No good way out for oil firms’ execs

Re “Oil chiefs scolded over gas prices, high profits,” May 22

What’s an oil company CEO to do? Unilaterally lower gas prices and be accused of predatory pricing to gain market share? Persuade industry leaders to lower prices and be accused of price-fixing? Or leave prices where they are and be accused by Senate leaders of price-gouging?

If Exxon Mobil’s senior vice president, J. Stephen Simon, donated his entire 2007 salary of $12.5 million to gas price reduction, it would lower Exxon Mobil’s pump price by 0.03 cents a gallon, or less than one cent per tank.

Richard J.

Stegemeier

Anaheim

The writer is the former chairman and chief executive of Unocal Corp.

Instead of whining about the high price of fuel, why aren’t we doing more to reduce waste?

For cars on the road, put left-turn signals at every major intersection, re-time all traffic lights for optimal flow and schedule road construction at night to avoid gas-wasting traffic jams.

In the air, we need an air traffic control system that allows airplanes to fly directly to their destinations instead of zigzagging from one point to another, and stricter FAA scheduling of departures at airports so planes don’t sit on the tarmac burning precious fuel.

We can no longer afford the luxury of being inefficient.

Stuart Singer

Inglewood

Watching those senators castigating the oil execs for high gasoline prices made me laugh -- their own failed energy policies are the culprit. No new drilling for oil in Alaska, in our mainland or off the coast, and no new refineries -- all to mollify the environmentalists.

Let’s get some people in Washington who have the guts to admit their mistakes and start reversing course.

George Teats Sr.

Downey