The fact that the US is both an importer and exporter of oil struck me as counter intuitive so a little digging was in order. In simplest terms, oil comes in two flavors, sweet and sour. Sweet oil is low in sulfur and is easier to refine into gasoline and diesel fuel; this is the kind of oil that Texas and Oklahoma are known for and demands a higher price than the sour oil which has higher levels of sulfur. Oil from the Middle East is predominantly sour and although cheaper than the sweet oil requires more expensive and elaborate refining facilities. You can get gasoline and diesel fuel out of it but I think its greatest utility is in producing plastics and other petrochemical compounds. It's not the shell game I thought it was.
This led me to another thing that the US both exports and imports: swine. Why should we import pigs when we can produce so many that we can export them? Like oil, not all pigs are created equal. The really good pork products are coming from Europe where it is less likely that the pigs are genetically modified or are exposed to hormones and antibiotics, common practices in the US. The price differentials are astounding; 3 ounces of sliced Spanish Jamón Ibérico is $40 according to a site I found online. We're talking a fifty dollar ham sandwich, folks; a little out of my price range. But it must be spectacular as there is no shortage of customers. I wonder what the bacon tastes like; it would be very sad if I couldn't tell the difference between it and Oscar Mayer.
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More news on the bug front...thanks to global warming, some insects are moving north. A new fly, formerly found only in the southern states, has been discovered in Indiana. Next stop, Michigan?
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