Massive energy speculation mixed with much lower demand is driving the price down, down, down for the foreseeable future. From AP: A report by the Commerce Department showed that sales of new homes fell in November to the slowest pace in nearly 18 years, while new home prices dropped by the biggest amount in eight [...]

If you haven’t noticed, gas prices are back down. In fact, oil has been on one heck of a ride, going from $70 a barrel up to over $140 a barrel and back down to $70 in just one year. The value of the U.S. dollar took a similar ride, except its value decreased dramatically [...]

As purse strings tighten and consumption plummets, the market runs screaming. Reuters has more… Oil dropped $6 to below $88 a barrel on Monday on expectations the growing financial crisis will further slow already faltering global fuel demand. Crude prices have plummeted from a peak over $147 a barrel set on July 11 as high [...]

This may seem like good news for people at the pump, but let’s not forget that even with oil falling to $115 a barrel, it’s still well above where it was just a year ago…and a year before that…and so on. And as the following graph from The Oil Drum illustrates, prices have dropped over [...]

Why is McCain ridiculing Obama for a solution that would actually have an immediate impact on our fuel usage? I’ll give you one guess… From TIME: The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that [...]

An unfortunate setback, but my guess is that somebody will fill Sheik Ibrahim al-Karbouli’s shoes quickly. Iraq is now starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel, and whoever is brave enough to stand up could reap some serious rewards. From the AP: Unknown gunmen attacked the convoy of Sheik Ibrahim al-Karbouli [...]

Unlike McCain’s suggestion that Obama is himself responsible for rising gas prices, there’s nothing untrue about what Obama’s campaign is saying in this ad. However, by saying that McCain is in the pocket of Big Oil like Bush, he takes what could have been a solid campaign ad and turns it into a negative hit. [...]

How do you distinguish a flip-flop from a principled policy shift? Well, let’s take a look at Barack Obama’s statements on offshore drilling. In June, Obama said this: “When I’m president, I intend to keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country that prevents oil companies from drilling off Florida’s coasts. [...]

John McCain is running a new ad blaming rising fuel prices on opposition to oil drilling in the United States. The ad specifically references Obama as one of the hindrances to the drilling. That’s misleading at best and dishonest at worst. If we canceled the ban on offshore drilling today, we wouldn’t be able to [...]

I love this idea…and I would certainly take advantage of it if it becomes law. The bill is called “The Energy Efficient and Environmentally Friendly Automobile Tax Credit Act of 2008″ and it provides tax credits of up to $2K for people who sell or trade in their car for a model that’s 20% more [...]

It’s called the Pickens Plan and he lays it out pretty succinctly in this video… It’s an intriguing solution, but one that falls short when you consider getting private companies to A) build more cars that run on natural gas and B) get oil companies to rebuild their infrastructure to offer natural gas as an [...]

I know I’ve personally stopped drinking bottled water as much as I can. There just doesn’t seem to be much point to it here in the US. Sure, I can understand for personal and public emergencies, but regular personal use just seems like a waste anymore. What do you think?

McCain – 48% Obama – 41% This is down from a 10 point lead a month ago. The details… McCain leads by seventeen points among men but trails by two among women. Obama has a huge lead among voters under 30 while McCain leads among those 30 and older. McCain is supported by 85% of [...]

What on earth possessed him to say this? When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost? Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve done it for many, many years. I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters. I’ve had hundreds [...]

It doesn’t get more direct than this… “Anyone who tells you this will lower our gas prices anytime soon is blowing smoke.” However, Arnold wanted to make sure that McCain doesn’t get stung for this… Schwarzenegger’s press spokesman Aaron McLear called me a short while ago to stress that this comment was NOT directed at [...]

Over at Next Right, William Beutler thinks Democratic opposition to off-shore drilling might be as much a loser as their support of gun control in the late ‘90s. Beutler notes that, like support for gun control, support for the offshore drilling ban is supported by less than a majority of Americans and, more significantly, is [...]

Maybe yet another reason why Obama would want to pick Webb? I’ll explain why after the excerpt. From The Hill: Webb wants his home state to have the right to explore for energy off Virginia’s coast. His staff insists his proposal pertains only to natural gas, and not oil, and that it is completely in [...]

A completely understandable position given the current price of gas, but I wonder if those being polled understand the reasons why we put limits on oil companies access in the first place. And while this is a partisan issue, there’s definitely a lot more Democratic support than Republican opposition. My gut tells me that the [...]