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Soaring energy prices, who's to blame?

26 04 08 - 03:03

Soaring energy prices, who's to blame?




By Alan Fein




New York - Wednesday, oil futures dipped after the Energy Department reported an unexpected rise in supply levels last week, though with record oil and gasoline prices global consumption remains high while OPEC continues to hold down production.

Soaring energy prices, who's to blame?



New York - Wednesday, oil futures dipped after the Energy Department reported an unexpected rise in supply levels last week, though with record oil and gasoline prices global consumption remains high while OPEC continues to hold down production.

Crude oil futures finished the trading session in New York up 23 cents a barrel at $118.30 after having dropped to an intra-day low of nearly $116 following the government's weekly supply report that indicated that U.S. stocks of crude oil rose 2.4 million barrels for the week ending April 18. Energy pundits were looking for oil supplies to have only risen 1.8 million barrels.

Gasoline futures topped a record-setting $3.05 a gallon on the Mercantile Exchange, closing up 3 cents on May contracts. The EIA reported that gasoline stocks fell 3.2 million barrels, far more than the 2.1 million barrel consensus decline.

This morning, AAA reports that consumers are paying $3.556 a gallon at the pump on a national average, up more than 2 cents a gallon from yesterday and 30 cents more than month-ago average prices.

Voice of America's Michael Bowman points at growing global demand for crude oil and an unwillingness by OPEC members to increase production as to blame for the high cost of energy. "The trend has inflicted pain on consumers and petroleum-dependent industries while massively boosting the fortunes of oil-producing nations and petroleum companies," writes Bowman.

Bowman's story echoes the Bush administration's sentiment, as VOA pieces typically are written in a fashion supporting the U.S. government's position on global topics. Yet OPEC has ignored President Bush and Vice President Cheney who have both visited the Middle East to ask members of the Cartel to increase production levels with the same response - "no".

OPEC says speculators are to blame for the run up in crude oil prices, insisting that current production levels are more than adequate to meet global demand. But as countries like China and India develop, consumption levels are increasing and that has strained supplies to the point where speculation in a dollar-based commodity such as crude oil can push prices up.

With the United States in an unofficial recession, the greenback has fallen to such an extent that dollar denominated commodities such as oil are seen as a 'safe haven' against inflation and to that extent it is a better bet than the dollar.

Here in the U.S., Democrats on Capitol Hill have fought 'big oil' from exploring offshore and resisted pleas for trying to expand refineries. Democrats have also pushed for these same oil companies to pay 'windfall' taxes on their profits, yet through their efforts they've curbed domestic exploration and development levels during an unprecedented point in our nation's history where demand is outpacing supplies.

Earlier this week, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem el-Badri said the cartel plans to boost its oil production targets by five million barrels a day - in four years, which does little to quell consumer demand that by then will be on equal ground where it is now against growing consumption globally. Yet turning on the tap currently could be done, though at risk is a fallback in prices at the wellhead which would cut into the price-gouging run on profits the Cartel's members are enjoying as they buy up lucrative U.S. assets thanks to the housing debacle that has all but crashed the major U.S. investment banks to pieces while antiquated federal regulatory actions come too late to curve the financial crisis that hit Wall Street.

In all, a complex situation of finger-pointing, blame and guilt.

Yet do we blame OPEC for being greedy or take it on the chin? The answer it seems is to pass it through to consumers during an election year and blame it on a Republican administration, a tactic that so far has voters questioning government action.

"No one thread makes a quilt", says I, and in the case of rising global demand for energy and an economic fall-back in the United States during an election year it's surprising that there's any rational logic left on Wall Street or Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, you consumers out there can continue to suck it up and pay the cost of higher gasoline, home heating and yes, food, until such time as the market settles back into a normal posture and the vacancy sign on the White House is taken down in November - no matter who moves in.

Got Sun?

Chitika | Owna

Used tags: energy_costs, energy_crisis, price_of_oil, soaring_gas_prices

Toward a greener economy

Friday 17 October 2008 at 2:55 pm Toward a greener economy




By Moises Velasquez-Manoff





New York - Market bubbles occur when goods are traded at prices that greatly exceed real value. They burst when they grow so bloated that they become unstable. The current economic turmoil, widely viewed as the worst since 1929, is one example of what can happen when the difference between market value and actual value becomes too great.

Environmentally minded economists have long warned that equally burstable ecological bubbles can occur if humanity lives beyond earth's capacity to regenerate. The problem, they say, is that we're addicted to economic growth. Mainstream economics assumes that the economy, the engine of modern civilization, can grow perpetually. more

Renewable Electricity Surges by 32 percent-Provides 11 percent of U.S. Net Generation

Sunday 12 October 2008 at 06:23 am Renewable Electricity Surges by 32 percent-Provides 11 percent of U.S. Net Generation




Washington - According to the latest "Monthly Electricity Review" issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (October 3, 2008), net U.S. generation of electricity from renewable energy sources surged by 32 percent in June 2008 compared to June 2007.

Renewable energy (biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) totaled 41,160,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) in June 2008 up from 31,242,000 MWh in June 2007. Renewables accounted for 11.0 percent of net U.S. electricity generation in June 2008 compared to 8.6 percent in June 2007. more

City Trash Plus Farm Leftovers May Yield Clean Energy

Sunday 12 October 2008 at 06:15 am City Trash Plus Farm Leftovers May Yield Clean Energy




Washington - Tomorrow's household garbage might be blended with after-harvest leftovers from fields, orchards, and vineyards to make ethanol and other kinds of bioenergy. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are investigating this straightforward, eco-friendly strategy in their laboratories at the agency's Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif. more

Big Help in Biofuels Research

Monday 29 September 2008 at 02:52 am Big Help in Biofuels Research


Washington - A short little grass known as purple false brome may speed discoveries about switchgrass, its famous cousin and energy-crop hopeful.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists like John Vogel and Yong Gu at the agency's Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif., are probing the genetic makeup of purple false brome, or Brachypodium distachyon, as a faster way to learn more about the genes inside switchgrass. more

Precedent-setting carbon auction Thursday

Monday 29 September 2008 at 02:43 am By Mark Clayton


For almost as long as people have worried about global warming, economists have called for taxing carbon emissions. As long as sending CO2 skyward was cost-free, they argued, the practice would continue.

Starting Sept. 25, for the first time in US history, a price tag will begin to be placed on millions of tons of carbon dioxide spewing from every major power plant from Maine to Maryland.

Just what that price will be won't be known until after Thursday's computerized auction of about 12.5 million tons of "carbon allowances," essentially permission slips to pollute.

Utility companies will bid on the allowances. They may be used, saved, or traded so that any company with a need to send more CO2 up the stack can buy more - at the market price. The amount of CO2 to be cut over the next decade is modest - about 18 million tons annually (US power plants collectively emit about 2.8 billion tons of CO2 yearly). But the auction and process of setting a price for carbon are critical first steps, many say. more

Dispelling The “Twisted Truths” Of Energy-Saving Light Bulbs

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 5:18 pm Dispelling The “Twisted Truths” Of Energy-Saving Light Bulbs







For more than 129 years, people have used the incandescent light bulb as the primary light source for the home. With more consumers searching for products that are good for the environment, a new light bulb is revolutionizing lighting around the world. Energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) have become the symbol of the “green” movement. They use 75 percent less energy and last as much as 10 times longer than traditional incandescent light bulbs. Plus, they help reduce carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming. more

Campaign Plants Trees At Schools Across The U.S.

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 5:08 pm Campaign Plants Trees At Schools Across The U.S.






Schools are generally seen as the place to plant the seeds of knowledge. Yet thanks to a one-day environmental campaign, schools and parks across the country became places to plant something a little greener.

Sixteen schools across the country, from Long Island to Hawaii, participated in the initial “Trees for Success” campaign, with more than 800 trees planted in schools and neighboring parks in a single day. The schools were selected by the Arbor Day Foundation out of more than 200 applications based on need, civic and local support, student involvement, a plan for upkeep, and location. more

Wind Power Is Poised To Support U.S. Jobs

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 4:50 pm Wind Power Is Poised To Support U.S. Jobs

The U.S. Department of Energy contends that wind power can provide 20 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030.

Experts say there is a renewable source of energy that is capable of becoming a major contributor to America’s electricity supply over the next three decades--wind power.

In 2007, wind was already one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity in U.S. households, and the U.S. Department of Energy contends that wind power can provide 20 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030 and be a critical part of the solution to global warming. more

Weathering Rising Costs With Free Program

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 4:41 pm Weathering Rising Costs With Free Program





AEN News




Spiking energy costs are prompting many Americans to find ways to conserve energy.

Escalating energy costs have affected low-income Americans the most, says a recent study by the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association, forcing them to cut staples such as food and medicine. more

Algae-To-Energy Tests Planned

Saturday 13 September 2008 at 4:23 pm Algae-To-Energy Tests Planned



AEN News




For decades, scientists and energy executives have sought to unlock the energy potential of algae. Best known as the green pond scum that befouls rivers, lakes and streams, the single-celled plants are also a potentially prolific source of renewable fuels that could be used to power engines in cars, trucks, generators and many other machines.

Because algae use carbon dioxide to grow and reproduce, releasing oxygen in the process, systems that use them to produce renewable biofuel supplies are also being eyed for their promise in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and other sources generally believed to promote global warming.

Despite the promise of this approach in a world searching for renewable alternatives to limited fossil fuel supplies, attempts to develop algae-derived biofuels in commercially viable volumes have not been successful.

Now, that could be changing. more