driving a car (part 1)

where does the money we spend on gas go?

for the week of may 9, the california energy almanac website reported gasoline expenditures breakdown as:
cost of crude oil: 64.2%
refining: 15.2%
distribution, marketing & profits: 4.5%
taxes: 15.3%

ok, now, the u.s. energy information agency gives data for imports of crude oil, which breaks down as follows
OPEC nations (i.e. Saudia Arabia 10.6%, Venezuela 9.4%, Nigeria 9.3%, Algeria 3.8%, Angola 3.5%, Iraq 2.5%, Equador 2.3%, Kuwait 1.1% and Libya) get 42.9% of the u.s. crude oil expenditures. other nations: Canada = 27.0%, Mexico = 10.5%, Russia 4.2%, Columbia 2.0%, Brazil 1.7%, Virgin Islands 1.7%, Netherlands 1.2%, UK 1.0%, all other countries less than 1%. according to smart energy the u.s. spent $40 billion on foreign oil in march 2011. based on the percentages above, this means that saudia arabia made $4 billion from the u.s. in march. to think about it this way, if half of oil consumed came from domestic sources, the average american would still be paying the nation of saudia arabia $18.40 per month. the actual number is probably higher, considering that we do not produce nearly as much as we import. it is rather humorous to consider that that flag waving patriots in gas guzzling pick up trucks would be willing to give the nation responsible for the 9/11 attacks $20 or so per month, but i digress from the redneck dilemma.

the majority of money is for the crude oil, but what about the other 35% or so?

taxes? where does that money go? to fund more foreign "interventions" that cause the price of crude oil to rise? that would be a positive compared to what other possibilities. according to this yubanet article, the u.s. government has spent half a trillion dollars in the last 5 years buying back stocks and paying dividends to shareholders (i.e. executives and such people that have buku bucks as it is).

refining? most of that can be done stateside, in such places as anacortes and for the purpose of this blog, i will just hope it is and not research to find out. even in the best case scenario, this is probably the most environmentally destructive part of the entire chain. in any case, if we would find a way to use alternative sources of power, we could cut this apparently useless 15% out of the picture and hopefully do something to reduce pollution as well.

distribution, marketing and profits?
economically, we should hope that most of this is moved by pipelines, but i laugh to think about the fact that trucks transport this stuff resulting in even more money being spent on oil consumption just to get it to market.
marketing? what the hell is that? advertisements? do people decide where to buy gas based on advertising or do they just go to the cheapest place?
profits? i am guessing that the guy pumping your gas isn't the one making the profits. in march rueters reported that the ceo of chevron made $16 million in 2010. i bet that much money could by gas for everyone in the entire state of oregon. i am guessing that there is not a lot of extra money trickling down to the guys and gals that pump our gas.

if all this is enough to persuade you to stop spending money on gasoline, the next blog will probably make you sell your car...