every old suv headed for the crusher is good news

My morning newspaper editorial page beat us with another republican oil man claiming Obama can lower the price of oil and natural gas if he would just cut tax on drillers, pumpers, refiners, investors.   He goes on to admit that prices are set in world trading and impacted by world events, but, a tax cut would fix it.

Turn to the business section and the main article is about the "mom and pop" oil drillers being driven out of business in Kansas by "big oil".  Outbid for drilling rights and beat out of government freebees by corporate lawyers these guys are as sick as cowboys looking at the first fence.  Hidden in this story though is a gem, natural gas prices have fallen so low wells are being closed, drillers are pulling out of projects, there is a glut in NG and little profit in it, except for the big drilling companies who are fracking and drilling wells by the hundreds today.  How can they do it?  And  oil prices are up at the same time supply is up and yet for the mom and pom it's no longer profitable.  The small drillers smell a speculators bubble funding the biggest drilling companies and the high oil price.  But by the time the bubble breaks and prices settle, these little drillers may be gone.
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But, at current gas prices, if you own a pick-up, suv, or an old barge getting 15 mpg and you pick up a new Prius getting 45 mpg you save $1,500 a year on gas.  Or, one of the many other cars in the high 30's mpg now available you will save $900 a year.  I have a Camry hybrid almost 4 years old, there was a $800 higher price for the hybrid option, I figured I would make it back in about 5 years, hell I made back the 800  in 30 months, at current prices it would have been faster.

Here's some exciting info..........If only 70,000 15 mpg vehicles were taken off the roads and replaced by 45 mpg, we would save 1 days worth of oil consumption each year.  If 200 million, thats most the cars we own, got 45 mpg, we would not import any oil, not even from Mexico or Canada.  This is not that great a hurtle to meet, it is possible in a few years if the GOP can't fuck it up.