My thought is, Old refineries are like old cars, you wil have to replace them sooner or later. You don't want to wait untill 2,3or 4 need replacing all at the same time. I think in the Chicago area they are building a new refinery on the same location of an exsisting refinery. Here in the northeast there has been a few refineries closing down. Our price at the price here in the Buffalo NY area is now over $4.00 per gallon. We had two refineries here untill the 80's, they were closed and torn down and we are the highest priced gas in the state now.

>Pipelines may help, but we need more refinery capacity.< Why should refinery operators increase capacity when fuel demand has gone down every year since 2004? A lot of refinery expansion plans have been drawn up, ready to go when market demand indicates it would be a worthwhile investment. But with refining profits currently around two to three cents per dollar of sales, and costs in the multi-billion dollar range, it's not a good investment.

Thanks to President Obama for saving Chrysler or they would both be gone, along with hundreds of other industries that depend on the auto industry

check my response to yours. it IS a very political situation!

I had to go back and check the paragraph above myself - the president of Toyota is Toyoda (with a D).

You were right on with the China and Obummer comments. And, it would absolutely help if he were American - no matter where he was born, he is NOT a natural born citizen. And, taking our tax dollars to campaign for Odinga in Kenya?? ILLEGAL! They may raid Cain's underwear drawer, and leave Obummer's entire house alone. SICK OF IT!

Thanks for posting; please take the time to "Pump Up" articles that you feel are worthwhile. If you don’t know how to pump up the vote; please ask.