Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Huffington Post.
Are gas prices impacted by the source of countries' oil? The graphic below, from Oceana, suggests that how much oil a country imports does not affect gas prices.
Rather, the group "found that while gasoline prices vary greatly among these five nations, the variation is almost entirely attributable to variation in gasoline taxes," according to an Oceana email sent to HuffPost. "Once these taxes are factored out, gasoline prices are largely the same across the five nations, despite marked differences in how much oil is sourced domestically versus via imports. This shows that gasoline prices are largely independent of how much oil a country imports or produces domestically, or, in simpler terms, we cannot drill our way to lower gasoline prices.”
A 2012 study, of "36 years of monthly, inflation-adjusted gasoline prices and U.S. domestic oil production," by the Associated Press found that there is "no statistical correlation between how much oil comes out of U.S. wells and the price at the pump."
A May report from the Natural Resources Defense Council found that if built, the proposed Keystone XL pipeline could actually raise domestic gasoline prices, reported HuffPost's Lucia Graves. Report author and NRDC attorney Anthony Swift said, "Our study has found that Keystone XL is likely to both decrease the amount of gasoline in U.S. refineries for domestic markets and increase the cost of producing it, leading to even higher prices at the pump."
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the average price of gasoline in the U.S. fell nearly 16 cents in the previous week. The drop is a result of a decline in crude oil prices, fueled by "fears over Europe's economy and a stronger dollar," according to Reuters. A recent survey of Americans by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that three quarters of Republicans and 34 percent of Democrats "cite government limits on drilling as a major reason for energy problems."
Yesterday was a definitely a sad day for the oceans.
Fact: All six sea turtle species in U.S. waters are threatened with, or in danger of, extinction. Fact: Bottom trawl fisheries are the single greatest threat to loggerhead sea turtles. This is where we come in...
Tuesday I watched as the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Shark Conservation Act of 2008. This legislation will require all sharks to be landed with their fins still naturally attached in all U.S. waters. Current laws only require fins and carcasses to be landed in a specific ratio, which does not allow for proper enforcement or data collection.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) today issued a new working document by Rules Negotiating Group Chairman Guillermo Valles Galmes.
Claire Nouvian, world-renowned author and curator, and ocean ambassador for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will launch The Deep: Life on the Deep Sea Floor at the World Tra
I had the pleasure of joining Ted Danson, award-winning actor, longtime ocean advocate and Oceana board member, yesterday as he urged Canada’s business leaders to protect the world’s oceans.
Ted Danson, award-winning actor, longtime ocean advocate and Oceana board member, has accepted an invitation from Toronto’s business leaders to discuss how Canada and the business community can protect the world’s oceans. Danson will speak at The Economic Club of Toronto Tuesday, May 13, about the current state of the oceans and how overfishing, which has been accelerated by government subsidies, could lead to the permanent collapse of all commercial fish populations within decades if current trends continue.
On St. Valentine's Day, Ted Danson, best known for his character Sam Malone on the television series "Cheers," will describe his great passion for the world's oceans and what we must do to prevent their irreversible decline at a National Press Club Newsmakers luncheon.
Because nearly a billion people worldwide rely on fish as a primary source of protein and millions more depend on fishing for their income.
The science is in. Our oceans are threatened by overfishing, pollution and climate change. Some aquatic species are on the brink of collapse and others are already gone.
Danson will discuss the need for better fisheries management, which includes addressing unsustainable fishing quotas, destructive fishing that destroys corals and other habitat and wasteful bycatch.
Danson has been working with the American Oceans Campaign and Oceana for more than 20 years to try to educate the public about what's at stake. He serves as a board member for Oceana, the largest international organization focused solely on marine issues.
Unilever, an international manufacturer of leading brands in food, personal care and household products, has announced that it will remove shark squalene from its cosmetic brands, including Pond's and Dove.
According to Unilever, based in London, the new production that uses a plant-based version of squalene will begin early this year and new formulations are expected to appear on consumer shelves as early as April 2008.
Squalene and squalane, a product derived from squalene, are widely used in cosmetics as natural, "oil-free" moisturizers and can be found in products ranging from anti-aging cream to lip gloss.
Squalene is an organic compound found in the livers of sharks, and is in especially high concentrations in the livers of deep-sea sharks (those living in ocean depths of 300 to 1500 meters).
Deep-sea sharks are at such a great risk of overfishing that scientists have concluded they should not be caught at all.
But alternatives do exist - squalene is available in a number of botanical sources, including rice bran, wheat germ, amaranth seeds and olives.
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