Bush Eases Environmental Rules on Gasoline

He also directed the Environmental Protection Agency to use its authority to temporarily waive air quality laws in states if that would relieve a local gasoline supply shortage.

What an excellent way to celebrate Earth Day.

Lol.

I agree Zaki that's the part that sticks out to me too... But normally the reasoning behind relaxing air/water quality standards is that it's better for business. It's easier, and it costs less money. And they're usually honest about that...

I didn't RT(whole)FA so maybe this is explained somehow after the opening 1/3. But how does relaxing air quality standards relieve gasoline shortages? There could easily be a logical explanation for this so I am legitimately asking if anyone knows what that is.

It looks like he did just enough to make both Republicans and Democrats happy and piss them both off at the same time.

Bush ... called for the repeal of $2 billion in tax breaks for profit-heavy oil companies.

Bush repealing a tax break? WHAT?!?!

Here's an idea to ease our pain at the gas pump: call up any ONE of your drinking buddies at Exxon and tell him to give us a break. While you're at it you can repeal ANY AND ALL tax breaks being offered to oil companies. If they're so cash rich that they can offer a $400 million dolllar cash out to their outgoing CEO then they can sure as hell pony up their fair share of taxes. Bush's ties with oil and gas companies are unprecedented, so his assertion that he has little control over what's happening is laughable at best; it's worse when you consider a good portion of the people in his administration are either shareholders or boardmembers at major oil and gas concerns.

Man, I will be so relieved when this is over. I just don't think I can take one more day of this guy and his almost constant stream of criminal, borderline criminal or morally reprehensible activity.

Are we ready to impeach yet? Please?

Bush is providing only a temporary solution. Why not maintain high gas prices in order to get people thinking about other ways of getting around?

The real problem is that we could never impose an Oil boycott. Because the one day per month that we all decide NOT to get oil, is when gas would be cheaper (for that day) at the gas station, and boom, exxon/mobil laughs, because consumers would crawl right back to get their fix.

Everytime I try to get out, they pull me right back in. -The Godfather Part III

The arguments put forth for high gas prices have never seemed credible to me... I mean... when you have Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhilips all making the Fortune 500 top ten last year with record profits, it's pretty obvious that prices are not this high simply because they "have to be," as a result of supply and demand.

I bet the price would have to be $5/gal before Oil companies started to see any quantifiable loss in *business*. Right now everyone's pretty much just taking it in the ass, for a lot of people there's really just no choice in the matter, and they know it obviously.

It's not that oil isn't more expensive for the oil companies, but they do hand that extra cost right down to the consumer, plus a healthy bit more just in case things get worse. It makes logical or even moral sense, provided the corporations don't consider for even an instant the fact that consumers have no way to take our own inflated costs and pass them on down the line. It's not like everybody in America can just ask for a raise to cover gas costs.

If the folks at Exxon Mobil et al don't want to play fair and shoulder some of the burden of tight oil supply, it's the people's responsibility to make them. And since, as has already been eloquently stated, we can't exactly boycott gas for a few weeks, we have to get the government to intervene for us. The fact that this is so difficult to do is indictive of the great power imbalance that exists in american society. What's worse, I have yet to hear any really viable suggestions on how to fix it.

Ideas, anybody?

Out of all the possibilities of really doing anything about it, he waives the air quality law?!

Regardless, I am kind of pleased that the gas prices are going up and people with gas guzzling SUVs will suffer. Now behavioral changes will happen. Unfortunately this also impacts the lower-income families. There is simply no one right solution. *sigh*

So, they get to raise prices and their punishment is a waiver on air quality laws?

Seems kinda win-win for them.

Not surprisingly few in America feel like they're winning.

Check out that picture.

Gimme a a hug, ya big ol' fuzzy bear.

Big Oil is actually reducing output to create an artificial 'shortage' that in turn causes prices to be artificially inflated. There's also the oil speculators whose sole purpose of existence is to sit there and wait for the slightest sign of potential politcal unrest (i.e. Iran, Nigeria, etc) to justify raising the prices on oil futures.

It's a straight up hustle.

GOOD!

Let's ease the restrictions on drilling in ANWAR, too while we're at it.

Wow, another brilliant, short-lived plan that really does nothing to fix the problem - didn't see that one coming. It seems like every time I feel GW might just come out and say something to make me like him (I was hoping for a Jimmy Carter-style turn down your thermostat, do your part to conserve plan) - he does something that only makes me loathe him more. His plan is basically "don't change your habits at all, we'll do something...kinda."

if only we could harness the power of political hot air