Top 10 Energy Stories Of 2008
Posted by Sonja Ebron
From where I sit, it’s very difficult to distinguish energy from foreign policy, especially when your country uses more energy than any other country. So here, in no particular order, are my picks for the most significant energy-related stories this year:
- Iran’s proposal for an OPEC-like consortium of the major natural gas producers
- Russia’s threat to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline during its short war with Georgia
- The 10-week scramble for gasoline in the southeast following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike
- The massive increase in disconnections of utility services in deregulated areas
- The $100 swing in oil prices, with gasoline dropping from $4.00 to $1.50 in six months
- The promise of Barack Obama’s Green Team and some new thinking on energy
- Mass awareness — but no real debate — of T. Boone Pickens’ plan to sell lots of natural gas
- Iraqi journalist throws shoes at outgoing U.S. president Bush
- U.S. failure to find African host country for AfriCom
- Expulsion of U.S. diplomats from energy-rich Venezuela and Bolivia
There’s only one thing left to say –> Happy New Year!
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.
2008 Energy Town Hall Meeting In Atlanta
Posted by Sonja Ebron
We hear a lot about energy and the economy in Atlanta, and for good reason. While gasoline prices have come down, supply is still spotty due to Hurricane Gustav, and the almost daily reports of job losses are worse than I can ever recall. National pundits blame our economic crisis on the housing bubble bust, but historical oil prices have always predicted recessions. Despite a dramatic decline in oil prices, we’re still paying three times the historical average in today’s dollars. Like all crises, this one hits Black people first. Add the impact of climate change, and it’s clear we have some difficult times ahead.
Out Of Gas In The Dirty South
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Hurricanes Gustav and Ike have struck again, not with high waters and strong winds, but with the partial shutdown of a gasoline pipeline serving the southeast. Half the gas stations in Atlanta are out of gas. Those with gas inventories have long lines of cars with drivers willing to pay very high gas prices. Georgia officials recently negotiated a waiver of environmental regulations that required gas in Atlanta to carry anti-smog chemicals, so gas has been imported from surrounding areas. But even gas imports haven’t reduced the lines at gas stations, which are expected to last through mid-October.
High Gas Prices Do NOT Make Effective Energy Policy
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Economists define market “demand” as the desire for goods or services by those who can pay for them. Demand for goods and services does not include the needs of those who can’t afford them. Gasoline at $4 a gallon has resulted in less driving, what economists call “demand destruction.” The polite explanation is that high oil prices send the economy into recession, and an economy in recession needs less oil. In private, though, most analysts assume people are foregoing summer road trips and other types of discretionary driving.
But some of that destroyed demand is from people who must drive to work or to the day care center or to the grocery store to make their lives work. The biggest reason people drive instead of using mass transit, which has always been far less costly than driving, is that it generally takes less time to get from Point A to Point B in your car, and you’re on your own schedule. (You leave when you need to, and you break traffic laws when necessary.) If you work three jobs, or are self-employed and meet customers at their locations, or are a single parent with just too much to do each day, you simply cannot use mass transit. So when your demand is destroyed, you take a big hit.
