, the truckers are asking Congress to close loopholes that allow speculators to manipulate oil prices without ever planning to take delivery of the oil, as well as lift some of the bans on offshore drilling, and allow smaller refineries to be built around the Gulf region.

Ron Wenger, Co-Director of TACU, thinks Congress has been to slow to act. “Truckers are just struggling to get by these days and the high cost of fuel is killing them. Everyday Americans are doing their part to reduce consumption, but our legislators haven’t done anything on their end to remedy these problems,” Wenger said.

Co-Director Mark Kirsch echoed his thoughts. “We need Congress to pass energy legislation today that can reduce gas prices and end rampant oil speculation. These issues aren’t just impacting truckers; the high prices are hurting consumers, too,” Kirsch said.

Following a brief rally at FedEx Field at 8:00AM, the convoy of trucks will depart for Capitol Hill by 9:00AM. The group will take Maryland Interstate 295 South to the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge and enter Washington, DC, on South Capitol Street (SW). The convoy is expected to arrive at the corners of 3rd Street and Independence Avenue, SW, by 10:30AM. The convoy will circle the National Mall on Independence Avenue and Constitution Avenue between Third and Fourteenth Streets before heading back to FedEx Field in Landover, MD.

Interviews with leaders from TACU will be available as the convoy parades through the nation’s capital, and members of the group will meet with legislators throughout the week to discuss their energy priorities.

www.truckersandcitizensunited.net

Truckers and Citizens United (TACU) is a national organization dedicated to bringing together and empowering professional drivers and trucking employees. We represent the interests of owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers and their families. TACU actively advocates for the safety and success of its members at the state and federal levels.

So have you caught wind of Congress rolling back the ban on off-shore drilling?  Probably not with the current state of the Economy.  Well on Tuesday the House passed legislation, 236-189, to ease the ban on off-shore drilling.  I would like to point out that the legislative branch of government in the US is dominated by the Democratic Party.  To find out more about the legislative action read the NY Times Article. Write your Congressman and your Senators tell them what you think.

The main point of this is to talk about the atrocity in progress.

I happen to live in Alabama one of those Gulf States that already has off-shore drilling wells.  In fact as a kid, growing up in Central, Alabama, I remember playing baseball next to natural gas pumps.  So drilling and natural resource exploitation is nothing new to me.  In fact the oil and gas industry indirectly put the roof over my head and food in my belly.  Many of my friends, family, and neighbors do not agree with me and think I should be burned at the stake.  They don’t agree with me for the same reason why America’s wealthiest still think the economy isn’t in a state of turmoil.  It isn’t in their best interest!

Tonight on ABC News Nightline. The headline story was talking about Drilling for oil in the Gulf of Maine.  In short, and what I got out of the story, drilling shouldn’t apply to Maine and the cost of heating oil is going through the roof.

Look I get it, people are hurting for money, me too. I worked on Wall Street and not many days past the mortgage fall out.  But, is drilling really the answer?  I can tell you, NO it isn’t.  It’s only temporarily fixes the problem for somebody else to fix.  Exactly what the people before US said.  As a youngster that will be paying for the mistakes of the Ronald Reagan and Cold War Era… Lets Fix the problem! Don’t put a Band-Aid on it.

But again this isn’t my purpose of this post.

My purpose is to address the drilling location issue.  Why should we drill in the Southern Coast?  Because people in Maine Fish?  Lobster?  Why should we drill of the coast of Georgia?  (I really dont have anything).

I try to be objective about the issue.  But, it is hard to be when someone is trying to put an oil rig in your back yard.  When I see pictures of Maine I “aww” at the beauty.  When I hear the name Georgia I think sweet tea, hospitality, and golf.  My images of the south are just as beautiful as anything Maine has to offer!  Have you ever seen the fall leaves in the Southern Appalachians?  The sunset from Key West, FL?  Have you ever had Shrimp?

When the logging industry finally gets to clear cut the last few acres of natural forest to build the houses to pay for the people moving from Maine to the South for work… “There goes the fall leaves”.  What will thousands of tourist come to enjoy a romantic sunset on their honeymoon on the piers of Key West think when they find out that the green poof is from the Oil Refinery in Louisiana. Or, how about finishing off the demise of the shrimping industry with toxic waste from oil rigs raising our dependency on Vietnamese seafood?

My interpretation may be a bit extreme…  My point isn’t.  In fact it is simple. Who wants an oil rig in their back yard?

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The people of the south don’t really want the rigs any more than anyone else. The fact is we need them because you tell us we do and American Survival rest upon our shoulders.  People from the fishing grounds of Maine to California beaches people are counting on our sacrafice.

Gas prices really hit home and affect everyone. No one really knows the true effect of gas prices until it is too late. I worry about the gas prices effect on the economy as a whole. Today’s article from CNN shows the impact it could have on airlines. As a frequent flier and traveler I have sidelined some of my trips due to the cost. In fact a trip across town is taken into consideration more closely because of the sheer cost of fuel. As a once frequent restaurant goer I now eat at home more than ever before. The cost of fuel really effects my day-to-day life.

With the volatility of the airlines these days anything that effects them shows a true representation of the American family. Like that of the already hard hit American families airlines are hurting too as can bee seen in the quote from the CNN article, “Already-depleted cash reserves are dwindling fast, and unless the fuel crisis lessens, airlines face not the now-familiar protracted restructuring in bankruptcy, but outright and immediate extinction”. The families will not disappear but it will affect the American way of life that we have grown so accustomed too.

Read the article over at CNN, Fuel costs could ‘devastate’ airlines.

Fuel costs could ‘devastate’ airlines

Rising fuel costs could drive major air carriers out of business and hurt economy, says report.

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The skyrocketing price of fuel could “devastate” the airline industry and hurt the economy, according to a report from the Business Travel Coalition released Monday.

Pressured by rising fuel costs, major airlines could collapse as early as this year, the coalition said. The failure of just one airline could disrupt travel for 200,000 to 300,000 daily passengers and cause between 30,000 and 75,000 immediate job losses, said the coalition.

The failure of more than one airline could result in 100,000 job losses, said the report, particularly in such hubs as Atlanta for Delta Air Lines (DAL, Fortune 500), Chicago for UAL Corp.’s (UAL) United Airlines and Continental Airlines’ (CAL, Fortune 500) Houston.

“Already-depleted cash reserves are dwindling fast, and unless the fuel crisis lessens, airlines face not the now-familiar protracted restructuring in bankruptcy, but outright and immediate extinction,” said the report.

Business travel would be disrupted, as would the airborne supply chain for goods like pharmaceuticals, electronics and auto parts.

Rising fuel costs hit airlines hard. Fuel expenses are expected to total $61.2 billion this year, compared to $41.2 billion in 2007, according to the Air Transport Association.

Some major airlines, such as Northwest Airlines (NWA, Fortune 500), United Airlines, Delta and U.S. Airways (LCC, Fortune 500), continue to operate despite filing for bankruptcy in the last several years. But the credit crisis would make it harder for a bankrupt airline to keep operating while trying to restructure its business, according to the coalition.

The lack of bankruptcy financing is part of the reason why smaller airlines like Aloha, ATA, Champion, Eos and Skybus recently stopped operating, said the report.

Analysts who cover the industry disagreed that a major carrier would crumble this year, because the airlines still have enough cash to survive into 2009.

“I think it’s more likely that any large airline bankruptcies would occur next year,” said Philip Baggaley of Standard & Poor’s, who has assigned his lowest ratings to U.S. Airways, AirTran Airways (AAI) and JetBlue Airways (JBLU). “At least at current fuel prices, most of them have enough liquidity to get through several more quarters. But it could get rather more uncomfortable by 2009. Oil prices are the largest variable.”

Robert Mann Jr., an industry consultant, said the airlines have enough cash to ward off collapse for this year, and that capacity cuts should help them survive.

“The cuts in flying are designed to cut cash loss and that’s what I hope happens,” said Mann.

Raymond Neidl of Calyon Securities agreed that the airlines have enough cash to avoid disaster in the near future, though he expects that the number of carriers will shrink through consolidation.

“Nobody’s going into bankruptcy this year,” said Neidl. “Airlines die slow, and they always seem to come up with the cash to keep going.”

Delta plans to acquire Northwest Airlines, though the merger is yet to be finalized.

How is the cost of gasoline effecting your life? Does it affect you daily? Do you travel less because of the price of fuel? Let the world know how the effects on your wallet…