EnergyMiser101

Why Higher Chemical Prices Matter to You

    If you're thinking of buying a new couch, family room rug or even some toys for the kids, buy them today or be prepared  to dig deeper into your pockets to purchase them later in the year.  On June 24, Dow Chemical Company,  the nation's leading chemical producer and a global chemical giant, raised prices for most of its products by as much as 25 percent for the second time in a month.  The most recent increases were the largest in the company's history, and are directly related to the rising cost of crude oil and natural gas.               

When Will Gasoline Prices Come Down--Or Will They?

    Somebody asked me the other day, "When is the price of gasoline going to come down?" Before I can answer that, I have to say a little bit about why the price went up!

    Gasoline is made from crude oil. For the past century, we've taken the availability of crude oil for granted. The global oil industry actually started in Titusville, Pennsylvania, with the discovery of commercial quantities of oil in 1859 by Col. Edwin Drake.

    In the early 20th century, even bigger deposits were found in Texas and Oklahoma, and soon after in California.  And then there were even bigger discoveries in the Middle Eastern countries of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and others. The world was awash in oil, and hardly a thought was given to running out.

A Cheaper Way to Keep Cool

     Back around April, with the threat to Summer heat still a couple of months away, my husband and I started talking about buying some new room air conditioners.  We inherited the ones we had from the previous owners of our house.  They were reliable old dinosaurs—old being the operative word. Thirty-year-old  window units are not very energy efficient, not to mention not very attractive. So we started our investigation of central air.                

Drilling offshore--Is There a Benefit?

    The U.S. doesn't allow oil drilling in any coastal area except off the shore of Alabama, Louisiana and Texas and the Alaska North Slope. A moratorium supported by Democrats and Republicans went into effect in 1980 because of concern drilling may damage the environment.                

    Now President George W. Bush wants to end the moratorium. On June 18 he urged Congress to end the ban, saying the need for more oil at lower prices is a "pressing concern" for Americans. I wondered if this was a good idea.