this is the basis for the incentives that are driving the backen. you can talk all you like about tax incentives and i'm not against treating these symmetrically with every form of production. i'm talking about oil and natural gas, but the point is that once you do treat them symmetrically, you've got to reckon with the fact that we've seen a sea change in the world petroleum market. we have prices that are seven times as high as they were as religious entally as 1998. that is the most relevant fact about incentives that we're here to discuss. >> can i respond? >> go right ahead. >> sure. >> dr. jorgenson picked the lowest year in history almost. in 1998, if anybody here remembers that is when our friends from venezuela was dumping oil into america, trying to put all the stripper producers particularly, high-cost producers in america out of america. the price before that had been in the $20 range, twice that, after, that you know, they responded and came back to that, after that procedure was changed, and the administration was changed in venezuela,

know, we have provisions right now that encourage us to invest, and we need to invest heavily in the backen. for instance, right now we estimate there's 900 billion barrels of oil in place, in this whole petroleum system. >> 900 billion barrels. >> 900 billion. right now we think we can get 2% to 3% of that, 2.5% maybe, or something like that. if we could move that needle up to 5%, everybody here can do the math. i mean, we're talking doubling, you know, our reserves in america so it's that significant, so, you know, we've got a job to do and a very significant one, and we need the ability to do it. this gives -- this encourages us to do it. >> just the last statement, if i could, mr. chairman. i've just been up with secretary salazar on several of the wells being drilled in north dakota, and i'll tell you it's extremely impressive. it's being carefully done. it's being professionally done. it's being done in an environmentally sensitive way. it's being done with extraordinary technology, and so we thank you for that as well. it's being done in -- i'll tell you, i don't think any one of us

firefighters say the building is now way too unstable for anyone to do backen side.re now buckling. the dogs had been searching in the area where the work was last seen on surveillance. they may have been using a forklift that clipped one of the walls that had paper creating a domino effect. that ended up collapsing that whole area of the roof. police say at this point they have not heard any cries coming from inside. structural engineers now have to come and look before this rescue effort can continue. >>> a developing story in virginia this morning, where firefighters are trying to keep a quickly growing wildfire from reaching homes. the fire is is burning off massanutten mountain. 350 acres. it's only 5% contained. also moving closer to private areas within a few miles of homes including this one. other than 100 firefighters are battling the blaze but they also have to focus on another fire, and that one is in the park. that one has burned more than 250 acres. >>> new this morning. a fire at silver spring barber shop. it was figured out the suspect used accelerant

>> sheila and alan backen. >> you haven't said a word in 52 years, have you? >>.that's the first one. bad news, unfortunately, for the fires. especially the hyde park fire in colorado. warming up to 83, wind gusts to 25 miles per hour. they don't think they will have this fully contained until fall. over 43,000 acres. temperatures out west in the rockies, 80s and 90s, no relief there. hundreds as you get to the southwest. slight risk of strong storms in the high plains. wet weather along the mid-atlantic and to the northeast. plenty of sunshine in the lower mississippi >>> goondz morning. the time is 7:38. seeing sunshine through the low clouds that developed and pushed inland this morning. the marine layer is back but a cooler day than we have all week. this is the coolest day, 72 degrees in fremont and 73 in redwood city. tomorrow starting to increase your temperatures just a touch, and then the real climb begins friday into saturday. we're expecting triple-digits in the bay area. weather. ann. >> all right, al. thank you so much. coming up next, get ready to sm