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  • From: Steven Champeon <schampeo AT hesketh.com>
  • To: internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [internetworkers] citizen apathy
  • Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 15:21:24 -0400

on Thu, Oct 10, 2002 at 10:04:56AM -0700, Eric Wolfram wrote:
> Please indulge the thought for a moment. Follow the cash. George the
> II, as I like to call him, is from one of the richest families on the
> globe. They made their money by selling us the oil we use.

Hm. That's funny - I always thought the Bush family was relatively poor
and nouveau riche. Prescott Bush, George W.'s grandfather, was just some
schmuck from Ohio (though, admittedly, a well-connected schmuck with
roots dating back to the early US settlers[1]) who got into the Senate
via Connecticut after the mid-term death of the previous seat holder.
Sure, he was a banker, and sure, he sat on the board of directors of
several large firms, but he was no oil man.

George H. W. Bush didn't even enter the oil business until after WW II,
in the mid-fifties. According to Grolier, he made $2M between 1954 and
1966.

http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/aae/bios/41pbush.html

They're no clan of Croesus, by any stretch. They're not listed in the
Forbes 400, and don't appear to have ever been. I'm not saying that oil
interests don't stand behind him and prop him up, but don't confuse the
puppet with the puppet masters.

As for the claim that SUVs are responsible for their wealth, again, that
simply isn't the case:

http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/energy/stats_ctry/Stat1.html

In 1997, "transportation" accounted for ~27% of energy consumption in
the US; industry and residential/commercial for ~74%. I guess I did the
right thing by moving away from the frozen north. Oops, guess I'd better
stop using that a/c, though. :)

On the other hand, petroleum use for transportation (they don't clarify
whether it's civilian or commercial) makes a larger percentage:

http://www.bts.gov/publications/tsar/2000/chapter6/

OK, here's something:

"For decades, the transportation sector has accounted for between 25
percent and 27 percent of total U.S. energy consumption (table 1). In
1998, highway vehicles accounted for about 80 percent of
transportation energy use. Passenger cars use about 42 percent of the
sector's total, followed by light trucks with 20 percent, and heavier
trucks with 17 percent. Among the nonhighway modes, air
transportation is the biggest and fastest growing energy user. The
pipeline mode, which accounted for about 3 percent of total
transportation energy use, is the only mode that does not depend
directly on petroleum. Typically, pipelines use natural gas and/or
electric pumps to move products (figure 2)."

[...]

"Passenger cars and light trucks are more fuel-efficient today than
they were in 1978, when fuel economy standards were first
implemented. Technologies like fuel injection engines, lockup torque
in transmissions, and improved rolling resistance of tires have
played a major role in this change. Between 1978 and 1988, new
passenger car average fuel economy shot up from 19.9 miles per gallon
(mpg) to 28.8 mpg, while light trucks improved somewhat from 18.2 mpg
(1979) to 21.3 mpg. Since then, new car fuel economy has remained
flat (figure 1).

The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard for new cars has
held constant at 27.5 mpg since 1990 (table 1). On average, new
foreign and domestic cars and light trucks meet the CAFE standard,
but several high-end imports were below it in 1999 [3].

In recent years, efficiency gains have been offset by increases in
vehicle weight and power and by consumer shifts to less efficient
vehicles, such as light trucks, especially sport utility vehicles,
minivans, and pickup trucks. For example, the average weight of new
cars (foreign and domestic) rose from a low of 2,805 pounds in 1987
to 3,116 pounds in 1999. The average weight of new cars today is
still lower than the 3,349-pound weight of new cars in 1978.
Furthermore, in response to consumer demand for new high performance
cars, the ratio of horsepower to 100 pounds of weight increased from
3.98 in 1987 to 5.21 in 1999. For the domestic car fleet, the average
is even higher - 5.30 horsepower per 100 pounds [3].

The popularity of light trucks continues to grow. Twice as many cars
as light trucks were sold in the United States in 1990. By 2000,
however, almost an equal number of cars (8.8 million) and light
trucks (8.5 million) were sold [2]. Clearly, many consumers are
finding what they want in light trucks rather than cars: roominess,
more carrying capacity, greater visibility, and a perception of
safety (at least for themselves). However, this trend has
implications for energy consumption and for emissions, because light
trucks, on average, are less fuel-efficient than cars."

So, sure, it doesn't help the world to have a car bigger than your house,
though certain residents of Cary and Raleigh seem to think otherwise,
but come on. Do you know what the margins are on gasoline? 3%-5%. Most
of what you pay is taxes. If you're a refiner, there's a good margin,
of maybe 30% or so, depending on crude oil prices, I suppose, but the
Bush family didn't run refineries, they sold drilling equipment and
did trading of royalties and futures.

http://consumerenergycenter.org/fuels/gasoline/margins/2001.html

http://consumerenergycenter.org/fuels/gasoline/margins/1997-2001_branded_graphs.gif

Following the money entails doing some basic research, no?

Steve,
worked in the oil business, myself.
Hamel Fuels - Fuel Delivery and Logistics Technician[2], 1987-1988

[1] not that it means much - my oldest ancestor in the Americas was here
as a skilled collier in 1644, but I'm no fortunate son.

[2] I was a convenience store attendant; we pumped gas, diesel, fuel
oil, kero and LP. My uncle Doug, who actually worked for Shell for a
few dozen years as an engineer, gave me the title as a joke.

--
hesketh.com/inc. v: (919) 834-2552 f: (919) 834-2554 w: http://hesketh.com
The average person needs trepanation like he needs a hole in the head. -ca





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