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Originally posted by professornurbs
reply to post by Chewingonmushrooms
Oh thats insanity? I thought insanity would be protecting a kingdom of 14th centuray a$$ backwards muslims just to make sure we have oil. Kumbaya my friend kumbaya.
The mission: to discover a way to safely and economically extract fuel from oil shale, a type of sedimentary rock found in Wyoming, Utah, and especially Colorado's Western Slope. The potential windfall is staggering. Studies over the years by industry and government alike estimate that there may be between 800 billion and more than one trillion barrels of oil locked up in these rocks--nearly three times the known reserves in Saudi Arabia. That would be enough oil to supply America for the next 400 years.
Originally posted by professornurbs
reply to post by marg6043
"Yes, oil companies reap billions of dollars in incentives from tax dollars and still they do not give a dime back to the people."
Are you serious? You do know the oil companies besides taxes have to pay royalties to drill on US land and coast line. Maybe a little research before posting next time friend.
Originally posted by Chewingonmushrooms
Insanity. With all the environmental damage done through regular drilling, and the infant stage of off shore drilling knowledge along with the disastrous BP gulf spill (one of the worse, if not THE worse environmental disasters of all time) when will anyone learn? Our addiction to oil is out of control, to the point that we would rather die and take every living thing on this planet along with us then adjust to a new post fuel world (which will hurt but is inevitable). Straight insanity.
People need to take peak oil seriously. If we aren't running out of oil why are we drilling with more costly, risker methods and putting more energy into what we extract?edit on 12-5-2011 by Chewingonmushrooms because: (no reason given)edit on 12-5-2011 by Chewingonmushrooms because: (no reason given)edit on 12-5-2011 by Chewingonmushrooms because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by professornurbs
reply to post by Chewingonmushrooms
I am all for alternative fuel sources dont get me wrong, but the technology isnt there. I think I heard the earth regenerates 3% oil a year, so as far as running out I believe we are along way off.
No alternative fuel source (any combination of) would currently handle our consumption needs and with industrialization happening in countries like China, and India and population growth set to increase by 2 billion in 10 years
It's not that we hate the environment, it's not that we only support oil, it's that there is no cost effective and efficient replacement for oil.
Originally posted by Chewingonmushrooms[/i
It's not that we hate the environment, it's not that we only support oil, it's that there is no cost effective and efficient replacement for oil.
See my quote above.edit on 12-5-2011 by Chewingonmushrooms because: (no reason given)
Here's a simple question in Economics: If Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. energy company, made a profit of $35 billion, and if the income tax paid is $15 billion at a tax rate of 47%, how much did it pay to the IRS? The answer is, according to a report published recently in Forbes magazine, zero.
How come the results when 47 percent of the profit had been paid as taxes? Well, it helps to have wholly owned subsidiaries domiciled in countries such as Bermuda, Cayman Island and Bahamas to pipeline cash flows from operations in Azerbaijan, Abu Dhabi and Angola.
The report, as expected, created a huge outcry in the media as well as among the general public when it detailed the taxes paid by corporations in the US last year. Truly, Exxon is not alone. GE submitted a mammoth 24,000-page tax return and managed to avoid income tax for profits worth $10.3 billion last year.
Likewise many companies though benefiting from corporate welfare in the U.S., use tax shelter practices to send their earnings overseas. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 2008, two out of three US companies paid no federal income taxes from 1998 through 2005. The report had covered 1.3 million corporations in the US with collective sales of $2.5 trillion.
So to the important question: Is it illegal to do so? No, not at all, in fact, it's well within the purview of law. Under Net Operating Loss Carry forwards (NOLs), if a company makes a profit of, say, a million this year but incurs a loss of a million the next year, the previous year's loss could be tallied against the gain. Thus a company could get a zero tax liability in the US. It's the same story in the case of foreign tax credit too.
This industry, which includes multinational and independent oil and gas producers and refiners, natural gas pipeline companies, gasoline service stations and fuel oil dealers, has long enjoyed a history of strong influence in Washington. Individuals and political action committees affiliated with oil and gas companies have donated $238.7 million to candidates and parties since the 1990 election cycle, 75 percent of which has gone to Republicans.
Though former oilmen George W. Bush and Dick Cheney occupied the White House for eight years, the oil and gas industry could not win support for repealing bans on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. However, Congress voted in 2008 to lift a ban on offshore drilling. These companies are also wary of cap-and-trade climate change legislation, such as the measure Democratic President Barack Obama supports. Yet Obama still received $884,000 from the oil and gas industry during the 2008 campaign, more than any other lawmaker except his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). [Read more Background]