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Katrina's impact on gas prices will leave all of us battered

Re: No relief at pumps either, Sept. 1.

	MORE COVERAGE: MULTIMEDIA Multimedia: Continuing fallout Storm Watch blog

Hurricane Katrina will not be blamed just for the increase in the price of gasoline. Within days I expect to see price increases in any product that is transported into any area of the country. Every manufacturer, every wholesaler, every retailer will blame the hurricane for increased transportation costs of bringing the raw materials or finished goods to the consumer.

Of course, no one will talk about the increased cost borne by the worker getting to the manufacturing or retail job. That individual will have to absorb the increased gas costs, as well as the increased prices for everything he or she purchases.

In the end, Hurricane Katrina will affect us all, even those of us lucky enough to have avoided the loss of home, possessions and family to the winds, water and rain. And, once again, it will most affect the people least able to afford it.

Ill-prepared on the energy front

What's it going to take to make our government wake up and smell the oil? A natural disaster? An endless war? Will the light go on when people pay $100 to fill a tank every four days? For all of my adult life I have only seen lip service paid to energy alternatives and conservation. China and Japan are way ahead of us in their efforts to conserve. We are so ill-prepared we can't last two days into a disaster without the threat of shortages.

The current rise in prices is going to impact our economy and our pocketbooks in more ways than we can imagine. Florida will be especially hard hit because we rely on tourism. I hope that the folks who are going to buy all these waterfront condos can sustain us. (I also hope they can all find homeowners insurance.) I hope Gov. Jeb Bush has a long talk with his brother because Floridians have a lot to lose.

Conserve and remember

Wouldn't it be a simple thing to ask motorists to conserve gas by not using their car air conditioning for the next week? As we drive along it may feel warm. This will help us to remember those in the gulf states who have no air conditioning at all for who knows how long.

Nelson is out of touch

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson clearly does not have the knowledge to effectively represent the state of Florida. Sen. Nelson recently called for a price freeze on gasoline to correct the energy crisis we find ourselves in. This is a crisis he helped to create by his slavish devotion to environmental extremists who refuse to allow us to drill for oil here or in the far reaches of Alaska, who have effectively shut down the nuclear industry with scare tactics and have held up the production of refineries we need with endless lawsuits.

Does Nelson propose we freeze the prices that gas stations charge consumers while they pay higher prices from refiners? Or does he propose we freeze the price refiners can charge to gas stations while they pay higher prices to the worldwide oil markets? Or perhaps Nelson would like the worldwide spot oil markets to freeze their prices to "Help America"? I would really like to know where in the supply chain does Nelson propose we freeze these prices.

Additionally when we do freeze these prices, which will undoubtedly increase demand for oil, where will he propose we get the additional oil for sale? The truth is someone so out of touch with the laws of supply and demand has no place in the U.S. Senate.

Save energy now

Re: Utilities: Please ease up on electricity use,Aug. 31.

This article should have been on the front page of Wednesday's paper where all readers would have seen it. Instead it was buried on Page 17A. We need to treat the fuel shortage as an emergency now, or we will have an even more serious problem down the road.

We need that arctic oil

Re: Resist arctic drilling, Aug. 31.

I would like to point out a few facts for the information-deficient readers of the Times.

David O'Reilly, head of ChevronTexaco, recently claimed that the era of easy-to-find, cheap-to-produce oil is over, but what this government needs now is an energy policy that takes into account reality.

Most Americans, like the letter writer, want cheap gasoline, but they don't want gasoline refineries. They don't want drilling offshore, or in the arctic wilderness. They don't want LNG (liquified natural gas) terminals. They want to be told that the air is getting cleaner, but they don't want to be asked how much they are willing to pay for it.

In the 1970s it took just three years to bring the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to fruition, although a new refinery hasn't been built in almost 30 years. Forget the fact that an Arizona group has been trying in vain since 1999 to win the necessary permissions.

Unfortunately, Katrina has brought the gas situation to crisis proportions, and India and China are ramping up the demand by geometric proportions. It may soon be time to panic, but not yet. If we have the will to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge it may be five years before we can get the oil to market, but if we had moved five years ago, it would be here today.

Qualified experts in the field have stated that the oil in a tiny portion of ANWAR would provide enough oil to supply our needs for more than the next 10 years.

Obviously, the letter writer isn't an oil expert, just a frustrated environmentalist, blaming our current administration for all our problems.

Oil company profiteering

In these hard times, how can our government allow oil companies to charge us so much for gasoline? Big business has such a death grip on this country that the most powerful government in the world can't tell automakers it's time to set a higher mileage standard for our cars and trucks (sometime before 2008). Or how about telling the oil companies, who are posting their biggest profits ever, it's time to stop gouging the public? I think the worst part is that most of us know this is just the beginning of the rise in gas prices, and have no faith in our government to protect us.

People are angry at looters, poor people taking advantage of the awful situation on the Gulf Coast. But what is to be said of billionaires who are doing the same thing on a much larger scale? At one time America had courageous leaders who stood up for the people. It's not hard to see where this government's loyalty lies.

Why is it always government control?

Re: Conservation: a foreign concept, editorial, Aug. 30.

I am constantly confused by your newspaper's insistence that the government regulate issues that are better controlled by personal choice. Why not point your finger at the individuals who purchase SUVs and Hummer H2s rather than expect the government to play "big brother," in gas consumption.

I'm glad you think China's gas regulations are to be commended, but I am not ready to have my individual rights usurped by government entities. Since gas has become expensive, I have restricted use of my automobile and now only have to fill my car with gas once every two weeks. I not only drive less, but also drive slower and coast to red lights rather than beat every car on the road to each intersection.

Why doesn't your paper give us adequate information on which cars to buy and other ways to conserve gas? I just don't understand your premise, but maybe that's because you may be speaking Chinese.

Sheer gas greed

How can gas stations justify, and get away with, increasing gasoline prices 30, 40 or 50 cents a gallon on fuel that has been sitting in their tanks since before Katrina hit? This is just another example of sheer gas greed, taking advantage of the situation and blaming it on a "fuel shortage" when in fact we are fortunate to have a plentiful supply of fuel in this area. These people should be ashamed of themselves!

We could be taking trains

With oil prices around $3 per gallon there is an issue that should be addressed again:

The issue of Florida's voter-mandated high-speed rail project! Why was Jeb Bush dead set against it? Oil companies do have many friends in high places.

Gas is not for sipping

Re: Gasoline is a bargain, relatively speaking, Aug. 30.

I'm always amused when a gallon of gasoline is compared to a gallon of anything else. When's the last time anybody consumed a gallon of coffee - or even better, a gallon of Jack Daniels (as the comparison was made in this column)?

The point is, Americans consume gasoline at a higher volumetric rate than any other fluid, except maybe tap water. The more disturbing aspect of the past year's large fuel price fluctuations is how closely they seem to mirror California's supposed energy shortage of a couple years ago. In that case, it turned out that energy companies were projecting shortages in a successful attempt to artificially raise prices.

State should offer hybrid tax break

I have been interested in the development and sales growth of hybrid cars. The IRS is pitching in with some pretty significant tax credits that should move the change-over along, but more can be done.

I suggest that Florida forgive state sales taxes on all hybrid cars purchased by Florida residents. There are probably not enough of them available to handle the rush, but manufacturing resources can be redirected to put out more of them fairly quickly.

Let's lead the nation in this area of conservation. I hope the Florida Legislature takes this idea and enacts it in a special session so it can take effect as soon as possible.

We must prepare for catastrophe

Destruction, fear and despair have now replaced the complacency existing throughout our country today. Perhaps this is our "wakeup call" and the catalyst for change. What could happen, did happen, and unfortunately will happen again.

We must be 100 percent prepared with an immediate plan for the most catastrophic event. The lessons of 9/11 taught us that no security exists in society today as long as greed and power remain among humans, and we need to be prepared.

Every person in the United States needs to write their legislator to put pressure on Congress to act positively and address the issues of human suffering, gas glut and homeland security for our country's future.

Think about getting out of harm's way

The images I keep remembering were the people in New Orleans who were drinking and partying the night Katrina was going to hit. There were many people who refused to leave their homes despite mandatory evacuation notices. They were riding it out to stay with their home, their material things. And while I do understand there were some people who physically or financially could not leave, there were many who could have left and chose not to.

This is a major wakeup call, and we have now changed our plans if we were to have a Category 3 hurricane or higher here in Pinellas. My home is high and dry and would be right in the middle of one of the remaining islands (but could be without a roof!). But there is no way I'd want to live in the middle of that madness. My husband is a police officer and has to stay here, but the children and I would definitely leave.

Hurricanes are unpredictable and can strengthen during the last couple of hours before landfall. You have to have a plan and decide what you are going to do if a a serious hurricane is heading this way. As for me and mine, we are leaving. And in the end, if it is a two-day road trip, so be it. My family is precious. My house and everything in it can be replaced. My children cannot.

Please know that my heart goes out to the Gulf Coast and so has my donation. I pray for them, and there is a good chance my husband will volunteer and spend some time there the way he did with last year's hurricane relief.

I just want my neighbors in Pinellas to realize that this could happen to us. A hurricane hitting us is not a game. It's serious and you should get prepared and have a plan to leave, be it with family, friends, taking a bus, riding with neighbors, or coordinating with your church.

Prepare with pets in mind

Re: Pets and evacuation.

As the Hillsborough emergency manager, I am responsible to ensure that we evacuate our vulnerable population prior to the landfall of a tropical system. I recently mentioned to one of your reporters in an interview that some citizens use the fact that shelters won't take pets as an excuse not to evacuate. I mentioned further to the reporter, which did not make it into the article, that everyone who is a pet owner should make prior arrangements for those pets so that they could evacuate. I did not recommend anyone leave their pets.

I recommended that everyone seek shelter in the homes of friends or family living in a safe area willing to take their pets. If their financial situation permits, several of the local hotel/motels have lifted their no-pet policy for evacuations. I am neither a pet-hater (we have three cats) nor a callous individual. I sincerely care for our citizens and unfortunately believe thousands of them will ignore the next evacuation order and put their lives in danger. If we have a major storm hit our area and suffer large loss of lives, I will have that fact prey on mind forever.

Help takes time to arrive

I don't know why some people seem to think that a rescue operation in a disaster can be organized in an instant. Agencies that have to transport themselves to a stricken area need a reasonable period of time to assess the danger before they can just drop in.

In the case of the New Orleans disaster, the levee took some time to be breached. A premature rescue effort would have meant a compounded disaster. I know people who survived Andrew in South Florida. They realize that help takes time to arrive. Moreover, it is up to the authorities at hand to do their best until outside help can make it.

[Last modified September 3, 2005, 01:20:24]