How to Monitor Oil Prices Online

There are a number of reasons why someone would need to easily monitor current oil prices. Monitoring Current Oil Prices for Home Heating When it comes to heating your home, the timing of when you buy your oil fillups is critical. Oil prices change substantially depending on the current temperatures and weather in the market where your buying. When the winter temperatures in the Northeast begin to drop, oil prices are very quick to respond accordingly. This is especially true after a long summer where gasoline consumption has been especially high.

In order to meet this summertime need, refineries put oil production and storage on hold in order to meet that demand. When winter temperatures arrive and the demand for home heating oil rises, so do the associated oil prices. This is why many homeowners could benefit greatly from monitoring current oil prices.

Investing in Oil

Another group of consumers who have a need to monitor current oil prices are investors. While crude oil investors certainly have a tremendous need to know the current state of oil prices, investors who are interested in other related industries also have a need to monitor current oil prices. Oil consumption influences many products across a number of large industries. Petroleum is used in plastic, industrial chemicals, and of course fuel that's used to operate large fleets of vehicles. Anything that depends on petroleum is going to react to changes in market oil prices.

Planning Spending

Anothe reason many consumers may need to monitor oil prices is to plan vacations, create shipping schedules, or to strategically plan any other transportation expenses. Individuals and businesses could potentially save a great deal if they monitor oil prices closely and only conduct significant transportation or travel activities during the time when oil prices are especially low. This can also be accomplished by tracking seasonal trends in oil prices and planning activities accoring to which season traditionally has the lowest oil prices.

How to Monitor Current Oil Prices

The obvious place to monitor current oil prices is online. There are thousands of online sources that display the current market price of crude oil. In fact there are even entire websites devoted to crude oil news and discussing anything that could potentially have an effect on the price of crude oil. To learn more, simply conduct a web search for "current oil price" and you'll find many web pages which offer a realtime display of the price. Another excellent resource is CostOfOil.net which provides all kinds of information and resources about the current price of crude oil, including realtime display widgets.

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What Is The Outlook For The Availability Of Fossil Fuels?

I think this article is comparable to the people who slow down on the highway to look at an automobile accident. You are not involved in the accident, yet you surely are curious about what is happening. At the present time we can sense the presence of a disaster, but we do not have enough information to feel that we can get involved. My push to adopt renewable energies is based on our continued polluting of the environment with the burning of fossil fuels. We know that we must slow down this pollution so that our quality of life will not be severely degraded. There is another piece of information needed to prod us into action, and that is how long do we have before we run out of fossil fuels? As a current member of the earth, I am concerned that we leave future generation's sufficient energy to bridge the gap from fossil to renewable fuels. This, to me, is looking at the car wreck. How long do we have until we are the ones involved in the wreck?

The majority of Americans now think that climate change is a problem and that global warming is real. But there still is not a sense of urgency. Every year the US emits CO2 that equals the equivalent weight of 1.2 billion elephants (2 trillion pounds using average size elephants). It is time to stop ignoring 1.2 billion elephants in the room. It is time to implement a plan that will adopt renewable energies at a pace to stabilize the environment from CO2 pollution and then, hopefully, start to reduce the amount of pollution we must derive this plan with an eye to how long our reserves of fossil fuels will last. Once we derive this plan we then can look at future generations and inform them "Here is the plan".

The development of modern civilization has been dependent on both the availability and the advancement of energy. We have witnessed a progression from animal and steam power to the internal combustion engine and electricity generation and to the harnessing of alternative sources of energy. Because of our reliance on energy sources, it is also important to understand the impact of energy use on the environment. All aspects of energy, the way it is produced, distributed, and consumed, can affect local, regional, and global environments through land use and degradation, air pollution and global climate change via greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the foreseeable future, it is very likely that fossil fuels will remain our largest source of energy. However, fossil fuels are finite resources and there is concern not only about both domestic supply and U.S. reliance on foreign supplies but, also, with the increasing cost of these fuels. The research on the longevity of fossil fuels is an exciting adventure in itself. I will touch on some of the theories before I conclude this series of articles. Given the slack of a decade or two, the best summation of the longevity of fossil fuels is presented in "Wikipedia, Fossil fuel: Years of production left in the ground with the most optimistic reserve estimates (Oil & Gas Journal, World Oil)".

Oil: = 45 years

Gas: = 72 years

Coal: = 252 years

With the slack of plus or minus 10 years, most projections are consistent with the Wikipedia numbers. . The popular Hubert peak theory projects that for any given geographical area, from an individual oil-producing region to the planet as a whole, the rate of petroleum oil production tend to follow a bell-shaped curve. "Olduvai revisited 2008" from The Oil Drum blog is an amazing study. This theory was first laid out by Richard Duncan in1989 when he observed that world energy per capita had been declining for a decade. The Olduvai waveform for oil starts in 1950 which is consistent with the Wikipedia projections that the waveform will be completed by 2053.

The energy consumption of a nation is proportional to its Gross National Product (GNP).i.e. (The higher the GNP of a nation, then the higher its consumption.).To maintain our accustomed standard of living, we require the amount of energy that we are burning now to maintain our lifestyles. With the depletion of fossil fuels this will require renewable fuels to fill in the gap.

How do we hammer this information into a plan? A roadmap needs to be derived that utilizes the adoption of solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energies into our energy consumptions needs. Technologies such as stuffing CO2 into caves should not be adopted until they are proven. A plan that incorporates renewable energies with fossils fuels usage would be more realistic for our country to follow.

How do we proceed?

We must continue tax incentives for the renewable energy sectors to incubate their growth. Our House of Representatives in Congress has passed a bill to renew the energy tax incentives that are due to expire December 31, 2008. President Bush threatens to veto this bill because it taxes the Oil Industry $19 billion dollars from multi-billion dollar profits. The president's premise is that the oil companies require these profits to continue exploration of new oil. Politics aside, we desperately need to find new sources of renewable energy.

We need to demand that our local and national leaders produce renewable energy action plans. There are pockets of leadership like Arizona and California. This leadership needs to be at a national level to be successful for the USA. Once this is accomplished we will be well on our way for future generations.

I have a BS and MS in Metallurgical Engineering. Thirty six years spent in the development of semiconductors. Business experience in start up business plan. Currently, an oyster farmer and interested in helping the environment by deploying solar energy. Please visit my Blog http://environmentalhelp.typepad.com/ for further discussions.

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What Is The Best Solution To Rising Oil Prices?

Global warming and environmental destruction is one of the most talked about issues in our present day society. There are so many ways to protect our environment and save some money at the same time. Do you think increasing your vehicles MPG (Miles per Gallon) by fifty percent or more would have a positive impact in our environment? How about having a positive impact on your wallet?

With the price of oil skyrocketing, the issue on the top of everyone's mind is saving money at the pump. I was recently in Connecticut, driving home to Rhode Island. The price of one gallon of gas at one Mobil station was over four dollars. I remember reading on Yahoo! that Connecticut is the second highest state for gas prices. I was shocked when I saw that outrageous price, Three dollars is high enough, imagine paying four or five dollars per gallon! Soon, it may cost over one hundred dollars to fill up your gas tank.

If we do not end our dependence on fossil fuels soon, not only will our wallets shrink, our environment, along with its wild inhabitants will also suffer. Most of the narrow minded people in our society believe the answer to these rising prices is to drill for oil in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuges. It is obvious that these people only care about themselves, and not our miracle planet. Oil is obsolete. We should have ended our dependence on it many years ago, but the oil companies billions were at stake. Recently, I was searching for some alternatives to oil. Finding some these money saving secrets was very difficult. Fortunately, I did track down some incredible fuel saving secrets that the oil companies hate.

Yours in Natural Health,
Viny D'Errico

Discover these secrets Here

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Bill O'Reilly on Oil and Iran - O'Reilly Creates Mass Confusion Over Record Oil Prices

Listening to Bill O'Reilly and the comic book version of reality he espouses is enough to give one a serious case of heartburn. In a recent Talking Points memo entitled "We are all in Danger", O'Reilly pins the blame for $138 a barrel oil on the "gangsters" in the OPEC oil cartel, claiming they are pumping up the price at the pump in an attempt to destroy America. Conveniently, O'Reilly neglects to mention that the price of oil is not actually set by OPEC, but by the light sweet crude oil contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, or NYMEX. He also fails to note analyst estimates that as much of 60% of the current oil price is pure speculative froth due to commodity traders gone wild.

OPEC countries are obviously enjoying the record prices, as are other oil exporting countries such as Canada. But that doesn't mean they caused the price surge. As is too often the case, O'Reilly's analysis is misleading and inaccurate. It's mainly the US investment industry that has caused the run up in oil and gas prices, thereby enriching not only themselves but also the "enemies" of the United States in the process. The arithmetic of a high oil price is pretty simple. Investment banks, hedge funds, the oil and gas industry, and other financial speculators have made untold billions off of the massive commodities bull market of the past 8 years, and run-of-the-mill Americans are paying more out of pocket for just about everything as a consequence.

Instead of using his platform to inform Americans about the true causes of record oil and gas prices, O'Reilly has unfortunately chosen to spin the issue into a baseless and inflammatory attack on OPEC countries, such as Iran and Venezuela, with which the US is currently embroiled in a tense geopolitical stand-off.

Don't "Dig it"? Then why not "Flush it?" Because the worst is more interesting than the best!
Randall Taves is the founder of Flushit, a social news and entertainment site devoted to taking the very worst that humanity has to offer and exposing it to the ridicule and public mockery it deserves. Check out Flushit's Roll of Shame today at: http://www.flushit.net/

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Peak Oil and the Looming Energy Crisis

The world is rapidly approaching and may even have passed peak oil production. Given the lack of serious alternative energy production facilities in place, our reliance on coal and oil may well have very immediate and significant political, social and economic consequences.

What is Peak Oil Production? This refers to the point where production of oil cannot meet demand, thereby causing a shortfall. This does not necessarily relate to the actual quantity of oil in the oil fields, but rather the rate at which it can be extracted and refined. The reality of Peak Oil is also unrelated to the origin of oil. There has been a debate running for some time as to the origin of oil. Some deposits suggest a fossil source, whereas others suggest that the oil is generated deep within the earth between the magma and the crust. This is known as the abiotic oil theory.

Global use of energy is rising exponentially with every year seeing an increasing amount of oil being consumed. The rate at which it is rising varies between countries, but developed nations have an average of about 4% increase annually. China is currently consuming far more than this and is now one of the largest oil consumer nations. This continual rise has put pressure on oil production and reserves so that there is little if any capacity for accommodating fluctuations in demand or supply. This has meant higher prices at the pump not just for motorists but for all fuels which has affected everything from food prices to the cost of air travel.

Virtually everything we consume is at least in part dependent on oil. Plastic products are the obvious example and we are now completely reliant on them. They not only form the basis of most household items like televisions, kettles, sandwich wraps and so on but are also important as insulators in electrical circuits. Even the wheelie bins we use to dispose of our waste are now made from plastic. Without oil these plastics cannot be produced as the basic unit of plastic production, called ethene, is made primarily from steam cracking of refined oil.

It is an unavoidable fact that if we continue using more and more energy we will reach a point where not only prices for fuel, food and commodities will skyrocket, but we will then be unable to meet these needs on a global scale.

In order to avoid this situation immediate action is required. We need to wean ourselves off oil. While this will no doubt require Herculean effort we cannot afford to shy away from this task. Governments and industries need to make this their top priority by becoming more energy efficient and also be investing heavily in proven renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. Individuals also need to be involved in reducing energy consumption and adding pressure to Governments to hasten the change from oil to a cleaner and sustainable energy supply.

Roger Vanderlely

Find out more about peak oil and Fossil Fuel Production and Use at http://www.green-planet-solar-energy.com/ Learn about oil and coal formation, the chemical reactions involved in burning fuel, cleaner alternatives and more.

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Peak Oil Facts And Renewable Energy

As the months pass there is more and more discussion about the looming Peak Oil crisis. It has moved from the field of theoretical to a real situation that is about to have major worldwide global effects.

The economies of developed nations such as the United States, many European countries, Australia now China, have been built or are being built on fossil fuels. Coal, oil and natural gas have fueled the development of production capacity and military strength, allowing those states to achieve a higher standard of living than previously known in the world.

This situation may soon be in for an overhaul. Unless renewable energy sources are developed in a serious fashion, those economies that rely mainly on fossil fuels, particularly oil, will become unstable. So serious is this situation that the International Energy Agency is commencing a thorough study of the 400 major oil fields across the globe to assess the true status of the accessible reserves of oil.

There are good grounds for the IEA's concern about the status of oil reserves. Very recently the Saudi government stated that it will lift production by another 300,000 barrels of oil per day. This is not even close to the lift in production requested by the US Bush Administration. There are fears that the Saudis won't lift production above this level simply because they are unable to. This throws into relief the possible status of the reserves of OPEC countries, whose reserves are not monitored by any regulatory body. Since their ability to sell oil is tied by mutual agreement to their stated reserves and has been so since the mid 1980s, there is a widespread belief that they have grossly overestimated their reserves in order to capitalize on current high oil prices.

If this is indeed the case then the scenario of Peak Oil may be upon us very soon indeed. This is the point at which global production is unable to keep up with demand. This will have a significant impact on the global economy which is still geared toward continuous growth in order to achieve stability. It does not take much pondering of this situation before scenarios of resource wars, extreme nationalism and a global economic crisis come to mind.

The only way for this situation to be addressed in the immediate term is to look to other ways of generating electricity such as renewable sources or nuclear power. Nobody wants a nuclear reactor in their back yard, but despite the hype these reactors have a reasonable safety record and the current technology for nuclear power is well advanced.

Regardless of whether we opt for nuclear power as a stopgap or go all out for renewables like solar and wind power, the future of economies based on oil is grim. Globally we need a major investment in clean energy that is not just a top up to fossil fuels but a major source of energy on its own, regardless of the current ecological crisis of pollution from fossil fuels.

Roger Vanderlely
Find out more about fossil fuels, peak oil and Solar Power Facts at http://www.green-planet-solar-energy.com/ - Learn about the science involved, benefits of different systems, kids solar experiments and more.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roger_Vanderlely

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Crude Oil vs. Alternative Energy: Which is Really Better?

If there was a world title fight who would you put your money on? 'Crude Oil' or 'Alternative energy'? The heavy weight champion of the world today is without a doubt: 'Crude Oil'. In a coming championship battle The Champion could have the upper hand in the first few rounds with explosive power and short term outburst of energy. It would even force a knock out by mean and vicious behaviour in the ring. It would also be nasty and filthy to fight. If the champ strikes very well in the first few rounds it could still be the heavy weight champion of the world. But if 'Alternative energy' could survive the first rounds then it would have a better chance on winning, because it has got endurance, a clear vision and fights a clean fight. There could be an upset and the new heavy weight champion of the world could be 'Alternate Energy'.

Of course there is no real fight, but the battle is really on. Today the fossil fuels like crude oil are our main source of energy. The problem with fossil fuels are that they very harmful for our environment. With the combustion of these fuels we pollute the earth and are gradually heating up the planet. This will have a major impact on the climates we currently have. We will see and are seeing dramatic changes in weather which can ruin cities within minutes or hours. All because of these negative side effects.Also we are running out of fossil fuels and they are more difficult to extract from the depths of the earth. The problem with these old energy sources is that it takes a very long time to form. It took the earth millions of years to form the current supply of old fuels and because we are extracting these from the earth to meet the growing demands we are running out.
Because the demand for energy is growing and the total supply is shrinking prices are increasing. This increase in demand for energy is not only caused by the western countries. New economies are rising and are in need of energy, a lot of energy. The problem is that these demands can not be met and it will not be resolved in the near future. Thus it can be said that the rising trend in crude oil prices will not be stopped.
When we look at alternative energy we can see great potential. These energy sources are available every day. The amount varies but the fact remains that sunshine, wind and running water will always be available. Therefore this source is cheap and available for nearly all.
Another great advantage is that converting these sources into useable electricity does not result in pollution. This is a clean form of energy that has no negative effect on the environment. Taking these advantages into the bigger picture it can be sad that we cannot go wrong with alternate energy. It is the right path.
When we look at the heavy weight championship fight 'Crude Oil' vs. 'Alternative energy', Oil may be the heavy-hitter, but hasn't got the stamina to go to full length of the fight. Alternative energy may be getting a few hits in the first few rounds, but those hits only get faster and stronger all the time. The fight will last longer then a few rounds and at the end a knocked out will follow and the next heavy weight champion will be crowned. Be sure to put your money on the next champion.




Bryan Wong is the owner of the renewable-energy information website www.GetEasyInfo.com/renewable-energy > - A great website that shares quality Info, News and TIPS on Renewable energy

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