Friday, April 21, 2006

Oil prices

For information on oil prices from 1861 to 2005 and an interesting little chart on the subject go to Forbes .

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Five years ago, a gallon of gasoline cost 40% of what it does now.

Remember how Bob Dole was trying to get the gas tax repealed in 1996?

Remember when you got pissed that a gallon cost $1.28 in 2000?


Remember during Gulf War I when you got pissed that a gallon cost over $1?


Yeah, I should really be happy that I'm about to get a second job, in part to pay for gasoline to my first one.

Anonymous said...

Can you understand why people don't want radioactive waste near them?

I can't put nuclear energy in my gas tank.

Anonymous said...

"...nonsensical fears over nuclear power."


"... killed more than 30 people immediately, and as a result of the high radiation levels in the surrounding 20-mile radius, 135,000 people had to be evacuated."

...

"While only about 3% of the reactor core escaped, it was enough to kill those near it, and damage food and crops worldwide."

What silly nonsense!


Hey, if you built a house on the grounds of the Chernobyl power plant, I bet you'd never have to worry about government interference in your business.


"perfect solution for a clean environment."

I suppose if you wanted to cleanse the environment of living things, then you're right, it's the final solution.

Anonymous said...

Yes. The 1980s were like, so long ago. Technology is like, warp-years ahead of where it was then. There weren't any flying cars back then! People didn't live on Mars back then! Cars ran on gasoline back then! That's like pre-history, dude!

blert said...

Chernobyl did not melt down: it burned up. It had no containment vessel of any kind. At the very beginning of the reactor era, Nichols flatly rejected any graphite moderated design – even with containment. Graphite moderated reactors are ALWAYS vulnerable to run-away power generation.

And who is Nichols? He ran Oak Ridge and transitioned to VP for Westinghouse. He’s the originator/super-salesman of the pressurized light-water reactor. He chose it precisely because run-away power excursions are self-terminating due to physical laws.

Meltdowns in a light-water reactor only occur because of coolant failure.

It took great effort but the Swedes finally discovered how Chernobyl really occurred. The chief plant operator was playing with the control rods to ‘pulse’ the reactor – much in the manner of a kid revving his motorcycle out of gear. That’s right, he was screwing around even while the reactor was at an extremely reduced level of coolant due to engineering tests. That was HIS DEATHBED ADMISSION. He died horribly that very day. View the movie K-19 to imagine what that was like.

When any poster makes any analogy from Chernobyl to light-water reactor designs you can know that he doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about. He’s gone religious. His opinions are based on faith, not fact, and he’s not about to let it go.

Anonymous said...

Wow! I've stumbled upon a coven of nuclear safety inspectors, government investigators, and economic historians! And somehow they have an abundance of time to talk to an idiot like me!

It's a miracle! Praise Bob!