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Tampa correspondent
(785) 965-2285
Dale and Andrea Klenda and Elijah of Pilsen and Aron and Darlene Sergeant and Delilah of Emporia were hosts of a barbecue supper and birthday party Sept. 29 at the Klenda home in honor of Evan Klenda's second birthday and Andrew Sergeant's fourth birthday. Guests included Lynn and Peggy Kleiber and Nick of Salina, Dennis and Terry Klenda and Tyler of Pilsen, and Leona Kleiber.
Lucille Kerbs visited Connie Thompson on Oct. 3 in Abilene. Other visitors were Allison Sluder and Brooklyn. All went to dinner.
Connor and Christian Carter of Salina were Oct. 2 visitors of Mary Clemmer and Ron Clemmer.
Adeline Bernhardt treated her sister, Leona Kleiber, to dinner out in Hillsboro Oct. 1 in celebration of Kleiber's birthday.
Virgil and Barbara Gooding of El Dorado visited Lucille Kerbs on Oct. 2 and took her to McPherson, where they had dinner.
Donald and Carolyn Srajer of Omaha, Neb., spent the Sept. 29 weekend visiting Tillie Hein and Jim and Kris Srajer, Grant, and Cole. Donald, Carolyn, and Tillie went to Old Settlers' Day in Marion, where they met John Sandwell of Evansville, Ind., and his son, Chad Sandwell from North Dakota.
Nikki Stenzel of Manhattan and Lori Moldenhauer visited Frank and Anna Mae Stika on Sept. 30 upon their return from Texas, where they had visited Tom Moldenhauer.
Gary and Carole Spohn and Georgia Spohn met Mack Woody of Alma, Ark., and Steve and Sheri Spohn of Hope on Sept. 28 in Hope for dinner.
Lynn and Peggy Kleiber of Salina and Nick Kleiber of Concordia were guests of Leona Kleiber and helped her with some chores Sept. 28 and 29. They took Leona to dinner Sept. 29 in Lost Springs as an early birthday celebration.
Rhea Kolling and Deb Hall of Herington and Tom and Dee Duggan attended a volleyball game Sept. 27 in Herington to hear Kaylee Hall sing the national anthem.
Jerry and Jeanne Rziha were overnight guests of John and Jeanne Rziha, Michael, Christopher, Joseph, Thomas, Timothy, Charles, Anna, and Henry of Atchison on Sept. 19. They went to Chippewa Falls, Wis., where they were weekend guests of Jim and Diane Herron, Andrew, Peter, Maria, John, Michael, and Juliet.


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In the following bibliography of the Islamic and Chinese scientific relationships in classical times, a list of the main recent works is produced. The researches cover various scientific domains, from mathematics and astronomy to technology, geography and travel accounts. They show the mutual influence between the world of Islam and the Chinese world.
|Figure 1: Method of making observation instruments, based mainly on a source from the late Ming Dynasty. Source: Yi Xiang Kao Cheng. (Image in the public domain).
Figure 2: Map of the routes of the Chinese trade, including the silkroad (in red) that extended from China, Central Asia and the Muslim World to reach the Southern Europe. (Source).
- Chemla, Karine 1992. "Résonance entre démonstration et procédure: Remarques sur le commentaire de Liu Hui (3ème siècle) aux Neuf Chapitres sur les Procédures Mathématiques (1er siècle)." Extrême-Orient, Extrême-Occident vol. 14: pp. 91-129.
- Chemla, Karine 1994. "Similarities between Chinese and Arabic Mathematical Writings: (1) Root Extraction." Arabic Sciences and Philosophy vol. 4: pp. 207-266.
- Dold-Samplonius, Yvonne, Dauben, Joseph W., Folkerts, Menso, Dalen, Benno van (editors). From China to Paris: 2000 Years of Transmission of Mathematical Ideas. "Boethius, Texte und Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der Mathematik und der Naturwissenschaften", Band 46. Stuttgart: Steiner.
- Dun, Liu, 2002. "A Homecoming Stranger: Footsteps of the Double-False-Position Method." In: From China to Paris. 2000 Years Transmission of Mathematical Ideas. Edited by Yvonne Dold-Samplonius, Joseph W. Dauben, Menso Folkerts & Benno van Dalen. Stuttgart: Steiner. [Abstract: Appearing first in the Nine Chapters on Mathematical Procedures (ca. 50 AD), the Double-False-Position Method spread from China into Central Asia in the Middle Ages and became known as the "Khitan algorithm" [hisâb al-khata'ayn] among Arabic mathematicians. Leonardo Fibonacci (1170?-1250) devoted a separate chapter to this method in his Liber Abaci (1202). When the Jesuits introduced Western mathematical knowledge into China in the early 17th century, they claimed that the Double-False-Position Method was a new technique invented by Western mathematicians and could not be found in the "old text" of the Nine Chapters. This is because ancient Chinese mathematical books had become extremely rare at that time. Therefore when the Double-False-Position Method appeared in the Tongwen suanzhi (1613) and Xijinglu (ca. 1610), it was said that "a stranger came from overseas"].
- Gazagnadou, D. 1998. "De la différence entre la diffusion du savoir scientifique et celle du savoir technologique: A propos de la rencontre du persan Fazi et d'un lettré chinois." In: La science dans le monde iranien à l'époque islamique. Edited by Ziva Vesel. Tehran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran.
- Ferrand, Gabriel 1916. Relations de voyages et textes géographiques Arabes, Persans et Turcs, relatifs à l'Extrême Orient, du 8ème au 18ème siècles. Traduits, revus et annotés, 2 vols., Paris: Ernest Leroux.
- Ferrand, Gabriel 1922. Voyages du Marchand Sulayman en Inde et en Chine rédigé en 851; suivi de remarques par Abu Zayd Hasan (vers 916). Paris: Bossard.
- FSTC 2001. Zheng He - the Chinese Muslim Admiral. Published on www.MuslimHeritage.com.
- FSTC 2003. The Beginning of the Paper Industry. Published on www.MuslimHeritage.com.
- Hartner, Willy 1950. "The Astronomical Instruments of Cha-ma-lu-ting, their Identification, and their Relations to the Instruments of the Observatory of Maragha", Isis vol. 41: pp. 184-194. [Reprinted with additional notes in Willy Hartner, Oriens-Occidens, Hildesheim, 1968, pp. 215-266].
- Ibn Labban, Kushyar. Introduction to Astrology. Edited and translated by Michio Yano. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1997. Text and Translation, pp. 1-262. Appendix 1: Chinese Text of the Ming-yi tien-wen shu, pp. 263-296; Appendix 2: Index of Arabic Words with Chinese and English Translation, pp. 296-314; Appendix 3: English-Arabic Glossary, pp. 315-323.
- Kennedy, Edward S. 1987-88. "Eclipse Predictions in Arabic Astronomical Tables Prepared for the Mongol Viceroy of Tibet." Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften vol. 4: pp. 60-88.
- Kennedy, E. S. & Hogendijk, Jan P. 1988. "Two Tables from an Arabic Astronomical Handbook for the Mongol Viceroy of Tibet." A Scientific Humanist. Studies in Memory of Abraham Sachs. Edited by Erle Leichty et al. Philadelphia: S. N. Kramer Fund.
- Kennedy, Edouard S., Saiyid, Mustafa K., and Van Dalen, Benno 1997. "The Chinese-Uighur Calendar in Tûsî's Zîj-i Ilkhânî", Zeitschrift fuer Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften vol. 11: pp. 111-151.
- King, David A. 1990. "Between Europe and China: Aspects of the Traditions of the Lands of Islam". In Dall'Europa alla Cina: Contributti per una storia dell'Astronomia. Edited by I. Iannaccone and A. Tamburello. Napoli, pp. 55-66.
- Lam, Lay Yong 1996. "The Development of Hindu-Arabic and Traditional Chinese Arithmetic." In: A Festschrift for Nathan Sivin, Part II, in Chinese Science vol. 13: pp. 35-54.
- [LDI 2008]. Islam in China: A Selected Bibliography of English-Language Publications. Harvard University's Library Digital Initiative (LDI).
- Kennedy, Edouard S. 1964. "The Chinese-Uighur Calendar as Described in the Islamic Sources", Isis, vol. 55: pp. 425-443. [Reprinted in E.S. Kennedy, Colleagues and Former Students 1983. Studies in the Islamic Exact Sciences. Beirut: American University in Beirut, 652-660].
- Leslie, Donald Daniel, Yang, Daye, and Youssef, Ahmed (editors) 2006. Islam in Traditional China. A Bibliographical Guide. Sankt Augustin – Nettetal, Germany: Institut Monumenta Serica – Steyler Verlag, series 'Monumenta Serica Monograph'.
- Leslie, Donald Daniel 1981. Islamic Literature in Chinese, Late Ming and Early Ch'ing. Canberra: The Canberra College of Advanced Education.
- Leslie, Donald Daniel 1986. Islam in Traditional China : A Short History to 1800. Canberra: The Canberra College of Advanced Education.
- Lorch, Richard P. 1981. "Al-Khazini's Balance-Clock and Chinese Steelyard Clepsydra", Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences vol. 31: pp. 183-189.
- Ma Ziliang, Isa "Islamic Astronomy in China: Spread and Development", First ISTAC International Conference on "Islamic Science and the Contemporary World", International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, Kuala Lumpur, 9-10 January 2008.
- Melville, Charles 1994. "The Chinese Uighur Animal Calendar in Persian Historiography of the Mongol Period", Iran, vol. 32: pp. 83-98.
- [The Warburg Institute 2006]. Islam & Tibet: Cultural Interactions, An international conference organised by The Warburg Institute, London, 16-18 November 2006. Click here for Abstracts. [The papers on science, technology and medicine include: Anna Akasoy : "Tibet in Islamic Geography and Cartography", Yossef Rapoport: "Tibet, the Road to China and the Enigmatic Map of India in the Fatimid Book of Curiosities", Dan Martin: "Byzantine Greek and Islamic Medical System in Contact with Tibet: A Reassessment in View of Recently Available and Relatively Early Sources on Tibetan Medical Eclecticism", Anya King: "Tibetan Musk and Medieval Arab Perfumery" and Benno van Dalen: "Islamic Astronomy in Northeastern Tibet (14th century)"].
- Benno van Dalen 1996. "Tables of Planetary Latitude in the Huihui li: Analysis". The Eighth International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia (Seoul, 26-31 August 1996).
- Van Dalen, Benno 1997. "Islamic Astronomy in China during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (translation and partial revision of a chapter from a book by Kiyosi Yabuuti)", Historia Scientiarium vol. 7, pp. 11-43.
- Van Dalen, Benno, and Yano, Michio, 1998. "Islamic Astronomy in China: Two New Sources for the Huihui li (Islamic Calendar)". In: Highlights of Astronomy, vol. 11B. Edited by J. Andersen. Dordrecht: Reidel, pp. 697-700.
- Van Dalen, Benno 1999. "Tables of Planetary Latitude in the Huihui li. Part II". In: Current Perspectives in the History of Science in East Asia. Edited by Yung Sik Kim and Francesca Bray. Seoul: Seoul National University Press, pp. 315-329.
- Van Dalen, Benno 2000. "A Non-Ptolemaic Islamic Star Table in Chinese". In: Sic itur ad astra. Studien zur Geschichte der Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften. Festschrift für Paul Kunitzsch zum 70. Geburtstag. Edited by Menso Folkerts and Richard P. Lorch. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp. 147-176.
- Van Dalen, Benno 2002. "Islamic Astronomical Tables in China: The Sources for the Huihui li". In History of Oriental Astronomy. Proceedings of the Joint Discussion-17 at the 23rd General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, organised by the Commission 41 (History of Astronomy) held in Kyoto, August 25-26, 1997. Edited by S.M. Razaullah Ansari. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 19-31.
- Van Dalen, Benno 2002. "Islamic and Chinese Astronomy under the Mongols: a Little-Known Case of Transmission". In: Yvonne Dold-Samplonius, Joseph W. Dauben, Menso Folkerts & Benno van Dalen, eds., From China to Paris. 2000 Years Transmission of Mathematical Ideas. Series: Boethius 46, Stuttgart: Steiner, 2002, pp. 327-356. [Abstract: This paper describes the exchange of astronomical knowledge between the Iranian part of the Islamic world and the Yuan dynasty in the latter third of the 13th century, when both territories were part of the Mongol world empire. Only few Chinese astronomers are known to have been active at the Ilkhan observatory in Maragha, which was founded by Hülegü Khan in 1258. These Chinese are the most likely source for the technical descriptions of the so-called Chinese-Uighur calendar used in Iran from the late 13th century onwards and first described in al-Tūsī's Īlkhānī Zīj. On the other hand, probably at least ten Iranian scholars were employed at the Islamic Astronomical Bureau in Beijing, which was established by the first Mongol emperor of China, Khubilai Khan, in 1271 and operated parallel to the Chinese Astronomical Bureau for several centuries. At the Islamic Bureau extensive new observations were made and a "zīj" (astronomical handbook with tables) in Persian was compiled. This work was translated into Chinese in the early Ming dynasty (1383), together with Kūshyār's Introduction to Astrology, and was the subject of research by numerous later scholars].
- Van Dalen, Benno, reseearch project (2004). Investigation of the achievements of the Muslim astronomers who were brought to China by the Mongols in the early Yuan Dynasty (around 1270).
- The available sources for this investigation are:
1. The Huihui-li (c. 1384), a Chinese translation of a presumably Persian astronomical handbook with tables (a so-called zîj), known to have been available in China in the beginning of the Yuan. The Huihui-li is extant in a number of somewhat different versions, apparently all deriving from a restoration of the original translation carried out by an officer of the Astronomical Bureau of the Ming dynasty in 1477.
2. The Sanjufînî Zîj, an Arabic astronomical handbook written for the Mongol viceroy of Tibet in 1366.
3. An Arabic or Persian manuscript at the Pulkovo Observatory (near St. Petersburg in Russia), which was obtained in China in the 19th century and contains only a small set of astronomical tables.
Although the sources 1 and 2 are obviously two different works, a mathematical investigation of their planetary tables shows that they must be based on a common predecessor. It turns out that the two sources share values for most of the planetary parameters which are not found in any other Arabic or Persian astronomical handbooks (including those resulting from the extensive observational program at the contemporary Ilkhan observatory in Maragha). It is therefore probable that their common predecessor was a work compiled by the Muslim astronomers who were active at the official Islamic Observatory in the Chinese capital Beijing. The presence in one of the extant versions of the Huihui-li of a large star table independent of Ptolemy's table in the Almagest also points to original, hitherto unknown Islamic observations. For more details, see Homepage of Benno van Dalen].
- Van Dalen, Benno 2004. "The Activities of Iranian Astronomers in Mongol China". In: Sciences, Techniques et Instruments dans le monde Iranien (Xe-XIXe siècle). Actes du colloque tenu à l'Université de Téhéran (7-9 juin 1998) (eds. N. Pourjavady and Z. Vesel), Tehran (Presses Universitaires d'Iran / Institut Français de Recherche en Iran) 2004, pp. 17-28.
- Van Dalen, Benno 2006. "Islamic Astronomy in Northeastern Tibet (14th century)". In: Islam & Tibet: Cultural Interactions, An international conference organised by The Warburg Institute, London, 16-18 November 2006. Click here for abstracts. [Abstract: During the last third of the 13th century, the Mongol empire included both China and the Iranian part of the Islamic world. As a result, an exchange of scholars and scholarly information became possible. Khubilai Khan founded an Islamic Astronomical Bureau with observatory in his new capital near present-day Beijing in 1271, which was headed by Zhamaluding (presumably Jamal al-Din al-Bukhari), and at which a large number of other Muslim astronomers were active. The main surviving source for the achievements of the Bureau is a Chinese translation of an Islamic astronomical handbook with tables, called the Huihuilifa, which was made in the early Ming dynasty (1383) and was later reworked in Nanjing in 1477, as well as in Seoul in 1442. It was finally included in the Annals of the Ming Dynasty (in a distorted version) and in the Sikuquanshu. The Huihuilifa turns out to be based on a set of astronomical parameters that are mostly unknown from any other Islamic astronomical sources and which are therefore very probably the result of Zhamaludings observational program at the Islamic Astronomical Bureau. In recent years a Persian manuscript in St. Petersburg and an Arabic one from the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris have been found to be related to the Huihuilifa. The St. Petersburg manuscript appears to have been a document used in the preparation of the original Chinese translation. The Paris manuscript is an astronomical handbook by the otherwise unknown astronomer al-Sanjufini, who worked for the Mongol viceroy in northeastern Tibet in the 1360s and who based himself heavily on the material which is also included in the Huihuilifa. In my talk I will discuss various characteristics of this work and show through which route the knowledge it contains may have reached Tibet].
- Van Dalen, Benno 2006. "Transmission of Islamic astronomical knowledge to Mongol China" in David Pingree Memorial Seminar, Empires and Exact Sciences in Pre-modern Eurasia 29–30 May 2006, Leiden University. [Abstract: In the last third of the 13th century both China and the Iranian part of the Islamic world belonged to the Mongol world empire. A large number of Muslim scholars, craftsmen, and military experts were brought to China and were employed by the rulers of the Yuan dynasty. In 1271 emperor Khubilai Khan founded an Islamic Astronomical Bureau in his capital Beijing, of which Zhamaluding (Jamal al-Din) from Bukhara became the first director and at which around forty other persons were active as researchers, teachers or administrators. Hardly any direct evidence is available for the activities at this Astronomical Bureau. However, various sources in Chinese, Arabic and Persian, all dating from 1360 and later, indicate that an extensive observational program had been carried out under Zhamaluding and an astronomical handbook with tables, a so-called zij, compiled. In this talk I will introduce the sources that allow us to partially reconstruct the original Persian handbook compiled in the early Yuan dynasty and discuss some aspects of the interaction of the Muslim astronomers in Beijing with their Chinese colleagues].
- Wikipedia, History of science and technology in China.
- Yabuuti, Kyosi 1977. "Islamic Astronomy in China during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties", Historia Scientiarum vol. 7: pp. 11-44.
- Yabuuti, Kyosi 1987. "The Influence of Islamic Astronomy in China". From Deferent to Equant: A Volume of Studies in the History of Science in the Ancient and Medieval Near East in Honour of E.S. Kennedy. New York, pp. 547-559.
- Yano, Michio 2002. "The First Equation Table for Mercury in the Huihui li". In: S. M. Razaullah Ansari, ed., History of Oriental Astronomy. Proceedings of the Joint Discussion-17 at the 23rd General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, organised by the Commission 41 (History of Astronomy), held in Kyoto, August 25-26, 1997. Chapter 1.3. Dordrecht, Kluwer, 2002, pp. 33-43. [Abstract: During the early Yuan dynasty, in the last third of the 13th century, many Muslim scholars were brought to China by the Mongol rulers. A group of astronomers presumably of Iranian origin was active at the Islamic Astronomical Bureau in the Yuan capital near current-day Beijing, which had been founded by emperor Khubilai Khan. The astronomical handbook produced by these astronomers is extant in three different Chinese translations, whereas further traces of it can be found in various Chinese commentaries, an Arabic manuscript from the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, and a Persian manuscript at the Oriental Institute in St. Petersburg. Recently the research on Islamic astronomy in China has been most actively carried out by the authors of the three publications listed above. In these articles, van Dalen describes the sources available for such studies, Yano shows that one of the planetary equations includes an error also found with al-Bīrūnī, and Shi Yunli discusses the Chinese translation prepared in Korea and instruments that could have been used to verify and extend the original work].

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NCAA 30 oz. Stainless/Blue Reserve Tumbler - Michigan
Overview & Details
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NCAA 30 oz. Stainless/Blue Reserve Tumbler - Michigan
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Shortly after being hired by the Jaguars, G.M. Dave Caldwell slammed the door on a Jacksonville homecoming for Tim Tebow.
Caldwell now seems to be keeping the door wide open for 2011 first-rounder Blaine Gabbert.
"That was his second year," Caldwell recently said of Gabbert, via Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union. "What were they saying about other quarterbacks after their second year? We're looking for improvement [in his third year]. We need to build around him. We'll upgrade whenever we can upgrade."
It's a bit surprising; a new G.M. usually wants a new coach, and a new coach usually wants a new quarterback. Caldwell got his new coach in Gus Bradley, but Bradley seems to be sold on Gabbert.
"He's been very impressive so far in our conversations," Bradley said of Gabbert.
But Gabbert hasn't been impressive on the field in two seasons. And Gabbert played in only 10 games during the 2012 campaign, allowing Chad Henne to make a case for a shot at becoming the 2013 starter.
Of course, there's a chance the Jaguars are blowing smoke, either to create a trade market for Gabbert (not likely) or to conceal their true plans for free agency or the draft (more likely). Really, if the Jaguars hope to pursue Matt Flynn or Alex Smith or Mike Vick or anyone else in free agency, or perhaps to finagle the draft board to land a new quarterback of the future without having to trade up or free from fear of a last-minute leapfrogging, it makes no sense to show their cards now.
When it comes to the offseason, actions always speak louder than words. And, for the smart teams, words are nothing more than a way to conceal intended actions.


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Printer Friendly Version
Standard ECMA-185
Private Integrated Services Network (PISN)
- Specification, Functional Model and Information Flows - Call
Completion Supplementary Services (CCSD)
2nd edition (June 1997)
This Ecma Standard, specifies supplementary services Call Completion (SS-CC), which are applicable to various basic services supported by Private Integrated Services Network (PISN). Basic services are specified in ECMA-142.
SS-CC consists of two Supplementary services: the Completion of Calls to Busy Subscribers supplementary service (SS-CCBS) and the Completion of Calls on No Reply supplementary service (SS-CCNR). SS-CCBS allows completion of a call to a subscriber that was unsuccessful because of a busy condition and SS-CCNR allows completion of a call to a subscriber that was unsuccessful because the subscriber, although alerted, did not answer.
Supplementary service specifications are produced in three stages, according to the method described in ETS 300 387. This Standard specifies the stage 1 and stage 2 specifications of SS-CC. The stage 1 specifications (clauses 6 and 7) specify the supplementary services as seen by the users of PISNs. The stage 2 specification (clause 8) specifies the functional entities involved in the supplementary services and the information flows between them.
The following file can be freely downloaded:
This Ecma publication is also approved as ISO/IEC 13866.
The previous replaced "historical" edition of this Ecma Standard is not available.


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Ever wondered what Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney would sound like after knocking a few back?
American Bridge has your answer. The Democrat-backed SuperPAC is out with a new video today that features an autotuned Romney rambling and slurring about his love for American cars and the trees in Michigan.
The video, which is actually pretty hilarious, is a response to the Republican National Committee's recent anti-Obamacare web spot, which used a doctored Supreme Court audio clip to mock U.S. Solicitor General David Verrilli's nervous meltdown from this week's oral arguments.
Here's the video:
In a note on YouTube, American Bridge explains the retaliation:
NOTE: This audio was misleadingly edited to demonstrate to the RNC the perils of their brand of dishonesty. American Bridge would never edit audio or video with the intent to deceive
Dear Mr. [RNC Chair Reince] Priebus,
You must be awfully proud of your team at the RNC. Your new ad, featuring Solicitor General Donald Verrilli is, as your spokesman described it, "novel" and "ahead of the curve." Though we're not sure if he meant the use of Supreme Court audio recordings, or the blatant manipulation of the audio.
Foolishly, we here at American Bridge 21st Century have been relying on the actual video and audio of your candidates, in full and in context.
Like when Jon Bruning (R-NE) compared welfare recipients to raccoons.http://youtu.be/z7DyDrmviTs
Or when Mitt Romney told the Iowa State Fair "corporations are people, my friend." http://youtu.be/St1wSWtm_BI
But by manipulating the audio like you guys did of the Solicitor General, you can make it sound like someone said something in a way that they didn't actually, while still technically using their own words. Sort of like using a clip of them quoting somebody else?
Hopefully, this "novel" technique is in fact a one-time thing and not a pattern of deceit.
Because we have audio editing software too.
And we're better at this than you are.
You should try letting voters make their decisions based on what people actually say and mean, if you think your candidates can handle that.
So let's put an end to this game -- before you get in over your heads.


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Department of Management & Leadership
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The faculty publishes in the top journals in their fields such as The Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Strategic Management Journal, and Academy of Management Review. They serve in editorial roles and on editorial boards of the leading journals in their fields. The management faculty members have been selected as Fellows of the Academy of Management and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
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As Emancipation Day celebrations swept the Caribbean, so too did the development of women's football in St. Lucia. That's when FIFA and the St. Lucia Football Association (SLFA) kicked off the Women's Football Com-Unity Seminar in Castries.
And although the last two days of what was scheduled as a four-day event will take place later this month due to Tropical Storm Ernesto, there was no doubt that the first two provided great benefit to the women's game on the mountainous island.
Indeed, FIFA instructors gave coaches, media representatives, government partners and football enthusiasts insight into, among other topics, the potential of women's football and its impact on social and educational development programmes, as well as ideas for grassroots football development programmes, creating a positive image for women's football and using the media to promote the sport. At the end of the two days,instructors Andrea Rodebaugh (MEX) and Amanda Vandervort (USA) facilitated workshops for the participants.
"The SLFA pledges its commitment to redeveloping female football and giving it the prominence that it deserves," said the organisation's president, Lyndon Cooper. "We will institute measures that place female football at the top of our priorities."
The attendees showed remarkable passion and creativity during the working groups. FIFA remains confident in supporting women's football in St. Lucia.
The SLFA's main goal, Cooper explained, was to bring key stakeholders of both government and the private sector together with the football community to begin a constructive dialogue about growing the female game.
Attendees at the Com-Unity Seminar included the President of the St. Lucia Manufacturer's Association, Ms. Paula Calderon; the Minister of Trade, Industry, Consumer Affairs and Commerce, Ms. Emma Hyppolyte; the Executive Director of Sacred Sports Foundation, Ms. Nova Alexander; the Director of Football for Ministry of Youth Development of Sport, Mr. Jim Xavier; and the General Manager of Winners TV, Mr. Cyril Elisee.
Representatives from the SLFA shared their vision for women's football. Assistant technical director, Gary St. Rose, detailed the SLFA's extensive Women's Football Development Plan with the attendees and expressed his commitment to the women's game in the country, specifically in each of St. Lucia's ten districts. "We are genuinely committed to developing women's football in St. Lucia," said St. Rose.
"The attendees showed remarkable passion and creativity during the working groups. FIFA remains confident in supporting women's football in St. Lucia," said Howard McIntosh, a FIFA Development Officer.
FIFA instructors and SLFA representatives will sit down at the end of the seminar to outline ideas which will aid women's football's development in St. Lucia. "Many of the ideas and recommendations presented by the working groups will be incorporated into the SLFA plans," said Cooper. "What we have done is to say, 'Look, let's place female football, not on the back burner, but on the front burner, as part of an overall plan.' Women's football is going to be given top priority, and this Women's Football Com-Unity Seminar has reassured me that there is hope."


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'Sometimes You Can Fix Something'
Mick Hargreaves and the King Guys' show in July at the Grey Horse Tavern in Bayport was supposed to be the first stop of many for the newly formed band, but the show, titled "a Mid-Summer Night's Hoot," turned out to be the only one on the "shortest debut tour ever," Mr. Hargreaves said.
The singing, songwriting bass player and band leader was beaten with a crowbar in the parking lot of the Grey Horse and left with life-threatening injuries, including a fractured skull. After days of intensive-care hospitalization, weeks of home care, and months of getting his hands back on his bass, guitar, and harmonica, he has taken the steps to a full recovery that will lead him and his band to the Stephen Talkhouse stage in Amagansett tomorrow night.
Mr. Hargreaves not only survived the attack, but found a new appreciation for life that he said has a lot to do with the local music community, which came through for him during his recovery, and which he feels he can trust.
Mr. Hargreaves was in his Jeep that night dropping off a friend after a late-night trip to the diner. She had come to the gig to support his new band. When they left his vehicle, he saw a face, which turned out to be that of a former love interest of his passenger. That is the last thing he remembers about the incident. Left with bruises and lacerations across his whole upper body, he said, "When I came to, my head was stapled together." His first words were to tell his sister to cancel the band's next scheduled gig: "I had my wits about me, so surreal, bizarre."
His attacker is in jail awaiting trial.
The morning before the attack, in Montauk, Mr. Hargreaves was helping Joe Delia put the final touches on lyrics for a demo of a song called "Crystal Ball." He sometimes plays bass with Mr. Delia's band, Thieves. The song is about not being able to see into the future. Even though it now seems a bit eerie, he can laugh at the irony, he said. "Without laughing, I wouldn't have made it through."
He has enjoyed "hiding in and amongst the music." He found a kind of magic in a lot of what happened since the attack, he said. Strangers came forward with gestures and words that canceled out the horror show, he said. The King Guys are among those trusted musicians whom Mr. Hargreaves likes to surround himself with: Mike Bifulco on wurlitzer, Gary Dawson on guitar and vocals, Don Mangels on bass, and Jeff McLary on drums and vocals. He said the band has the ability to communicate without words whether they're playing rock, blues, country, Americana, folk, rockabilly, or pop music.
Mr. Hargreaves has also enjoyed returning to the stage with other musicians, as their guest and also as a solo artist. At a September benefit held for him at the Stephen Talkhouse, Mr. Hargreaves joined many musicians onstage to sing and play guitar for supporters.
Recording songs during the fall and winter months has been part of his recovery, too. Among them was his track and video contribution to "Major Glitch," certified in 1996 as the "Guinness Book of World Records" longest pop song ever recorded. The lyrics he wrote pushed the just-released track over the three-hour mark. The catchy phrase "Sometimes you can fix something" is creatively enhanced with lyrics from musicians of diverse styles, genres, and personalities. In his track, Mr. Hargreaves offered that sometimes you can fix something by "hitting it hard," "staying awake," and "turning up the bass." His recording included the operatic soprano vocals of Sally Stryker, drums by Tom Ryan, and acoustic guitar by Chris Butler, the song's creator, of whom Mr. Hargreaves is a longtime fan.
Jim Turner, another South Fork musician, has also added a track recently, and Mr. Hargreaves hopes that more musicians will get involved. The compilation can be heard online at Majorglitch.net.
He has also had fun gathering equipment to complete what he calls his "Lantern Sound Recording Gig." With the mobile creation, he can go anywhere and record himself, or another artist's work. Mr. Hargreaves also teaches private and group music classes and has a rock band class at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton, at which he jams with the kids and teaches them secrets, shortcuts, and the etiquette of being in a band.
When not in practice sessions with the King Guys, most of his attention lately has been focused on mixing his album, "Redemption Center II: Relics, Hell Licks & Psychedelics." He said he has been "redeeming stuff from off the shelf," such as the singles "Bridget" and "Can't Keep Track of You Blues," and has also included East End musical guests such as Gene Casey of the Lone Sharks and Matty Liot and Mark Schiavoni of the Montauk Project. The next plan is a full record with the King Guys, he said.
"I am surrounded by talented, knowledgeable people," he said. "It trickles down. . . . We all learn from each other."
In addition to Friday's 10 p.m. Talkhouse performance, the band's upcoming gigs include some local venues, the Rodeo Bar in New York City, and a return to the scene of the crime, the Grey Horse Tavern. "Quality performances and quality venues," he said, "we'll pitch our tent there."
A full listing of shows can be found at mickhargreaves.com.
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Henderson: The Economy of Dickens• October 30, 2006 Share:
The Rogge Committee at Wabash College is pleased to invite you to a presentation by Professor Jim Henderson, emeritus professor of economics at Valparaiso University, for a lecture on Tuesday, October 31.
Henderson's talk, entitled "Charles Dickens and Christmas: Roasting the Dismal Science," will be presented at 11:15 a.m. in Baxter Hall, room 114.The talk uses video clips to explain that "A Christmas Carol" is a thinly veiled attack on Malthusian and Victorian attitudes toward the poor.
Henderson will show how Charles Dickens rejected the view that poor people should be denied aid so that they might simply die off.
Professor Henderson is the past-president of the History of Economics Society and is an expert on English classical economics. The presentation is open to the public. It will be followed by a question and answer period and pizza lunch at 12:30.
The talk is free and open to the public.


text: Many of us at Stein IAS are big "Mad Men" fans. We love the melodrama, the characters—even the caricatures. We get a kick out of looking back on advertising's pinnacle moment as the mover and shaper of popular culture. And we aspire to achieve similar glory today (minus the three martinis before lunch). That's why we were really excited when one of our colleagues recently suggested that our generation's "Mad Men" moment had arrived. "Big Data is our biggest and best opportunity to regain cultural rock star status," he said. "Instead of Mad Men, we'll be Tech Men!" But he also warned how daunting this task will be for advertisers and marketers in terms of Big Data's difficulty to master and, as he so eloquently put it, "Big Brothery implications." Enter Edward Snowden. And say hello to PRISM (after all, it could be watching/listening to you right now). With these revelations, the surprising power of Big Data and the fear of Big Brother have hit the public stage in stark focus. Interestingly, since the story broke, Amazon has seen several editions of George Orwell's "1984" skyrocket up the sales charts—with one increasing in sales by 10,000%. John Oliver debuted as summer host of "The Daily Show" with the new segment "Good news! You're not paranoid." If people weren't talking about Big Data before, they sure are now. And the big questions everyone is asking are about personal privacy. How much are we entitled to? What are the boundaries? These aren't new issues for digital marketers. But for me, they reinforce the assertion that this is a "Mad Men" moment. Not only because we, as advertisers and marketers, will redefine popular culture with our choices but also because we will redefine ourselves. We have an important decision to make. It's not a strategic or tactical choice. It's a moral one, and we have to make it now. We watch "Mad Men" with a sense of nostalgia. But remember the Greek definition of nostalgia Don Draper provides when christening Kodak's Carousel slide projector: the pain from an old wound. Even though Madison Avenue has been revered, it was also reviled. "The Man." "The Machine." "Liars." Are these terms the perceptions we want associated with our craft—again? Most of us look back with disdain on how advertisers once spun disgusting half-truths—and mistruths—about tobacco. Is that how we want the next generation to recall how we used Big Data? Advertisers and consumers have no social contract to debate. We can't use national security and public safety as barter for monitoring, analyzing and leveraging people's data and digital behaviors. Some might argue we have to show even greater respect and restraint. Today absolutely is a "Mad Men" moment. Honor privacy and permission to forge stronger, better brand relationships ... or get drunk on Big Data and hope no one discovers us passed out on the couch midafternoon. Let's make the right decision. Michael Ruby is VP-executive creative director at Stein IAS Americas, New York.


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Exclusive: Piperlime Guest Editor Olivia Palermo Shares Her Spring Must-Haves
As Piperlime's Guest Editor for three years running—she's been with the brand since 2011—Olivia Palermo knows a thing or two about curating a covetable selection of seasonal picks. So of course, we were dying to know what the fashionphile had on her wish list this spring. We sat down with Palermo to get the scoop!
What 3 trends are you most excited to try this spring?
"Staples are really important to have in your closet, and Piperlime has a great selection. Three of my favourite trends for the summer are silk shorts, bomber jackets, and a chic white sundress."
What's the one piece you can't live without this season?
"My AG denim leggings. I can dress them up or down. They are the perfect fit and my absolutely favourite pair of denim."
What's your go-to bag right now?
Givenchy Medium Antigona Satchel ($2435)
What are the 5 pieces every woman needs for spring?
1. Jean shorts
3. Ballet flats
What is your best beauty secret?
?"Drink a ton of water and get your beauty rest."
What are the 3 shoes you pack for a weekend at the beach?
?"Ballet flats, ballet flats, ballet flats. They are always in style, I even wear mine to the beach."
If you're going out of town, what's the one dress you're going to pack?
?"I would pack a skirt, because it's more versatile."
What's your skirt style this summer? How are you going to wear it?
?"TBD, but tonight I'm wearing a midi length skirt with heels. For skirts, how I wear them always really depends on proportions."
On Palermo: Camille Long Sleeve Button Up Blouse ($49); Sanctuary Shell Tank ($79); Pim + Larkin Basic Midi Skirt ($69); Schutz Fiorenza Heels ($260).
- Explore More:
- Spring Essentials
- 2014


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Acetate Film Rolls
by Grafix
This high clarity, general purpose film is perfect for many commercial art applications. The film is an industry standard for overlays, color separations and layouts. Matte (frosted) on one side, this acetate is preferred when glare is a problem. Certified as 100% biodegradable.
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.003 mil tears easily when cutting sharply curved pattern pieces. .005 mil works much better. I would prefer frosted both sides, but this is fine.
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ST. CHARLES, Mo. --- Senior Kevin Morrison recorded a match-high 13 kills while the Lees-McRae men's volleyball impressed on both sides of the ball on its way to a sweep of McKendree, 25-17, 25-21, 25-13, to conclude play at the Lindenwood Classic Saturday morning at Robert F. Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
The Bobcats (4-2) amassed 9.5 blocks while hitting better than .400 in all three sets. The Bearcats (1-7) dropped their sixth consecutive decision and was held to a hitting percentage of .023.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle while the teams were tied at 10. LMC would produce a 5-1 run after Sam Sheers (Centerville, Ohio), Randy Ramirez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) and Matt Harpenau (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in with a kill each.
MU would cut the lead to three (17-14) after an Andrew Schnittker kill, but a pair of kills and a service ace from John Lucas (Cincinnati, Ohio) helped propel the Bobcats claim the opening set.
LMC hit .467 and Efrain Negron (Caguas, Puerto Rico) tallied four digs in the opener.
Consecutive kills from Morrison (Norfolk, Va.) and Mark Shayka (Hamilton, Va.) forced a McKendree timeout while the Bobcats held an 18-12 advantage in the second set.
The Bearcats would make it interesting after a LMC attack error and kill from Michael Polizzi to make it 23-21, but another kill from Morrison and a block by Morrison and Josh Cothron (Bradenton, Fla.) secure the Bobcat second set win.
LMC sprinted out to a 21-9 lead in the final set after a quartet of attack errors by MU and would cruise a 25-13 victory following another Sheers kill.
LMC held McKendree to a -.133 clip while hitting .435 in the finale.
Five Bobcats had at least seven kills while Sheers paced the team with digs.
Morrison and Cothron had five and four block assists, respectively.
LMC returns to action Tuesday when it welcomes Belmont Abbey for a Conference Carolinas bout at 7 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium. This match is a makeup from Jan. 24.


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The first model from BMW's new i electric range, the BMW i3 is slated to arrive in 2013, and it will be followed by the i8 electric supercar in 2014. BMW has big plans for its new i division and it's set to unveil a new i3 concept – the i3 Coupe – at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. The i3 Coupe concept, as the name suggests, is basically a coupe version of the electric i3.
The i3 Coupe concept is wrapped in a carbon fiber body which—according to BMW—is largely shaped by the gracefully flowing coupe roof line and the fresh interpretation of the BMW i "stream flow" design. Compared to the i3, the i3 Coupe concept is a bit wider and has a lower-slung look.
Like the BMW i3 Concept, the Coupe is also powered by an electric motor that generates 170 hp and 184 lb-ft. of torque that sends its power to the rear wheels. The electric motor draws its energy from the lithium-ion storage cells under the floor, which lowers the concept's center of gravity.
The range covered by vehicles with an all-electric drive is very much dependent on driving style. The BMW i3 Coupe Concept helps the driver to optimize efficiency by choosing an appropriate vehicle set-up. The Driving Experience Control switch on the center console can be used to select the three driving modes, COMFORT, ECO PRO and ECO PRO+, which alters the electric powertrain's performance and range. For example, changing from COMFORT to ECO PRO mode can extend the vehicle's range by as much as 20 percent. BMW predicts that the i3 Coupe Concept will have a range of 100 miles.
BMW hasn't announced if the i3 Coupe Concept will be produced, but it shows the potential of a possible i3 variant.


text:
Book Tour and Activities on the Go!
About the Destination:
Bangalore has a rich colonial past, with its pleasant weather and lush greenery it was one of the regions that appealed to everyone. Walking though any area in Bangalore is an experience that will leave you rich with insight and information about the people living in the IT City.
About the Activity:
A 3 hour walk though Frazer Town will offer you a beautiful collage of sights and sounds. The area has over the years transformed and become one of the most sought after areas In Bangalore. Maintaining a balance between the old and the new, Frazer Town is a slice of the thriving metropolis and the old colonial township.
This trip will begin at 5:00 PM near Thoms Bakery. Rich in history, this tour is one where you will hear endless tales of transformation of the once poor man's neighborhood, Mootoochery to Frazer Town. On the tour, you'll discover a World War I memorial; the area is known to hold hidden gems like a perfume maker's 80 year old cinema hall. When on the tour, you will also see the foundation stone to the place that marks the origin of this great township. With ample opportunities to take pictures, this is a delightful experience for the photographer in you. The tour takes you through places like St John Church that is bustling with people, another beautiful building is the Bethesda Assembly, a century old building with ardent believers. You can revel in the faith and enjoy the sights around you.
This is not just a history tour but a gastronomical adventure as well. While you look at these brilliant buildings, savour some mouth watering delights from about 6 eateries like Albert bakery which is about 112 years old. The delightful offerings of the bakery will satiate your hunger. Just close by is Café Idly, a unique concept offering one-of-a-kind Texas meets typical South Indian breakfast to the beats of Jimi Hendricks. And not to forget some of the traditional Muslim delicacies that Frazer Town boasts of hosting.Or you could simply relish the 'burger idly' at the Hole In The Wall café.
At the end of the tour at about 8:00 pm, you will have wonderful memories of this warm and pleasant city.
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Adjustment of status based on approved I-360 approved. Client recently moved and Client's manner of entry into the US was questionable (she may have entered with a false document), but still got AOS approved.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: another win for law offices of brian d. lerner, Immigration |


text: This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-05-675T entitled 'Energy Markets: Understanding Current Gasoline Prices and Potential Future Trends' which was released on May 10, 2005. This text file was formatted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to be accessible to users with visual impairments, as part of a longer term project to improve GAO products' accessibility. Every attempt has been made to maintain the structural and data integrity of the original printed product. Accessibility features, such as text descriptions of tables, consecutively numbered footnotes placed at the end of the file, and the text of agency comment letters, are provided but may not exactly duplicate the presentation or format of the printed version. The portable document format (PDF) file is an exact electronic replica of the printed version. We welcome your feedback. Please E-mail your comments regarding the contents or accessibility features of this document to firstname.lastname@example.com. This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. Because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately. Testimony: Before the Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Energy and Resources: United States Government Accountability Office: GAO: For Release on Delivery Expected at 1:00 p.m. EDT: Monday, May 9, 2005: Energy Markets: Understanding Current Gasoline Prices and Potential Future Trends: Statement of Jim Wells, Director, Natural Resources and Environment: GAO-05-675T: GAO Highlights: Highlights of GAO-05-675T, a report to House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Energy and Resources: Why GAO Did This Study: Gasoline prices have increased dramatically in recent weeks and currently, California has the highest gasoline prices in the nation. Consequently, consumers are expected to spend significantly more on gasoline this year than last. Specifically, EIA recently projected that, because of higher expected gasoline prices, the average American household will spend about $350 more on gasoline in 2005 than they did in 2004. Understandably, the public and the press have focused on these higher gasoline prices and some have questioned why this is happening. Moreover, people are concerned about the future, with some analysts projecting prices of crude oil—the primary raw material from which gasoline is produced—to remain at current high levels or even increase. Other analysts expect prices to fall as new oil supplies are developed and as consumers adjust to the current high prices and adopt more energy-efficient practices. This testimony, as requested, address factors that help explain today's high gasoline prices in the nation as a whole and specifically in California. In addition, potential trends that may impact future prices of crude oil and gasoline are addressed. What GAO Found: Crude oil prices and gasoline prices are linked, because gasoline is derived from the refining of crude oil. As a result, crude oil prices and gasoline prices generally follow a similar, albeit not identical, pattern over time. For example, from January 2004 to the present, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by almost $20 per barrel, an increase of almost 60 percent, while over the same period, average gasoline prices rose nationally from $1.49 to $2.20 per gallon, an increase of 48 percent. Explanations for this large increase in crude oil and gasoline prices include rapid growth of world demand for crude oil and petroleum products, instability in the Persian Gulf region, and actions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to restrict the production of crude oil and thereby increase its price on the world market. In addition to the cost of crude oil, gasoline prices are influenced by a variety of other factors, including refining capacity constraints, low inventories, unexpected refinery or pipeline outages, environmental and other regulations, and mergers and market power in the oil industry. Gasoline prices in California, and in other West Coast states, have consistently been among the highest in the nation and recent experience is no different. For the last week in April, the price of regular grade gasoline in California was $2.57 per gallon, about 37 cents above the national average. Explanations for California's higher than average gasoline prices include (1) California's unique gasoline blend, which is cleaner burning and more expensive to produce than any of the other commonly used gasoline blends; (2) a tight balance between supply and demand in the West Coast, and the long distance to any viable sources of replacement gasoline in the event of local supply disruptions; and (3) California's higher level of gasoline taxes—California currently taxes a gallon of gasoline at 30 cents per gallon more than the state with the lowest taxes, Alaska. Some sources have also attributed high gasoline prices, in part, to the fact that California's refining sector is more concentrated in the hands of fewer companies than in other refining areas, such as the Gulf Coast. Future gasoline prices will, in large part, be determined by the supply and demand for crude oil and its price on the world market. World crude oil demand is projected to rise, so new sources will have to be developed or prices will rise. Technological innovations that reduce the cost of finding or extracting crude oil could reduce prices, other things remaining constant. Greater conservation, or improvements in energy efficient technologies could also mitigate rising demand and reduce upward pressure on prices. In addition, alternative fuel sources may become more economical, thereby supplanting some of the demand for crude oil and gasoline in the future. America faces daunting challenges in meeting future energy demands, and policy makers must choose wisely to ensure that the country can meet these demands, while balancing environmental and quality of life concerns. www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-675T. To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on the link above. For more information, contact Jim Wells at (202) 512- 3841 or email@example.com. [End of section] Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I am pleased to participate in the Subcommittee's hearing to discuss today's gasoline prices and the factors behind future trends in those prices. Soaring retail gasoline prices have garnered much media attention and generated much public anxiety, particularly in a state as dependent on gasoline as California. According to data published by the American Automobile Association, since a year ago, average national gasoline prices have increased 23 percent to $2.20, with average prices in California currently at $2.57 per gallon. In the Los Angeles area, prices have increased 19 percent to $2.60 in the same period. According to the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA), which compiles and analyzes energy statistics, higher expected gasoline prices in 2005 will increase the average American household's spending on gasoline by about $350 over 2004 expenditures. Nationally, each additional ten cents per gallon of gasoline adds about $14 billion to America's annual gasoline bill. Still, when adjusted for inflation, gasoline prices are not at an all time high--the highest inflation adjusted prices occurred in 1981 and were equivalent to a price of about $3.00 today. In addition, U.S. consumers pay less for a gallon of gasoline than consumers in many other industrialized nations, in large part because the United States imposes much lower taxes on gasoline than these other countries. The availability of relatively inexpensive gasoline has helped foster economic growth and permitted a quality of life not widely available across the globe. Large price increases, especially if sustained over a long period, pose long term challenges to consumers. In this regard, some recent analyses suggest that gasoline prices may stay at today's relatively high level or even increase significantly in the future. For example, some analysts have projected that the price of crude oil--the primary raw material in the production of gasoline--while changing from day-to-day, may remain in the vicinity of current levels for some time. One analysts has even projected that oil may reach $105 per barrel in coming years--almost double the current price. In contrast, others suggest that crude oil prices--and therefore, gasoline prices--will fall as oil companies invest in more crude oil producing capacity and as consumers respond to higher prices by adopting more energy-efficient practices. Regardless of what happens in the future, the impact of gasoline prices is felt in virtually every sector of the U.S. economy and when prices increase sharply, as they have in recent months, consumers feel it immediately and are reminded every time they fill up their tanks or read in the newspapers about high oil company profits. It is therefore essential to understand the market for gasoline. In this context, you asked us to discuss (1) how gasoline prices are determined nationally, (2) what factors cause California's prices to be consistently among the nation's highest, and (3) some of the important factors that will determine gasoline prices in the long run. You also requested that we provide some graphical depiction of gasoline prices and other relevant data and we include these in appendix 1 of this document. To respond to your questions, we relied heavily on previous work on gasoline prices and other aspects of the petroleum products industry and collected updated data from a number of sources that we deemed reliable. This work was performed in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. In summary, our work has shown: * Crude oil prices and gasoline prices are inherently linked, because crude oil is the primary raw material from which gasoline and other petroleum products are produced--when crude oil prices fluctuate, gasoline prices generally follow a similar pattern. In recent months, crude oil prices have risen significantly--from January 2004 to the present, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, a benchmark for international oil prices, has risen by almost $20 per barrel, an increase of almost 60 percent. Over the same period, average gasoline prices rose nationally from $1.49 to $2.20 per gallon, an increase of 48 percent. Explanations for this large increase in crude oil and gasoline prices include rapid growth of world demand for crude oil and petroleum products, particularly in China and the rest of Asia, instability in the Persian Gulf region (the source of a large proportion of the world's oil reserves), and actions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to restrict the production of crude oil and thereby increase its price on the world market. Figure one illustrates the relationship between crude oil and gasoline prices over the past three decades. The figure shows that major upward and downward movements of crude oil prices are generally mirrored by movements in the same direction by gasoline prices. Figure 1: Gasoline and Crude Oil Prices--1974-2004 (Not adjusted for inflation): [See PDF for image] [End of figure] * While crude oil is a fundamental determinant of gasoline prices, a number of other factors also play a role in determining how gasoline prices vary across different locations and over time. For example, refinery capacity in the United States has, in recent years, not expanded at the same pace as demand for gasoline and other petroleum products--during the same period we have imported larger and larger volumes of gasoline from Europe, Canada, and other countries. It is important to note that imports are not, in and of themselves a problem- -frequently imported goods are available at lower prices than domestically produced goods. However, the American Petroleum Institute has recently reported that U.S. refinery capacity utilization has increased to 92 percent. As a result, domestic refineries have little room to expand production in the event of a temporary supply shortfall. Further, the fact that imported gasoline comes from farther away than domestically produced gasoline means that when supply disruptions occur in the United States, it might take longer to get replacement gasoline than if we had excess refining capacity in the United States, and this could cause gasoline prices to rise and stay high until these new supplies can reach the market. In addition, refinery accidents and other localized supply disruptions have at times caused price spikes especially at the state or regional level. Recently, a tragic fire at a BP refinery in Houston killed 15 people and temporarily shut down about 3 percent of the nation's refining capacity--while this event has not been definitively linked to increased prices, such events in the past have, at times, had major effects on prices. * The volume of inventories of gasoline, maintained by refiners or marketers of gasoline, can also have an impact on prices. As with trends in a number of other industries, the petroleum products industry has seen a general downward trend in the level of gasoline inventories in the United States. Lower levels of inventories may cause prices to be more volatile because when a supply disruption occurs, there are fewer stocks of readily available gasoline to draw from, which puts upward pressure on prices. Regulatory factors also play a role. For example, in order to meet national air quality standards under the Clean Air Act and amendments, many states have adopted the use of special gasoline blends--so-called "Boutique Fuels." Many experts have concluded that the proliferation of these special gasoline blends has caused gasoline prices to rise and/or become more volatile, especially in regions such as California that use unique blends of gasoline, because the fuels have increased the complexity and costs associated with supplying gasoline to all the different markets. Finally, the structure of the gasoline market can play a role in determining prices. For example, we recently reported that some mergers of oil companies during the 1990s led to reduced competition among gasoline suppliers and may have been responsible for an increase in gasoline prices by as much as 2 cents per gallon. * Gasoline prices in California, and in other West Coast states, have consistently been among the highest in the nation and recent experience is no different. For example, for the last week in April, when the national average price for regular grade gasoline was $2.20, the California price was $2.57. Explanations for why California's prices have been higher than the national average include (1) California's unique gasoline blend, which is cleaner burning and more expensive to produce than any of the other commonly used gasoline blends; (2) a tight balance between supply and demand in the West Coast, and the long distance to any viable sources of replacement gasoline in the event of local supply disruptions; and (3) California's higher level of gasoline taxes--California currently taxes a gallon of gasoline at 30 cents per gallon more than the state with the lowest taxes, Alaska. * Future gasoline prices will reflect world supply and demand balance. If demand for oil and petroleum products continues to rise as it has in past years--EIA projects that U.S. demand for crude oil will rise about 38 percent by the year 2025--then oil supply will have to expand significantly to keep up. Currently, world surplus crude oil production capacity--the amount by which oil production can be increased in the short run without installing more drilling equipment or developing new oil fields--is very small. Moreover, many of the world's known and easily accessible crude oil deposits have already been developed and many of these are experiencing declining volumes as the fields become depleted. As a result, new production facilities will have to be built, and perhaps new oil deposits will need to be developed, to meet rising demand for gasoline and other petroleum products. In so doing, entities may encounter higher costs of extracting and processing oil. For example, there are large stores of crude oil in tar sands and oil shale, or potentially beneath deep water in the ocean, but these sources are more costly to extract and process than many of the sources of oil that we have already tapped. To the extent that extraction and processing costs rise, the price of crude oil and the petroleum products made from it will have to rise to make supplying it economically viable. If, on the other hand, technological innovations improve our ability to extract and process oil, this will increase the available future supply and ease pressure on petroleum product prices. * Although demand for crude oil is projected to increase, it could fall below current expectations if consumers choose more energy efficient products or otherwise conserve more energy. Such a reduction in demand could lead to lower-than-expected future prices. For example, in response to high gasoline prices in the United States, in the 1980s many consumers chose to switch to smaller or more fuel-efficient vehicles, which reduced demand for gasoline. Environmental issues could also have an impact on world crude oil and petroleum product prices. For example, international efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions could cause reductions in demand for crude oil and petroleum products as more fuel-efficient processes are adopted or as cleaner sources of energy are developed. Additional factors that will likely influence future oil and gasoline prices include geopolitical issues, such as the stability of the Middle East; the valuation of the U.S. dollar in world currency markets; and the pace of development of alternative energy supplies, such as hydrogen fuel cell technology. Background: In 2004, the United States consumed about 20.5 million barrels per day of crude oil accounting for roughly 25 percent of world oil production. A great deal of the crude oil consumed in this country goes into production of gasoline and, as a nation, we use about 45 percent of all gasoline produced in the world.[Footnote 1] California alone presently consumes almost 44 million gallons of gasoline per day. To put this in perspective, in 1997 (the last year for which we found available data for international comparisons), only the rest of the United States and Japan consumed more gasoline than California. Products made from crude oil--petroleum products, including gasoline-- have been instrumental in the development of our modern lifestyle. In particular, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel have provided the nation with affordable fuel for automobiles, trucks, airplanes and other forms of public and goods transportation. Together, these fuels account for over 98 percent of the U.S. transportation sector's fuel consumption. In addition, petroleum products are used as raw materials in manufacturing and industry; for heating homes and businesses; and, in small amounts, for generating electric power. Gasoline use alone constitutes about 44 percent of our consumption of petroleum products in the United States, so when gasoline prices rise, as they have in recent months, the effects are felt throughout the country, increasing the costs of producing and delivering basic retail goods and making it more expensive to commute to work. It is often the case that prices of other petroleum products also increase at the same time and for the same reasons that gasoline prices rise. For example, today's high gasoline prices are mirrored by high jet fuel prices, which have put pressure on airline companies, some of which are currently in the midst of financial difficulties. Gasoline prices vary a great deal over time. For example, in the 10- year period April 1995 through April 2005, the national average price for a gallon of regular grade gasoline has been as low as $0.89 and as high as $2.25 without adjusting for inflation. In addition, gasoline prices vary by location and, in recent years, California has consistently had among the highest prices in the nation. The future path of gasoline prices is difficult to predict, but it is clear that the use of petroleum products worldwide is going to increase for the near term and maybe beyond. Some analysts have predicted much higher crude oil prices--and as a result, higher prices of petroleum products--while others expect prices to moderate as producers respond to high prices by producing more crude oil and consumers respond by conserving more, and investing in more energy-efficient cars and other products. In either case, the price of gasoline will continue to be an important part of the household budgets of Americans for the foreseeable future and therefore, it is important to understand how prices are determined so that consumers can make wise choices. Gasoline Prices Are Determined by the Price of Crude Oil and a Number of Other Factors: Crude oil prices feed directly into the price of gasoline, because crude oil is the primary raw material from which gasoline is produced. For example, according to our analysis of EIA data, crude oil accounted for about 48 percent of the price of a gallon of gasoline on average in 2004 in the United States.[Footnote 2] When crude oil prices rise, as they have in recent months, refiners find their cost of producing gasoline also rises, and in general, these higher costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher gasoline prices at the pump. Figure 2 illustrates the importance of crude oil in the price of gasoline. The figure also shows that taxes, refining, and distribution and marketing also play important roles.[Footnote 3] Figure 2: Elements in the Price of a Gallon of Gasoline (Average for 2004): [See PDF for image] [End of figure] Because of the prominent role of crude oil as a raw material of gasoline production, in order to understand what determines gasoline prices it is necessary to examine how crude oil prices are set. Overall, the price of crude oil is determined by the balance between world demand and supply. A major cause of rising crude oil prices in recent months has been rapid growth in world demand, without a similar growth in available supplies. In particular, the economy of China has grown rapidly in recent years, leading to increases in their demand for crude oil. In contrast, oil production capacity has grown more slowly, leading to a reduction in the surplus capacity--the amount of crude oil that is left in the ground, but could be extracted on short notice in the event of a supply shortfall. EIA has stated that the world's surplus crude oil production capacity has fallen to about one million barrels per day, or just over one percent of the world's current daily consumption, making the balance between world demand and supply of crude oil very tight. This tight balance between world crude oil demand and supply means that any significant supply disruptions will likely cause prices to rise. For example, a workers' strike in Nigeria's oil sector in October 2004 forced world crude oil prices to record highs (Nigeria is the world's seventh largest oil producer, supplying an average 2.5 million barrels per day in 2004). Another important factor affecting crude oil prices is the behavior of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)--members of which include Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC members produce almost 40 percent of the world's crude oil and control almost 70 percent of the world's proven oil reserves. In the recent past and on numerous other occasions, OPEC members have collectively agreed to restrict production of crude oil in order to increase world prices for that commodity. In addition to the cost of crude oil, gasoline prices are influenced by a variety of other factors, including refining capacity constraints, low inventories, unexpected refinery or pipeline outages, environmental and other regulations, and mergers and market power in the oil industry. First, domestic refining capacity, has not kept pace with growing demand for gasoline. As demand has grown faster than domestic refining capacity, the United States has imported larger and larger volumes of gasoline and other petroleum products from refiners in Europe, Canada, and other countries. EIA officials told us that, in general, this increase in imports has reflected the availability of gasoline from foreign sources at lower cost than building and operating additional refining capacity in the United States would entail. However, the American Petroleum Institute (API) has recently reported that capacity utilization has been high in the U.S. refinery sector. Capacity has typically averaged over 90 percent, and has recently increased to 92 percent--much higher than the rate in many other industries, which API reports are more typically operating at around 80 percent of capacity. As a result, domestic refineries have little room to expand production in the event of a temporary supply shortfall. Further, the fact that imported gasoline comes from farther away than domestically produced gasoline means that when supply disruptions occur in the United States, it might take longer to get replacement gasoline than if we had excess refining capacity in the United States, and this could cause gasoline prices to rise and stay high until these new supplies can reach the market. Gasoline prices may also be affected by unexpected refinery outages or accidents that significantly disrupt the delivery of gasoline supply. For example, in a recent report, we found that unexpected refinery outages had been a factor in a number of prices spikes in California in the 1990s. More recently, the tragic explosion and subsequent fire at a BP refinery in Houston, that killed 15 people, temporarily shut down about 3 percent of the nation's refining capacity. While we have not analyzed the potential impact on gasoline prices of this specific event, similar events in the past have caused temporary increases in prices until alternative sources of supply can be brought to market. Pipeline disruptions can have a similar effect, as was seen when Arizona's Kinder Morgan pipeline broke in July 2003 and average gasoline prices jumped 56 cents in a month in Arizona. In addition, tanker spills, and other similar events can all have an impact on gasoline prices at various points in time because they cause interruption in the supply of crude oil or petroleum products, such as gasoline. The level of gasoline inventories can also play an important role in determining gasoline prices over time because inventories represent the most accessible and available source of supply in the event of a production shortfall or increase in demand. Similar to trends in other industries, the level of inventories of gasoline has been falling for a number of years. In part, this reflects a trend in business to more closely balance production with demand in order to reduce the cost of holding large inventories. However, reduced inventories may contribute to increased price volatility, because when unexpected supply disruptions or increases in demand occur, there are lower stocks of readily available gasoline to draw from. This puts upward pressure on gasoline prices until new supplies can be refined and delivered domestically, or imported from abroad. Regulatory steps to reduce air pollution have also influenced gasoline markets and consequently have influenced gasoline prices. For example, since the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, the use of various blends of cleaner-burning gasoline--so-called "boutique fuels--has grown. A number of reports by government agencies, academics, and private entities have concluded that the proliferation of these special gasoline blends has put stress on the gasoline supply infrastructure and may have led to increased price volatility because areas that use special blends cannot as easily find suitable replacement gasoline in the event of a local supply disruption. However, these special gasoline blends provide environmental and health benefits because they reduce emissions of a number of pollutants. GAO is currently working on a report on special gasoline blends that will look at these issues and discuss the effects of these special blends on emissions and on the supply system. Finally, we recently reported that industry mergers increased market concentration and in some cases caused higher wholesale gasoline prices in the United States from the mid-1990s through 2000.[Footnote 4] Overall, the report found that the mergers led to price increases averaging about 2 cents per gallon on average. For conventional gasoline, the predominant type used in the country, the change in the wholesale price, due to specific mergers, ranged from a decrease of about 1 cent per gallon--due to efficiency gains associated with the merger--to an increase of about 5 cents per gallon--attributed to increased market power after the merger. For special blends of gasoline, wholesale prices increased by from between 1 and 7 cents per gallon, depending on location. California's Unique Gasoline and Isolation from Other Markets Contribute to its Higher Gasoline Prices: California, and the West Coast states more generally, have consistently had among the highest gasoline prices in the nation. For example, California's gasoline prices averaged about 21 cents more per gallon than national gasoline prices over the last ten years. In addition, California has at times had more volatile gasoline prices than the rest of the country. For example, in an earlier report on California gasoline prices, we noted that, while gasoline prices did not spike more frequently than in the rest of the United States, California's gasoline price spikes were generally higher.[Footnote 5] Many of the factors influencing gasoline prices nationwide have had an even more dramatic effect on California prices. For example, California's high gasoline prices have been attributed, in part, to its cleaner burning gasoline. In response to air quality problems and in order to meet air quality standards resulting from the Clean Air Act and amendments, California adopted a unique blend of gasoline in 1996 that increased refining costs and likely caused prices of gasoline in the state to rise. California's blend of gasoline is unique in the United States and, according to EPA models, is the cleanest burning of all the widely used special gasoline blends in the country. This gasoline blend is also very difficult to make, and those refineries that chose to make it had to install expensive new equipment and refining processes in order to meet the specifications of the gasoline. Some studies have suggested that the current blend of California gasoline costs between 5 and 15 cents more per gallon to make than conventional gasoline. It is likely that these costs are passed on, at least in part, to consumers. In addition, in recent years, California has developed a tight balance between supply and demand, which has at times led to sharper or longer price spikes when supply disruptions have occurred. Expansion of the gasoline supply infrastructure has not kept pace with growing demand, and as a result, the California refinery system has run at near capacity. For example, according to EIA testimony before the Congress, demand for gasoline in California has grown at roughly two to four times production capacity growth. California Energy Commission staff told us that the tight supply and demand balance has led to large price movements in response to even small supply disruptions, caused by refinery outages and other events. Moreover, supply disruptions may have a larger impact on California than on other states. First of all, only a few refineries outside of the state can produce California's special blend of gasoline. In addition, there are no major pipelines connecting the state with other major refining areas. Therefore, if supply is disrupted in California, gasoline must be brought in from the few refineries outside the state that make California's blend of gasoline--often from as far away as the Gulf Coast or beyond. And because of the lack of pipeline access to the state, tankers and other means must be used, and the process is slow. For example, we recently reported that gasoline shipped into California by tanker from such places as the Gulf Coast, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia, can take between 11 and 40 days and added 3 to 12 cents per gallon to the retail price. Another factor contributing to the prices Californians pay at the gasoline pump is that residents of California pay comparatively higher gasoline taxes than residents in many other states. For example, at about 57 cents per gallon on average, California's total gasoline tax rate is among the highest, behind only New York and Hawaii, and is 30 percent higher than the national average of 44 cents per gallon, according to a November 2004 survey by the American Petroleum Institute. In our recent report on oil industry mergers discussed earlier in this testimony, we found that the highest price impact of mergers--over 7 cents per gallon of gasoline--was in California. In addition, the California Attorney General recently reported that California's gasoline industry is more concentrated than that of the rest of the United States, with California's six largest refiners controlling more than 90 percent of refining capacity. The California Attorney General noted further, that these six refiners in California control a majority of the terminal facilities and 85 percent of the retail locations in the state. To the extent that these factors lead to greater market power on the part of refiners or gasoline marketers, prices may be higher as a result. However, we have not analyzed this directly. Future Oil and Gasoline Prices Will Reflect Supply/Demand Balance, but Technological Change and Conservation Will Also Play a Role: Looking into the future, daunting challenges lie ahead in finding, developing, and providing sufficient quantities of oil to meet projected global demand. For example, according to EIA, world oil demand is expected to grow to nearly 103 million barrels per day in 2025 under low growth assumptions, and may reach as high as 142 million barrels per day in 2025--increases of between 25 and 71 percent, from the 2004 consumption level of 83 million barrels per day. For the United States alone, EIA estimates that oil consumption will increase by between 1.2 and 1.9 percent annually through 2025 depending on assumptions about economic growth and other factors. Looking further ahead, the rapid pace of economic growth in China and India, two of the world's most populous and fastest growing countries, may lead to a similarly rapid increase in their demand for crude oil and petroleum products. While these countries currently consume only a small fraction of world crude oil, the pace of their demand growth could have far reaching implications if recent trends continue. For example, consumption of oil by China and India is currently far below that of the United States, but is projected to grow at a more rapid rate. EIA's medium-growth projections estimate that oil consumption for China and India will each grow by about 4 percent annually through 2025, while consumption in the U.S. is projected to grow at an annual rate of 1.5 percent over the same period. To meet the rising demand for gasoline and other petroleum products, new oil deposits will likely be developed and new production facilities built. Currently, many of the world's known and easily accessible crude oil deposits have already been developed, and many of these are experiencing declining volumes as fields become depleted. For example, the existing oil fields in California and Alaska have long since reached their peak production, necessitating an increasing volume of imported crude oil to West Coast refineries.[Footnote 6] Developing new oil deposits may be more costly than in the past, which could put upward pressure on crude oil prices and the prices of petroleum products derived from it. For example, some large potential new sources, such as oil shales, tar sands, and deep-water oil wells, require different and more costly extraction methods than are typically needed to extract oil from existing fields.[Footnote 7] In addition, the remaining oil in the ground may be heavier and more difficult to refine, necessitating investment in additional refinery processes to make gasoline and other petroleum products out of this oil. If developing, extracting, and refining new sources of crude oil are more costly than extracting and refining oil from existing fields, crude oil and petroleum product prices will rise to make these activities economically feasible. On the other hand, technological advances in oil exploration, extraction, and refining could mitigate future price increases. In the past, advances in seismic technology significantly improved the ability of oil exploration companies to map oil deposits, which enabled them to ultimately extract the oil more efficiently, thereby getting more out of a given oil field. In addition, improvements in technology have enabled oil companies to drill in multiple directions from a single platform, and also to pin-point specific oil deposits more accurately, which has led to increases in the supply of crude oil. Further, refining advances over the years have also enabled U.S. refiners to increase the yield of gasoline from a given barrel of oil--while the total volume of petroleum products has remained relatively constant, refiners have been able to get more of the more valuable components, such as gasoline, out of each barrel, thereby increasing the supply of these components. Further technological improvements that lower costs or increase supply of crude oil or refined products would likely lead to lower prices for these commodities. Similarly, innovations that reduce the costs of alternative sources of energy could also reduce the demand for crude oil and petroleum products, and thereby ease price pressures. For example, hydrogen is the simplest element and most plentiful gas in the universe and its use in fuel cells produces almost no pollution. In addition, hydrogen fuel cell cars are expected to be roughly three times more fuel-efficient than cars powered by typical internal combustion engines. Currently, enormous technical problems stand in the way of converting America's fleet of automobiles from gasoline to hydrogen, including how to produce, store, and distribute the flammable gas safely and efficiently, and how to build hydrogen cars that people can afford and will want to buy. However, there are federal and state initiatives under way as well as many private efforts to solve these technical problems, and if they can be solved in an economical way in the future, the implications for gasoline use could be profound. Greater conservation or improved fuel efficiency could also reduce future demand for crude oil and petroleum products, thereby leading to lower prices. The amount of oil and petroleum products we will consume in the future is, ultimately, a matter of choice. Reducing our consumption of gasoline by driving smaller, more fuel-efficient cars-- as occurred in the 1980s in response to high gasoline prices--would reduce future demand for gasoline and put downward pressure on prices. For example, the National Academies of Science recently reported that if fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks had been raised by an additional 15 percent in 2000, consumption of gasoline in the year 2015 would be 10 billion gallons lower than it is expected to be under current standards. The Congress established fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks in 1975 with the passage of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. While these standards have led to increased fuel efficiency for cars and light trucks, in recent years, the switch to light trucks has eroded gains in the overall fuel efficiency of the passenger fleet. Future reductions in demand for gasoline could be achieved if either by fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks are increased, or consumers switch to driving smaller or more fuel-efficient cars. The effect of future environmental regulations and international initiatives on oil and petroleum products prices is uncertain. On one hand, regulations that increase the cost or otherwise limit the building of refining and storage capacity may put pressure on prices in some localities. For example, the California Energy Commission told us the lack of storage capacity for imported crude oil and petroleum products may be a severe problem in the future, potentially leading to supply disruptions and price volatility. Alternatively, international efforts to reduce the generation of green house gas emissions could cause reductions in the demand for crude oil and petroleum products through the development and use of more fuel-efficient processes and as cleaner, lower-emissions fuels are developed and used. Moreover, geopolitical factors will likely continue to have an impact on crude oil and petroleum product prices in the future. Because crude oil is a global commodity, the price we pay for it can be affected by any events that affect world demand or supply. For example, Venezuela- -which produces around 2.6 million barrels of crude oil per day, and which supplies about 12 percent of total U.S. imports for oil--is currently experiencing considerable social, economic, and political difficulties that have, in the past, impacted oil production. In April 2002, the oil flow from Venezuela was stemmed during 3 consecutive days of general strikes, affecting oil production, refining, and exports. Finally, instability in the Middle East, and particularly the Persian Gulf, has in the past, caused major disruptions in oil supplies, such as occurred toward the end of the first Gulf War, when Kuwaiti oil wells were destroyed by Iraq. Finally, the value of the U.S. dollar on open currency markets could also affect crude oil prices in the future. For example, because crude oil is typically denominated in U.S. dollars, the payments that oil- producing countries receive for their oil are also denominated in U.S. dollars. As a result, a weak U.S. dollar decreases the value of the oil sold at a given price. Some analysts have recently reported in the popular press that this devaluation can influence long-term prices in two ways. First, oil-producing countries may wish to increase prices for their crude oil in order to maintain their purchasing power in the face of a weakening dollar. Secondly, because the dollars that these countries have accumulated, and that they use, in part, to finance additional oil exploration and extraction, are worth less, the costs these countries pay to purchase technology and equipment from other countries whose currencies have gained relative to the dollar will increase. These higher costs may deter further expansion of oil production, leading to even higher oil prices.[Footnote 8] Conclusions: In closing, clearly none of the options for meeting the nation's energy needs are without tradeoffs. Current U.S. energy supplies remain highly dependent on fossil energy sources that are costly, imported, potentially harmful to the environment, or some combination of these three, while many renewable energy options are currently more costly than traditional options. Striking a balance between efforts to boost supplies from alternative energy sources and policies and technologies focused on improved efficiency of petroleum burning vehicles or on overall energy conservation present challenges as well as opportunities. How we choose to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities will help determine our quality of life and economic prosperity in the future. What is true for the nation as a whole is even more dramatically so in California. California is one of the most populous and steadily growing states in the nation, and its need for gasoline, as well as other energy sources, will grow. However, California's unique problems with respect to developing the right amount and type of infrastructure necessary to ensure a sufficient supply of gasoline, other petroleum products, or alternative fuels must be resolved or viable alternatives developed if California is to continue to enjoy the prosperity and high quality of life it is known for. We are currently studying the gasoline prices in particular, and the petroleum industry more generally, including a primer on gasoline prices, a forthcoming report on special gasoline blends, an analysis of the viability of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an evaluation of world oil reserves, and an assessment of U.S. contingency plans should oil imports from a major oil producing country, such as Venezuela, be disrupted. With this body of work, we will continue to provide Congress and the American people the information needed to make informed decisions on energy that will have far-reaching effects on our economy and our way of life. Mr. Chairman, this completes my prepared statement. I would be happy to respond to any questions you or the other Members of the Subcommittee may have at this time. GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments: For further information about this testimony, please contact me at (202) 512-3841 (or at email@example.com ). Godwin Agbara, Nancy Crothers, Randy Jones, Mary Denigan-Macauley, Samantha Gross, Mark Metcalfe, Michelle Munn, Melissa Arzaga Roye, and Frank Rusco made key contributions to this testimony. [End of section] Appendix I: Selected Charts and Figures: Figure 3: U.S. Retail Price of Gasoline (Not adjusted for inflation): [See PDF for image] [End of figure] Figure 4: U.S. Gasoline Consumption (1970-2004): [See PDF for image] [End of figure] Figure 5: Refining Capacity and Number of Refineries (1970-2004): [See PDF for image] [End of figure] [End of section] FOOTNOTES [1] The large percentage of total world gasoline production that is consumed by the United States partly reflects the fact that diesel is a commonly used fuel for cars in Europe, while U.S. cars primarily run on gasoline. If all motor vehicle fuels were accounted for, the United States' share of these fuels would be smaller than its share of gasoline. However, we do not have the data to present this more comprehensive measure. [2] EIA also lists taxes; refining costs and profits; and distribution and retail marketing costs and profits as other components of gasoline prices. [3] The latter two categories, refining, and distribution and marketing, includes costs associated with these activities as well as profits. The figure is a snapshot of how much each component contributes to the price of a gallon of gasoline, and the relative proportions attributable to each component vary over time as crude oil prices and other factors change. [4] Energy Markets: Effects of Mergers and Market Concentration in the U.S. Petroleum Industry (GAO-04-96, May 2004). [5] GAO, Motor Fuels: California Gasoline Price Behavior, GAO/RCED-00- 121 (Washington, D.C.: April 28, 2000). [6] Even if new oil fields are developed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, by the time these fields reach their expected peak production of 876,000 barrels per day, according to EIA projections, U.S. demand at this time would have increased by far more than this amount. [7] We are currently working on a report on global oil reserves that will address the constraints on global supply due to tapped oil reserves and the difficulty in extraction. [8] Higher oil prices, because they increase the U.S. trade deficit, may also contribute to the further devaluation of the dollar. Hence, analysts have called this process a vicious cycle in which a weak dollar drives up oil prices, which then feeds back into the trade deficit and cause the dollar to weaken further.