During the most recent energy crisis - with skyrocketing oil prices causing concerns at the gas pump - I took it upon myself to write some emails to Senator Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat from New Mexico. I chose Senator Bingaman because he is the Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, so one would assume that he would be very receptive to critiques on the energy crisis.

Below are four emails to Senator Bingaman - all of which went unanswered. Not a single reply. Not even a reply from a college intern reading his emails saying something like "thank you for your email." Strange how it seems that television stars, movie stars, writers and sports players seem to have a higher percentage of responding to mail, while Senators and Congressmen who represent the people, find little time to actually respond to the people.

In any event, you can find the letters below (unfortunately some links are broken as Yahoo and CNN don't seem the understand the idea of "permanence" on the Internet):

*******

May 23rd, 2008 - Sue OPEC? Are You Kidding?

Suing OPEC because they won't pump more oil, and "allegedly" are meddling with price fixing is really only akin to running to mommy after daddy told you 'no.' It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of in my life. OPEC may be a problem, but it's not the real problem, and American politicians are wasting their time and tax payer dollars with this ridiculous legislature.

Here's the strange thing: OPEC says that there is enough oil to supply the demand. Polls have shown that gasoline demand has dropped because of citizens' concern over prices. Refineries have cut back on production because oil prices are high but the gasoline demands are low. Do you see something strange? The very laws of supply and demand are turned on their head. We have a supply. Demand is lessening. Yet... prices are going up? Huh?

The biggest issue is the speculative market in commodities. I used to trade in commodities. The very concept of commodities trading was to help stabilize pricing. Do you see that happening here?

The only way to truly get relief at the pump is to eliminate the pump all together. Crying to OPEC won't change a thing. You do that and you vindicate their actions. But if America makes a concerted and aggressive stand towards energy independence and getting American vehicles off of gasoline, OPEC will have no choice but to start producing more oil and making sure prices are lower. We're the largest oil consuming nation in the world. What happens to all those countries that rely on our purchases to fatten their wallets when we decide we're making a move away from oil?

Electric cars are a reality. There's a guy in Texas who built his own electric car for less than $7,000 (which includes the body of the vehicle) that costs $7.00 for every 300 miles. Then there's Tesla Motors, Myers Motors, and even a car company that built an air-powered car. If these individuals and small companies can build cars like this, what's taking GMC, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler so long? Are special interest groups and oil tycoons really that embedded in American capitalism and politics that they can even stunt the forward progress of technology?

The power of the oil moguls and OPEC over America and American citizens has got to end... and it has to end soon. A bill should be immediately presented to Congress outlining a 5 year plan to get American cars off of gasoline. Yes, 5 years. This is not an unreasonable thing. The technology is there, and nobody can say that it isn't. This 5 year plan should also include incentives and tax breaks to car companies for producing these vehicles, while taxing those car companies that continue to produce gasoline cars. For foreign car companies, there should be an import tax levied against them for gasoline cars brought into the US.

Obviously, this is just an off-the-top-of-my-head outline. I haven't run for Congress – yet – so I don't really need to sit down and outline every detail. But I fail to see how American politics and American companies can't solve this issue in a hurry. It's a common sense solution. We have the means, and anybody that says otherwise is either a liar, or is making too much profit from oil and gasoline to even care.

This issue has seriously turned into a joke that does not have the American people laughing. As oil goes, so goes the economy. I've already cut back on my spending and my traveling because of gas prices. How long before all of America starts to really clamp down. What will that do to the economy.

The choice is easy. It's time to get America out of the shadow of the oil moguls and countries. It can be done, but somebody has to spearhead this operation. Something must be done soon. And that something doesn't include begging OPEC for more oil, then throwing a tantrum and suing them when things don't go your way.

May 29th, 2008 - Oil Prices Drop; Gas Prices Climb

Good morning Senator,

I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend.

I would like to bring to your attention the following AP article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_bi_ge/gas_prices

I would like you to pay particular attention to the text that reads:

"Oil prices fell back Thursday ahead of a report expected to show U.S. inventories of crude and petroleum products grew last week. Prices remained volatile, though, buffeted about by threats against Nigerian oil facilities, worries about falling gasoline demand in the U.S. and a strengthening U.S. dollar."

So let me get this straight... When oil demand is high, gas prices rise; when gas demand is high, gas prices rise; and when the dollar is weak, gas prices rise. But yet, when the price of oil dips, gas demand is dropping and the dollar is strengthening, gas prices still rise? What? This is a slap in the face of the logic of economics. How can oil prices drop, gas demand drop and the dollar strengthen, yet gasoline prices still go up? This makes no sense.

I understand that guerilla tactics in Nigeria have caused some volatility, but that's been going on for years and has never affected the oil market in the way that it is today. It seems to me that oil investors and speculators are sitting there looking for every excuse to shoot oil up another $10.00 a barrel, or at the very least keep gasoline in the $4.00 a gallon range. If the President sneezes on his way to the bathroom, while thinking about Iraq, investors panic, and oil prices go up.

This brings me to my second point... How come when the price of oil goes up, gas prices go up immediately at the pump, even though we know that gas stations didn't just get a shipment of gasoline in at that moment. Yet when the price of oil drops, gasoline prices take several days to a week before they fall any little bit. This is price gouging at its finest.

Apparently we all need to throw out everything we learned about basic economics, because - when it concerns oil and gasoline - when the demand is high, prices go up, but when the demand is low, prices still go up. Is this the way you want the US economy to work?

June 6th, 2008 - The Joke is on Us Apparently

After nearly two weeks of oil prices dropping, the dollar strengthening and gasoline demand waning – and yet the price of gasoline at the tank has not moved an inch (see this article for further proof of the disgusting trend of basic supply-and-demand defying gasoline) - oil has shot up a record amount today. Over what?

According to this article:

...oil is rising not because of supply and demand, but because some analyst at an investment bank predicted oil would be $150.00 a barrel by the 4th of July. I wonder if this person has money invested in oil? This is utterly ridiculous. With no proof whatsoever, and no evidence to support his claims, he speaks, and oil rises, thanks to the multitude of oil speculators looking to get rich quick through commodities trading.

Now does this mean that after two weeks of over a $10.00 a barrel drop (in which gasoline at the pump did not decrease) gasoline will now go up because of these increases – even though the increase merely put it at the level it was two weeks ago when gas prices were just as high as they remained. Are American's going to get hit with even more unnecessarily inflated prices to balloon the oil companies' profit margin?

This, of course, comes after oil barrel gains on Thursday when the dollar fell based solely on comments by the European Central Bank that suggested the bank could raise interest rates. What? So since the Fed isn't going to cut interest rates anymore, the European Central Bank decides that it's going to raise theirs? More speculation. More investors trying to manipulate the market.

If I sound just a little bit perturbed it's because I'm sick and tired of would-be investors trying to dictate the market for their own personal gain while the world is struggling with a fake oil shortage and out of control prices. Like I mentioned to you in a previous email, the whole point of the commodities market is to help stabilize prices, not shoot them up to unreasonable levels.

Something must be done now!

June 11th, 2008 - The Windfall Profit Tax Bill

Senator Bingaman,

I recently read about the blocking of the Democratic initiative to tax windfall profits (as noted here) – a bill presented in the Senate. I say good. This bill was woefully inadequate.

The 25% windfall profit tax is a good measure, but items like allowing lawsuits against OPEC and suspending oil deposits in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are, in fact, nothing more than gimmicks. They are of the same breed as the Gas Tax Holiday that Senators Clinton and McCain supported. These are short term solutions to a problem that needs to be tackled in the long run.

I fully support the 25% windfall profit tax, but this bill needs to include taxes on car manufacturers who don't increase vehicle MPG's by at least 100 in the next five years. It should include additional taxes on car manufacturers who aren't doing their part to produce vehicles that are oil independent. It should include tax breaks for companies that invest in research for mass producing alternative fuels or alternative fuel running machinery. It should also find some way to bring the speculative market under control. THESE are long term solutions. THESE are the types of items that need to be in an energy bill.

Furthermore, short term solutions should include tax breaks for companies that invest in shale collections, which have heavy deposits in the United States. Another short term solution would be allowing Alaska to decide whether or not there should be drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. I'm personally against such drilling; however, I don't live in Alaska, so maybe that decision ought to be left up to them. Again, these are short term solutions ONLY. But they would be far more effective than simple measures like suing OPEC or suspending the Strategic Reserve deposits.

The true focus, of course, needs to be on the long term goals. We've harnessed the power of the atom and created atomic bombs. We can find an alternatives to oil and make the US energy independent. Don't let lobbyists, special interest groups, and greedy businesses get in the way. America needs to take immediate action.

*******

Not a single letter answered. Not even a canned "thank you" response. How are we supposed to believe that these politicians represent us, when they don't even listen to us?