In the energy market Thursday, crude for July delivery plummeted, closing at $131.93/barrel, down $4.75. July reformulated gasoline plunged 11.4 cents, to $3.3526/gallon.

I’ve been bearish on oil refiners for nine months…

The world keeps turning and the resources get used up. It’s really quite simple.

The US is finally doing something about its addiction to foreign oil, according to a report from the Department of Energy.

The report says America’s foreign oil dependency is expected to fall from 60%, to 50% in 2015. The projected reduction is due to high crude oil prices, more efficient cars, and the use of ethanol, which have cut imports of oil to the US for the first time since 1977.

The trend is likely to have significant implications for US national and foreign policies, reports the Financial Times

As high prices at the pumps and the rise of biofuels cut into demand for gasoline, US oil refiners are switching their attention to diesel.

“The trend that is important behind the story of the future expansions is the downtrend in gasoline,” said Joanne Shore, analyst for the U.S. Energy Information Administration, speaking to Thomson Reuters.

“We feel that demand for distillates is going to be higher than gasoline for the next several years.

One of the largest problems for farmers is getting sufficient supply of water to their fields. The other problem — which Kevin Kerr, editor of Resource Trader Alert, recently wrote about — is the cost of fuel.

The automobile industry is in the midst of a huge change, with more buyers overseas than ever before. Meanwhile, U.S. car manufacturers are struggling to stay float.