Save Energy At Home And Get A Higher Bill?
Posted by Sonja Ebron
We’re about to get ripped off again by our electric utility companies. Regulated utilities have sought repeated rate increases from state regulators as the costs of oil and natural gas rose the last few years. Deregulated firms have collectively raised their rates with impunity. With rare exceptions, few have lowered those rates now that prices have declined for both fuels.
The Wall Street Journal reports that consumers are using much less electricity this fall and winter than in past years. Just as we limited our driving when gasoline prices rose, it appears we’ve also lowered our use of electricity as electric rates have climbed. Perhaps the milder weather this winter reduced the need for electricity to heat homes and businesses. Or perhaps the slow economy shuttered businesses and forced people from their homes, reducing the demand on power plants. But some utilities report residential use down as much as 9%, a much greater reduction than could be caused by abnormal weather and economics combined. “Something fundamental is going on,” says Jim Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy. Perhaps the real reason is that people are finally getting serious about energy efficiency and conservation and simply eliminating wasteful practices in their homes.
Shopping Online Is Eco-Friendly
Posted by Sonja Ebron
The number of shoppers buying online grows every year. Consumers cite the convenience of staying home and a lesser need to see products before buying. Now there’s evidence that shopping from home actually helps the environment. According to a study by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, shopping online prevents the emission of a key greenhouse gas.
An estimated 30 percent of holiday gifts will be purchased online this year, saving half a million metric tons of carbon dioxide from getting into the atmosphere. Some of these savings are offset by commercial delivery trucks, but they make several deliveries per truckload, compared to one delivery per brick-n-mortar shopper. Savings are also reduced by the online shoppers’ computer usage, which is typically powered by burning fossil fuels. Still, the environmental costs of shopping are much lower for those buying online. This year, consider shopping from home to find gifts for your favorite people.
Obama Discovers A New Form Of Energy
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Barack Obama will be the first post-peak oil president of the most oil-hungry country on the planet. The Financial Times, London’s best daily, just previewed an International Energy Agency report that estimates global oil production is now falling 9 percent per year. To be clear, excess oil is the ‘capital’ in capitalism, and it no longer exists. We will see capitalist economies (are there any others?) shrink by at least the rate of oil decline, so we are in for a societal transformation much different than the turn of an economic cycle. Economic activity based on carbon (is there any other?) needs to shrink even faster than oil decline. A recent World Wildlife Fund report suggests our globe is warming five times faster than predicted, and the pace is accelerating. Change is necessary to address the twin crises of peak oil and climate change.
A Change Is Gonna Come
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Thank you, Madelyn Dunham. This Sam Cooke classic is for you:
