Word: crude
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...amid a frenzy of war preparations that has helped drive oil prices above $35 per bbl., from $20 a year ago. A one-third cutback in petroleum production by Venezuela, beset by a political crisis, has contributed to the price increase, leaving the U.S. more dependent on Middle Eastern crude. Americans are also weathering an exceptionally cold winter, which is boosting demand for heating oil. At the gas pump, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline is $1.53 per gal., up 43¢ from the price 12 months ago and 11¢ just since Jan. 1. To make matters worse, U.S. commercial...
...within a few months, with the prospect that Iraqi crude will start to flow again, prices might fall to about $25. By summer, the market could face a glut--and $20 crude. Moreover, says the Institute of Directors, a British employers group, a short war would actually be better for the global economy than the uncertainty and higher oil prices that would hang over it if war continues to be merely a possibility. For the U.S. economy, the study says, a war that resulted in lower oil prices would generate 2003 growth of nearly 3%, compared with the 2% currently...
Saddam has tried it before. During the Gulf War, Iraqi soldiers set fire to 700 of Kuwait's wells using plastic explosives. Dense smoke caused health and environmental problems, as crude gushing from damaged facilities contaminated underground drinking water. Damage amounted to at least $20 billion, and more than a decade later, some of it still isn't repaired...
...NASA starts running a program devoid of human drama, sending unmanned flights to gather data, the agency might find itself falling farther behind in the appropriations war. And in the crude calculus of public attention, nothing appeals like tragedy. Just hours after the Columbia was lost, President Bush announced he was increasing NASA's $15 billion annual budget by $760 million...
...have to be a civil engineer to see that the forts, many of which are clustered around small settlements between Basra and the town of Arama, are crude constructions. They don't look particularly durable, and seem unprotected from aerial attack. Nonetheless, they will likely play an important role in any land war. In a flat, barren landscape, they offer the only high ground...