EnergyMiser101

Propane--The Alternative Fuel of the 1950s

     This week we heard General Motors tout the fuel efficiency of its electric Chevy Volt at an astonishing 230 miles per gallon. The Volt, set for a 2010 debut, is one of many alternative fuel automobiles under development. Honda this week reiterated its commitment to a hydrogen-powered car. Others will be powered by ethanol, natural gas and bio diesel.

     There's a lot of excitement over these cutting-edge technologies, but alternative fuel vehicles are nothing new. In fact, they have been around for a very long time. One of the trailblazers was none other than my father-in-law Joe who tried something entirely new on a 1950 Plymouth, similar to the one pictured--converting its six-cylinder gasoline engine to run on propane!

Why Do Crude Oil Prices Fluctuate So Much?

      Price volatility is expected in any commodity market. In fact it's how people trading those commodities make money. But lately crude oil and related products like gasoline and heating oil have had so many wild price swings that business owners and even homeowners have had a difficult time budgeting their energy costs. Here's some background for you on why these swings may be happening.

    To understand the current pattern of oil prices, one has to put those prices into some historic perspective. When I was covering petrochemical markets in the early 1990s and we were in the middle of a bull market one of my colleagues insisted that crude prices would soon (in a matter of months) top $100 per barrel.

Obama's Speech: A New Direction for Energy Policy?

“...and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.”--from Barack Obama's Inaugural Address.

     What do these words mean to you, and where do you think President Obama is going to take our energy policy?

Candidates Part Ways on Nuclear/Offshore Drilling

   When it comes to energy, John McCain seems to have quite a bit in common with his challenger, Barack Obama. Both candidates want to reduce US dependence on foreign oil., and both want to promote clean, alternative sources of energy.  But they part ways on how these goals should be achieved.                

     The main differences between McCain's and Obama's energy plans, when you read them on line,  have to do with  off-shore drilling and nuclear power.  McCain has made it clear from the beginning of this campaign that he favors drilling for more domestic oil and natural gas to combat US dependence on foreign supplies. Obama has been more reluctant to sanction off-shore drilling, although he stated back in August that he was willing to compromise on his opposition to off-shore drilling if it would enable him to pass a more comprehensive energy bill.
                  

Tap U.S. Reserves?

     The Republican presidential candidate's energy plan, the Lexington Project, which outlines his program for leading the country to energy independence by 2025,  is big on tapping the  huge U.S. reserves of oil and natural gas.

Obama on Energy: Electricity

   John McCain and Barack Obama, knowing that the cost of energy is on most Americans' minds and that America's dependence on oil, particularly imported oil,  threatens our economic and environmental future,  have fashioned short- and long-term strategies to deal with the many energy issues of our time.

    Both candidates present their energy ideas on their Web sites, and with the Democratic convention here it seems like a good time to start sifting through their respective policies.  We're starting with Obama's plans to diversify our energy sources—specifically the sources we use to generate electricity.                

                                                                         

               

                  

                   

                     

 

                   

                  

               

                             

                           

Subsidies Abroad Support Higher Oil Prices at Home

    Oil prices haven't reached $150 a barrel yet, and actually dropped around $2 a barrel today (July 29) after government statistics indicated that American oil consumption declined in June.  But, before we speculate on whether today's oil price decline is the beginning of a downward trend in prices, it's good to flesh out the picture of why oil is so expensive to begin with.                 

     We've already talked about the precarious balance between world supply and demand, and the fact that much of the world's oil supply comes from politically unstable regions.  Then there is the fact that depressed equity markets are giving many financial players  reason to pause and, as a result, they have shifted some of their trading interest to commodities—particularly oil.

               

 

               

                  

                   

                     

 

                   

                  

               

                             

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.