If you read my intro thread, i jokingly refer to myself as a "Recovering Republican". So I think it will just be natural we may occassionaly disagree on some things. I would like some opinions on a subject that is VERY important to me.
I own a small forestry services and trucking company. Running one full time logging truck, one dump truck, and a few pieces of heavy equipment, fuel is my single biggest expense as a business owner. I have heard McCains "drill now" speaches. But have little faith that he will do anything should he be elected. Simple fact is these fuel prices have come on Bush's watch. Had doing anything benefited Bush, McCain, and all their buddies I think it would have been done already. With that said I have also heard Obama speak about this issue. Obama speaks a lot about developing alternative energy like wind, solar, promoting hybrid vehicles, developing alternative fuels, etc... Here is where I want to make sure I am clear and not completely missing something.

Working to develop alternative fuels and sources of energy is good. But the unavoidable fact for me and the millions of trucks on the road is our trucks run on diesel, and unfortunately a lot of it! By the end of this week between just 2 trucks I will have a fuel bill in the neighborhood of $2,000. An over the road truck will probably be almost double that. It's tough to be an owner/operator or small motor carrier these days. While we have experienced the cost of fuel almost triple in just a few years, trucking rates have not. Neither has the wage of the average American. So this also effects everyone here. Because when the cost of fuel goes up, the cost of everything goes up. Because if you bought it, a truck brought it!

So while the politicians call for all these new great things that will in the future reduce the need for oil. The cars and trucks of today need it. So I would just like to hear some opinions and what you feel the candidates will do if anything on the subject of oil.

This is a really great question, WhiskeyT. (And welcome to the board, by the way!)

Honestly? I'm not sure that either side has a good answer to the immediate needs for O-I-L. I listen to Mike Malloy in the evenings and he's got a good following among long-haul truckers. Occasionally one will call in and report on the fuel situation for independent operators. Not too long ago, one called in and said that his weekly fuel bill was $9,000. It's indeed grim! And you're right on... it affects ALL of us.

I don't agree with McLame's mantra of DRILL-DRILL-DRILL, DRILL HERE - DRILL NOW! I have no reason to believe from the reports that there's enough to make a difference, and oil companies aren't using leases they already have. I like Obama's plan for the future -- but it doesn't fix the fix we're in now, does it?

For me, individually, I'm not personally affected much by gas I put into my tank because I take alternative means of transportation almost everywhere I go. I haven't put gas in my car since last October. And I still have a quarter of a tank left! I have a sister who travels 150 miles per day (round trip) commuting to her job. Her fuel bill (along with her husband's) is becoming by far their largest expense.

Like I said... I just don't know what the answer is right now in the present. No one seems to have a good solution. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the oil companies aren't gonna help come up with one. Nor are they gonna give up a PENNY of their profits. They're making out like bandits right now.

I'll be interested to read what others opinions are.

McCain, though thought of often as a Maverick is echoing the demands of his base "drill here, drill now" I don't trust him because there are too many oil lobbiests on the GOP side. They are only out for profit and are not looking to future generations.

Obama is for drilling too now, but he thinks we need to invest in alternative energy sources as other countries are now doing. Its the only way that we can progress in the future.

Now I understand that a trucker needs to make a living. I'm a courier and there are other drivers in my fleet who like McCain. So I see it both ways. But like you I'm concerned about right here right now...

Sooo, my solution is Obama's solution. Electric cars for small passenger vehicles, hybrids for SUV's and trucks and Biofuel for large trucks. Now when I say Biofuel I'm not talking about ethenol. We've found that to be a waste. But instead, I'm talking about recycling rescourcess that we already use daily. Imagine taking yesterdays oil wastes from restaurants and converting it into fuel. People who are smart enough are already doing it.
One of our problems is that we have become a wasteful society. The conservatives see nothing wrong with this and don't want to change. So thus they mock people who care. They do it because they don't know any better and are annoyed by the alternatives to lifestyles which they are used to

So what about all the other products which require oil? One tire uses 1 gallon of petroleum. Plastics, machinery - virtually everything requires a petroleum product.

And what about the millions of vehicles out there which are not convertible to a new energy source?

What you forget is that between "alternative" energy and oil is an economy where people must live day to day - with their cars, with their plastics, with their tires and with everything else which requirse petroleum.

How do you propose to deal with that?

When a gallon of gas costs 42 cents to make, it is only up to the private oil companies to charge what ever they want. They not only make gasoline, but plastics are a very big consumable they love to make. So drilling will not make the price go down, oversight committees without the lobbyists will. In 1979, we had an oil shortage right, WRONG! They turned the refineries off till they got the price they wanted, PERIOD. They have sooo much gaul now they just raise the price when ever they want. So this is why when you had two storms, the price fell. Fortunately for the storm victims, they got to enjoy a price hike. I thought in an emergency you were not allowed to gouge the consumer? If you paid for this administration, would you raise prices while trying to get them into the White House? Expect after the election to have 5 dollar gas, no matter who gets in. Till we nationalize this commodity, they have us by the nuts.

what do you want now candygirl

Which is all the more reason to get OFF BURNING oil, which is a very useful substance and should be conserved, not BURNED!

Well the way I see it is this... We all switched to DVD players from VCRs right. Its a technological up grade. We do it all the time. I mean, sure we'll use oil still, but we'll use less. And frankly I think there's too many cheap plastic items out there anyway. Hmm remember when things were made of glass and metal... Those were the days.
If we make oil less important, prices will come down... I actually like some of what T. Boone Pickens is saying right now.

My point to you is, we need to get into the 21 century and get creative. Its possible. If we put a man on the moon and won world war II, we can do this. We just haven't been challenged lately.

WT, bear in mind that there are costs to using oil - costs that oil producers in many cases don't pay but pass on to you indirectly either as secondary consumer or taxpayer. But they're clever about doing this, they hide these 'externalities' from you and make you think that even, despite its current rising price, using oil is still 'cheap'.

You don't see, fully assessed, the costs to the economy of cleaning up oil spills, dealing with the effects of oil air/ground/water pollution from refineries and fuel stations etc., the costs of growing global warming from CO2 emissions from oil use, the wildlife and environment damaged and dislocated by drilling rigs and pipelines, or the costs of fighting oil wars across the globe to control access to the resource...

If you saw all those costs, fully realized and assessed on your oil bill, you'd think your current complaints about oil prices would seem pithy; but you'd also start to see the alternatives to oil use not as things for the future but cheaper alternatives for right here and right now.

Exactly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
As to the other question, this is what I think FWIW:
I think Obama wants to develop a green infrastructure revolution. Employs people, excites the country, and it will revitalize that Bushed economy he will have to immediately tackle. I think people are ready to tackle something big. It will be just like going to the moon. I see only green in our future, and it's not the color of money.

You can conserve all you want. Ride a bicycle, whatever. Regardless who the next president is, there will be no money pushed through the economy to develop "alternative" anything. Get used to it - there is no money. Obama can tax the ass off the rich, the poor, aliens - anyone who will listen. Doesn't matter. When the trough is dry, there's no feed for the cattle.

I think Americans need to stop and do a reality check on this oil situation.

First, the USA, with only a couple of exceptions (like Venezuela and a couple of Middle East countries) pays the cheapest price for fuel in the world ... try going to Europe and filling your truck there ... hell, just cross the border into Canada, a country that is swimming in oil, and see what we pay here (probably another 20% or so more than what the average American pays.)


Next, does anyone think the oil exporting countries would just sit back and allow the US to buy oil from the world market while it horded it's own oil for it's own economic advantage? The USA better be able to be totally self sufficient in every respect, because they wouldn't be able to buy a barrel of imported oil for anything less than 2 or 3 times the going price ... if the USA can use protectionism tactics, then so can the rest of the world.

Your only real answer is to do what America used to be good at ... an Apollo type project to develop alternative energies and transportation methods ... face it, you're using old IBM Selectric Typewriters, and all the government intervention and subsidies in the world is not going to make it better or faster than switching over to computers and using the Internet.

We challenged the executive branch with 30 something articles of impeachment for both the Darth and Stimpy. They challenged us with taking our rights away. They now challenge us with 10 trillion dollars of debt. How the hell are we supposed to build any type of infrastructure when we got the bill for creating China's? Not to mention Stimpy wanted to play general.

Nationalize this commodity? You really think that will work, Tell me something the Govt runs that works, Fannie & freddy didnt work out did it. do you have a link on the 42 cents a gallon to make. Also, how many hearings has congress held on the evil oil companies and have found nothing.

So what does that tell you?

Dude, with info like that you should play the lotto and not waste your time here.

Whiskey-Tango never returned to this thread. If the O.P. abandoned it so should the rest of you.

Now you're just talking gibberish.

When you don't understand the content, of course it's gibberish - to you anyway!

Here is where I have to disagree somewhat. Biodiesel from used vegetable oil is an awesome concept. But unfortunately not a solution for the large scale problem. I can easily go through 500+ gallons of diesel fuel in a week. It would take the used fry oil of every McDonalds in 100 miles just to run my trucks. So multiply that demand by a million+ and there just isn't enough used vegetable oil to go around. Then on top of that how long would it be before restaurants want money for that used oil should it become so popular. It is a great concept for someone to buy or build what it would take to make biodiesel from used vegetable oil at home in their garage for personal use. But it is far from any solution for the trucking industry.

The best thing I see at the moment is Bio Willie .. Even it however is only a 80/20 blend of petroleum diesel and bio diesel made from soybean oil. It will hopefully be more cost effective to produce and become more popular around the country. But still has a way to go to be a reliable solution. Rising fuel prices in addition to the cost of BioWillie production usually causes it to be sold as a premium fuel at a premium price.

Hemp BioDiesel will run virtually anything. Large equipment included.

http://cannabisnews.com/news/10/thread10863.shtml

I think that the dumbing of America is partially to blame for all this. Too many of us have become so comfortable with creature comforts that we've forgotten what it really means to belong to the earth... Look, there was a time in the age of humans when all of this was not a problem, and we got by. This advancement we've put upon ourselves has in many ways weakened us. I mean, shit, I freak out if I leave my cell phone home all day. WTF, I never even had a damn cell phone till 2002. What happened?

There's that weed again. Too bad it's illegal.

It's amazing that everyone ignores it. Even our side.
It's perfectly legal to make Bio diesel from hemp.
I'd be great if we could smoke it too.
I don't get it. What's wrong with people?

* Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel that runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine. It can be stored anywhere that petroleum diesel fuel is stored.
* Biodiesel is safe to handle and transport because it is as biodegradable as sugar, 10 times less toxic than table salt, and has a high flashpoint of about 300 F compared to petroleum diesel fuel, which has a flash point of 125 F.
* Biodiesel can be made from domestically produced, renewable oilseed crops such as hemp.
* Biodiesel is a proven fuel with over 30 million successful US road miles, and over 20 years of use in Europe.
* When burned in a diesel engine, biodiesel replaces the exhaust odor of petroleum diesel with the pleasant smell of hemp, popcorn or french fries.
* Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel in the US to complete EPA Tier I Health Effects Testing under section 211( of the Clean Air Act, which provide the most thorough inventory of environmental and human health effects attributes that current technology will allow.
* Biodiesel is 11% oxygen by weight and contains no sulfur. The use of biodiesel can extend the life of diesel engines because it is more lubricating than petroleum diesel fuel, while fuel consumption, auto ignition, power output, and engine torque are relatively unaffected by biodiesel.

But what about the poor oil companies then?

No abandon here. Im a slow poster and also just sitting on the couch watching TV and surfing the web.

May they rot, sink into the ground and become oil.

You are correct Sir! The problem is, like this election, IMAGE plays such a strong role. Weed has a bad image and most people don't question this. Just like the reason Dennis Kucinich didn't do better in the primaries is because: He's short, he's wacky (saw a UFO!), too far left, ad nauseum. Dunno how we can change this; wish we could.

It's like Obama said, "We don't need a committee to study it, We know what to do"

We can, and are. Vote Obama. It only gets more liberal from there.

For decades I've argued with NORML (life member) concerning how to go about this.
They spent their time (because they're lawyers) perusing legal challenges. I've always said that it was a waste of time to do so. Couple of years ago, the SCOTUS proved me right. They ended all legal challenges to marijuana laws. Hemp however is perfectly legal as the SCOTUS handed the DEA (Depraved Evil Asshats) a much deserved defeat.

Point is, politics is the only way to change these asinine laws and destroy the dark stigma you mentioned.

Barack Obama is a good gamble when it comes to this issue.
We could solve most of our energy problems if people were only told the truth and the gov't puts it's foot down on the necks of the Oil Industry.

There it is there.

T. Boone Pickens want's us to convert all our vechiles to natural gas. It would cost thousands for each car or truck, but it could be done and natural gas is plentifull and cheaper then oil. I just can't get myself to trust T. Boone. He has massive investments in a lot of natural gas supliers. But his idea of using natural gas as a bridge to an alternitive fuel future is do-able now with current technology. Production of bio-deisel could be ramped way up in the next few years but it would take a massive effort and huge investment in processing plants.

Whichever way to a better energy future Obama takes when he assumes the helm, the short term fuel situation is gonna hurt big. Our leaders have been fiddling while Rome burns, the hems of their togas weren't getting scorched, just us regular folks got our feet in the fire.

Yeesch!

They are doing it in a market that is more adjusted for it. Had trucking rates almost tripled, nobody would complain over fuel costs having almost tripled. The industry simply can't afford to increase rates at the same speed as the rise in oil prices. The American people don't want that anyway as the cost of trucking will just be passed on to consumers of the products they haul. But even European truckers are feeling the hurt. Truckers in Britain and Spain have striked, blocked highways, etc more than once in recent months when oil prices were at their highest.

Don't expect McCain/Palin to do anything constructive. There are many who feel that we are at peak oil production. Drill drill drill does nothing but kick the can down the road. We are sitting on 3% of the world's oil reserves. We cannot drill our way to oil independence.

This is a problem that has been caused by cheap oil for too many years. It will not have an easy or quick solution. Obama knows this. His energy policy is one that is all encompassing. It requires a multi-pronged approach to replacing, or transitioning, to alternatives.

Transitioning large trucking is vitally important. Biodiesel and natural gas are going to be the most logical transition. We have a huge supply of natural gas. T Boone Pickens, although I question some of his motives, he does have interesting, viable and solid ideas in this regard. He has investment in a company that is supplying LNG trucking to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Plenty of info to google in this regard. One example:
source
"Fed up with toxic emissions from industry, port authorities have dedicated several hundred million dollars to fund a complete turnover of the roughly 16,000 diesel big rigs now serving the waterfront."

Welcome to the 'green' side. This movement, will be what will have the potential to bring our economy back from the brink. It can be the next 'internet' type boom, if we have the vision to go in that direction full bore. It won't be easy, it won't be quick. It will take innovation and subsidies and tax incentives. Bold vision that only Barack Obama is exhibiting.

We have had decades to build our way into this problem. In the 70's, this country was faced with going to nat gas, or staying with big oil. The Saudi protection deals were made, and off we went in the wrong direction...

Many great replies here. If I may bring up what will be just another part of the problem. While I think we all agree BioDiesel and even Natural Gas are possible alternatives (atleast for my industry). They will do no good without the production needed to make enough and a way to distribute it.
Big Oil already has the ability to produce mass amounts of fuel, and the ability to distribute it. Neither of which are available for the alternative fuels mentioned. BioDiesel is the only alternative which could quickly be distributed to existing stations using existing pumps. But that will ofcourse take the cooperation of Big Oil. So why should they provide a fuel at a cheaper cost and using less oil when they don't have to. Natural Gas on the other hand would need major modifications made to gas stations, or new ones built. Which will also take the cooperation of Big oil.

Alternative fuel does no good if it isn't available everywhere like petroleum. Somebody mentioned this could be the next internet boom. I have $100 to invest in a company that can come up with a Diesel/BioDiesel/Natural Gas hybrid engine where I can flip a switch and run off of each fuel seperately based on what is available where I am at.

I'm not denying that rising fuel prices hurt the transportation industry. My argument is that of all countries, the USA should be hurting the least as their fuel is the cheapest.

My point is that when looking for answers to "oil problem" you're not going to fix it by concentrating on "oil". Ideas like drill here, drill now, and nationalizing oil are not workable solutions.

Solutions are needed, but you've got to accept reality ... even if for some reason the law makers of the world grew a set and stopped all speculation (not going to happen,) and the price fell to $60 a barrel, that would only delay the real problem. OPEC would "adjust" because they only have so much of this stuff and they want to make their fortunes before it runs out ... if speculation doesn't give them the necessary prices, then collusion will do just as well.

Oil, and solutions and fixes around oil are time wasters.

The key is to make them have to.

The present administration is Fascist. Meaning that they are owned by Big Oil.
An Obama administration will be very un-Fascist and hopefully keep it's foot on the neck of the snake.
We need an individual for a leader, not another Stepford President.
McLame/McPalin is owned by big oil. Obama/Biden is not.

These corporations need to be given orders to follow. And if they don't, they can suffer the consequences.

Strange Bedfellows.

Government can work great if allowed to do so. Unfortunately, a strategy of conservative economics has been, especially since Reagan, to starve public programs of funding and resources so that it falters. The program can then be called inefficient and "broken" so private enterprise can swoop in and make it "work".

Post office runs pretty well. Social Security, despite all of the efforts to destroy it, is the finest government program in the history of the US. Public schools would run well if they were funded properly. Never had a bad experience with the public Library system. Medicare works as well as any private insurance company and they aren't trying to find a way to drop you as soon as they find out you are going to cost them money. Stop trying to break it on purpose and shit might actually work. Deregulated privatization is the real problem. "Socialist entitlement programs" sure look good to big corporate entities when they go belly up and a government bailout is need, don't they?


As I understand it, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac was only nationalized six days ago. They were up until that time partially private organizations that were only Government sponsored.

Please correct me if I'm wrong here.


Do you really need to do heavy research to know that when oil is at record high prices and oil companies continue to break all-time world-wide corporate quarterly profit records, that there might be some shenanigans? Most curious minds would think so.



I don't know. I guess the real question is how many times have they agreed to appear before a committee hearing UNDER OATH? Let me guess...ZERO?

We need to only see the actions of these maggots for the past few decades to see that they are evil. We don't need a fucking committee hearing to find that out for us. Hell, Alan Greenspan gives us at least one good reason to believe that they are rotten bloodsucking vampires that don't care how much blood flows as long as the oil flows with it.

I've been noticing something - Diesel used to be cheaper than gas. Now the refineries are shifting their output from Diesel to gasoline, and the price of Diesel has gone up because the supply has dipped.

(Also, chemically, cracking diesel into gasoline is energy wasteful. So it's not like they can just "shift it over.)

• The good news is, the market's about to fix the price of oil pretty good. The bad news is that demand is crumpling heavily due to the depression which is blowing our way.
• The good news is that the demand for Diesel will drop soon, too. The bad news is that it's gonna be because the economy's getting shafted. And Diesel's gonna get sucked on by the heating oil demand. Fortunately, Diesel to heating oil isn't nearly as wasteful as going to gasoline.
• The good news is that the automobile use is going to plummet. The bad news is that it's because the domestic (and import) auto industry is going to crater times-two or times-three what the depression does to the rest of manufacturing. (Did you know, for example, that 70% of Audi's driven in this country ARE LEASED! I'd guess about the same for Humvees, and a lot for other cars. You'll see a LOT of old rolling stock on the roads soon.

So, I don't know what to tell you. They've gotten the economy in such a snarl, that a whole bunch of people are going to go out of business. BUT ONLY THE PEOPLE WHO DO THINGS - TRANSPORTATION, MANUFACTURE, those guys. 40% of our GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT comes from the Financial Industry. Unlike you, who makes a few pennies on a ton to move stuff, the Financial Industry shuffles megabillions with the click of a mouse - AND MANUFACTURE NOTHING BUT PERSONAL PROFIT.

I'm pessimistic about it getting better over the next 2 years. We'll start to come out of it then. Hang in, baby!

Supply and demand is part of it. Up until I would guess 2003/2004 diesel was cheaper than regular gas. But ever since has started creeping up and today is more expensive than 93 octane PREMIUM! Many reasons are given. The fact that most cars in Europe are diesels is one thing. Also competition from other petroleum products for crude. But what I think has contributed the most is that diesel fuel sold today is not the same fuel that was sold just a couple of years ago. Starting in late 2006 a new diesel fuel which is lower in sulfer and less polluting became the standard. The refineries claim it cost more to make. So the oil companies began raising the price of diesel prior to 2006 I guess to cover the expenses of converting their refineries to making the new blend.

I didn't have enough time to read it all of this thread... But your fuel prices would go down if regulation on speculation would occur; and if oil companies would stop closing companies to say they're running at capacity and "can't keep up with demand." (it's like that stupid tickle-me-elmo craze where they only made like 30 of them and idiots were paying thousands of dollars for something that could have had a larger supply had the company not reduced the supply.) Like Randi was saying, they don't want to drill here and drill now... they're already making record profits. Close the loopholes and release oil from the reserves... that's the best option for now (while we work on alternatives.) What alternatives? We won't really know until these scientist get proper funding. We can "speculate" ourselves on what the best option will be... but its just speculation. I thought we were headed somewhere with the EV-1's before General Motors recalled them all and sent them to the junkyard.

Congratulations on your current recovery process. There's a lot of manipulation of people in a "corporatocracy." So Beware of Propaganda

You're hitting the nail on the head here. In the late 1970's, the government put in regulations to curb this kind of fixing, saying an oil company had to have at least x number of refineries running...

Then the industry consolidation occured. The new companies not just turn off refineries, they shut them down, and dismantled the framework. We now have only 40% of the refining capability we had in 1984.

See my other note. There are less deisel refineries than there were in 1984. With demand going up, see the issues.

Low-sulfer diesel is no more expensive to produce than classic deisel. You just substitude one step with another. However, the main key to low-sulfer deisel is that rather than classic deisel, which uses "heavy" oil (same as axle grease and heating oil) it now uses "light" oil, which previously was only used for gasoline. Great way to double demand, don't you think?

Well Candyman high-jacked your thread. You should fight back.

Well, let's examine the basics. I'll start with transportation. There is existing technology and production capabilities for hybrid vehicles and electric powered vehicles. The hybrid cars, hang with me, reduce use of gasoline by at least half. electric powered vehicles can be powered with a solar panel and so can an electric powered lawnmower, btw. Short, frequent trips are very low mpg users of gas and can be totally replaced by inexpensive electric powered vehicles. With so many boomers approaching retirement, and traveling far fewer miles per day there is increasing demand on the near horizion for electric powered neighborhood vehicles. So, with increased production of hybrids, electric powered vehicles, elimination of gas powered lawnmowers (great DIY conversion plans online, btw), we've already made a significat reduction in demand for oil which will, on it's own, bring down the price of fuel and send some speculators in search of other activities. With that reduced demand, there is no need for increased drilling capabilities and the billions in government subsidies that have gone to the oil industry can now be used for ramping up the solar, hydroelectric, and electric vehicle and electric public transit (trollys) industries. We have to be smarter. We have to require that U.S. oil remain here, that bio fuels remain here, that wood pellets remain here.
Next, let's have the government better regulate refineries. I'm even in favor of the government owning a few refineries in order to set the pace of the refining process, which will help stabilize prices.
Already we've put some nice big eggs in more than one basket.
You are a mechanical kind of guy, get your noggin' knocking on some ideas about how you can change the way to reach your professional goals. Are you delivering logs to a chipper plant? Would it be more cost effective to chip those logs on site? Can they go by rail and reduce your delivery distance and cost? In the face of a changing and uncertain cost of doing business can you broaden your services by hiring out a truck and driver to the Corp of Engineers, or local government construction projects to add a revenue stream. Would you rather go to work for the U.S. Forest Service?
But what can you do today? I don't know. Maybe your elected congress people have some ideas. Maybe your local government can offer fuel tax exemptions for heavy equipment owners. I'd ask.

You can rest assured we cut costs anywhere we can. To touch on some of the points you made. It depends on what the logs are good for as to how they are processed. Some logs are good for lumber. Other logs are whats called pulp wood which means they are pretty much ground for paper, plywood, etc.. The remainder along with other used wood products like old pallets are ground into whats called "Hog fuel" which is basicly wood chips and is used as fuel for powering mills, a light weight fill, animal bedding, etc.

As for method of delivery, rail is not an option as they would still have to be trucked from the cutting site. Very few loads of logs ever go more than 100 miles from where they were cut. So you would have more expense with extra loading and unloading. The transport of the logs is how my truck makes its money. The logs actually belong to the logging company and the land owner. The other services I offer is whats called Pre-commercial thinning. That is where we basicly go on a planned tract of land that will be used for logging. We thin out the smaller, weaker trees which will allow the remaining trees to grow bigger so 10-15 years down the road when they are harvested they will yield more useable timber. After logging we grind up some of the leftover slash and prepare the area to be replanted with trees.

As for fuel tax, our equipment uses offroad diesel which is just regular diesel dyed red because it isn't taxed. They will throw the book at you should it ever be found in an on road vehicle.

Regardless of any solution that will help my personal business. Trucking in general is the backbone of the economy. Should trucks shut down for just 2 days, grocery store shelves would be empty, gas stations would have no gas, the list goes on. Many solutions given are wonderful for private individuals. But so far unless it means having more oil or lowering the price of it, I don't see anything that will help in the near future.

There are many commercial interests that will require heavy use of fuel, such as yours. That's why it is so crucial that rapid changes be made for commuter and non commercial vehicles so that demand for fuel drops quickly, bringing prices down for commercial users. Everybody wins in this scenario, the commuter, the commercial users such as yourself, the economy and the environment, Reducing demand for fuel is the key.
But hey, keep this article in case McSame somehow ends up being the next puppet of big oil...
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Home...ning-Truck.aspx





A footnote...
I've been quite alarmed by the actions of International Paper over the last few years. They have transformed themselves into developers and have sold millions of acres of forest in NW Florida and Alabama for development. Old growth cypress in the cypress swamps has been chipped on site and bagged as garden mulch. The broad windbreak that was a crucial part of breaking up hurricanes as they moved ashore is gone. Hurricane Ivan was a category 1 storm when it reached Montgomery, Alabama which is about 150-170 miles inland, as the bird flies from where the storm made landfall. And the air...the air out there, well, it's thick.

Lots of great input and ideas about your situation but I didn't really read anything that would help you right now. By the way, the small company that just cleared my land for a new house shares your story so you're not alone. Anyway, since trucking is so important and as you say "the backbone of the economy" wouldn't it be great if the government would throw a little of that corporate bailout money in the direction of small businesses such as yours? Perhaps mandating a freeze of fuel costs for truckers or allowing meaningful tax breaks for fuel would help. It could be done RIGHT NOW and it would certainly help this country. It could even be argued that this is a national security issue. If we can pour BILLIONS of dollars into failed and mis-managed financial institutions we certainly can afford to help the thousands of hurting small businesses too.