United Airlines has joined the chorus of organizations blaming speculators for the dramatic rise in fuel prices.

Yes, prices are higher. Yes, there are more speculators. That doesn’t make a cause-and-effect. Perhaps there are more speculators because prices are rising — not vice-versa. That’s not the politically correct viewpoint, because it’s attractive to find a scapegoat.

And thus, we have an “open letter” to all airline customers, sent to me last week by United Airlines. It is also signed by AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines and US Airways.

An Open letter to All Airline Customers:

Our country is facing a possible sharp economic downturn because of skyrocketing oil and fuel prices, but by pulling together, we can all do something to help now.

For airlines, ultra-expensive fuel means thousands of lost jobs and severe reductions in air service to both large and small communities. To the broader economy, oil prices mean slower activity and widespread economic pain. This pain can be alleviated, and that is why we are taking the extraordinary step of writing this joint letter to our customers. Since high oil prices are partly a response to normal market forces, the nation needs to focus on increased energy supplies and conservation. However, there is another side to this story because normal market forces are being dangerously amplified by poorly regulated market speculation.

Twenty years ago, 21 percent of oil contracts were purchased by speculators who trade oil on paper with no intention of ever taking delivery. Today, oil speculators purchase 66 percent of all oil futures contracts, and that reflects just the transactions that are known. Speculators buy up large amounts of oil and then sell it to each other again and again. A barrel of oil may trade 20-plus times before it is delivered and used; the price goes up with each trade and consumers pick up the final tab. Some market experts estimate that current prices reflect as much as $30 to $60 per barrel in unnecessary speculative costs.

Over seventy years ago, Congress established regulations to control excessive, largely unchecked market speculation and manipulation. However, over the past two decades, these regulatory limits have been weakened or removed. We believe that restoring and enforcing these limits, along with several other modest measures, will provide more disclosure, transparency and sound market oversight. Together, these reforms will help cool the over-heated oil market and permit the economy to prosper.

The nation needs to pull together to reform the oil markets and solve this growing problem.

We need your help. Get more information and contact Congress by visiting www.StopOilSpeculationNow.com.

I am not convinced that more government regulation is the solution to the rise in oil prices.

What should one do on a hot summer week’s vacation? Go someplace hotter! From Saturday through Thursday, my wife and I hung out in Las Vegas, while our son attended a music workshop in Los Angeles.

The temperatures in Las Vegas were high, never dipping into double digits. Most days, the temp hovered around 105-107. On Wednesday, it hit 111. That’s toasty by any standard.

Fortunately, we were able to hop from one air-conditioned venue to another, and with rare exceptions we could park under cover.

Las Vegas is one of our favorite places to visit, and we go there often — even when we’re not in a gambling mood (as we weren’t this week). There are shows, there are buffets, there’s the beautiful desert, there are more buffets, there are outlet stores, and of course, there are buffets.

Here are a few of the many highs and few lows of the week.

Best Buffet on the Strip: We’ve always liked the Flavors Buffet at Harrah’s on previous trips, and it continued to impress.

Best Buffet off the Strip: The Feast Buffet at Sunset Station (1301 West Sunset, Henderson). This casino is a delight, with great decor and even a movie theater. The buffet was inexpensive and delicious. If you only visit casinos on the Strip and downtown, you’re not seeing Las Vegas.

Best Discount Outlets: Las Vegas Outlet Center, 7400 Las Vegas Blvd. (south of the Strip). Lots of great stores in an air-conditioned indoor mall.

Best High-End Outlets: Las Vegas Premium Outlets, 875 South Grand Central Pkwy. (north of the Strip). Lots of great stores in an outdoor shopping center.

Best Shopping Mall on the Strip: Tied between the Forum Shops at Caesar’s and the Miracle Mile Shops (part of Planet Hollywood).

Weirdest Food: The Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas (4501 Paradise at Harmon). We sat down, looked over the Bavarian menu and left without ordering.

Best Show to See: Went to the Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian. What an incredible performance!!!

Lamest Activity: There’s a $10 admission charge to visit the heavily promoted Ferrari dealership at the Wynn Casino. We decided to skip it.

Biggest Delight: Dunkin’ Donuts has returned to Las Vegas, after an absence of about a decade. Stumbling upon the store at 409 East Silverado Ranch Blvd. was a delight. The city’s first new store, which opened in October 2007, is worth the trip!

Biggest Disappointment: The Stage Deli in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s closed on June 29. Huge bummer — it was on our “must visit” list. (See the news report.)

Best Runner-Up: There’s a branch of Los Angeles’ Cantor’s Deli at Treasure Island. It’s okay, but we’d been looking forward to the Stage.

Viva Las Vegas, baby!

The Aribeco Observatory — the world’s largest radio telescope — is an essential tool for basic scientific research. It’s the home base for SETI, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, and the source of data for the SETI@home program.

Founded in 1963, the Puertan Rican facility is well known for its affiliation with Cornell University and the late Carl Sagan, who used its 1000-foot-wide dish for many research projects.

I received this message today from the SETI@home team at the Univ. of California, Berkeley.

If you believe in the importance of astronomy and basic science research, your support only costs a few pennies, and could make a universe of difference.

Arecibo Observatory, the world’s largest radio telescope and the source for the SETI@home data that your computer analyzes, faces massive budget cuts that will END its ability to continue the search for life beyond Earth. The decision to ensure full funding currently rests upon votes in Congress on Senate Bill S. 2862 and House Resolution H.R. 3737. These bills desperately need more support.

Please take a moment to help us SAVE ARECIBO.

Clicking the link below will direct you to a web page that allows you print out letters prepared for your Senators and Congressional Representative urging them to support Arecibo. Printing and mailing the letters is really easy, too! You will also have the chance to add a few personal thoughts, if you wish, to let your Senators and Representative know why this funding is important to you! And if you’re really feeling passionate about saving Arecibo, please use these
letters as the basis for letters you write yourself, urging your congressmen and women to vote to save Arecibo.

Because our representatives in Congress rarely give much attention to all the email they receive, printing out and MAILING these letters via standard U.S. Postal mail remains our best option for contacting them and our best hope for saving Arecibo (The second best option is to call your representatives). Your 42 cent stamps on these letters could help us get the millions of dollars needed to save Arecibo.

Our search cannot continue without the necessary support. Your work, as SETI@home participants, represents an indispensable resource for conducting the search. Now, we need your help to ensure that our other most valuable resource – our eyes and ears to the cosmos – can continue to probe the universe as we seek to answer the question: Is there anybody out there?

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/arecibo_letter.php

Thank you for your help,

The SETI@home Team