Tag: Energy Debate

You Are Fracking Kidding Me?

We hear so much these days about the oil extraction technique, Fracking, is a common term…….Depending on what news outlet you are a fan of…..we NEVER get both sides of the controversy at the same time….instead we get one side or the other and NO one actually works off the same data to make their points….instead they pay some think tank to come up with a position that supports whichever side you fall down on……

To make an informed decision on whether to support or oppose the issue we need info…..

(Newser) – For as big a role as fracking plays in US energy production, the national conversation about it is sadly lacking, writes Gretchen Goldman at LiveScience. For that, blame the companies involved in the hunt for natural gas—along with inept government agencies, writes Goldman, an environmental engineer with the Union of Concerned Scientists. Companies have “fended off citizens with silence,” she writes. “They say little about the technological practices they use, including information about the chemicals they inject into the earth and the wastewater that comes back.”

Meanwhile, state and federal agencies “have been asleep at the switch,” unable to keep up with industry advances and proper regulations. All this is not to say that fracking is evil—some communities might be perfectly willing to accept higher risks for the payoff. But the point is that the entire debate needs to get better so people can make informed choices, writes Goldman. “Science is like a trusty flashlight in these contentious debates,” she writes. “Let’s let it illuminate our path, no matter which road we take.” Click for her full column, or for a “toolkit” of information for citizens from the UCS.

To me it sounds like a great way to separate the oil from the sand……but it also sounds like there are more problems with the system that solutions for our oil consumption.  Until we have a meeting of both sides and hear both sides using the same data…there is NO way that an informed opinioon can be made….all we are doing is regurgitating talking points and slogans…..not the truth.

It Is Energy–Again

Hopefully you will remember all the hoopla about domestic oil……that prices will go down, it is in the national interests, we will be more secure…..blah, blah, blah………in the last election (2012) Gingrich promised if elected gas would be $3 a gallon…..or was it $2 a gallon?  ……and all the peasants danced!

And now wonder boy has issued his newest budget proposal…..same as the old budget proposal……..and as usual the GOP returns to the same lie that domestic oil drilling will make us more secure and oil independent……I have written on this many times and many times NO one is listening……drill baby drill is a slogan….NOT an energy policy!

And the Prez is talking energy and domestic oil….to fund alt energy research…..just how soon will it be before the Repubs bring up Solendra again?  About the only attack they have………How many times must I cover this before it sinks into thick skulls?

I have had enough of the simplistic crap!

One more time for good measure……..conservs want to be allowed to drill on public land and this will make us independent of foreign oil……that is bunk!  All it will do is give oil companies cheap leases….and gas prices will remain the same……

Then there is the support for the XL Pipeline which will take Canadian oil from Canada to Houston area refineries…….that will not make oil cheaper…..why?  It is Canada’s oil and they will sell to whoever they want…….the pipeline will create construction jobs but once finished will employ few workers……this will not makes us independent!

Even offshore oil will not be cheaper oil…….why?  Oil is old on the spot market and speculation will drive prices NO matter where the stuff is drilled……do you understand that?  Oil futures drive the price not the location of the rig!  Futures markets control price!  Does that compute?

Let us be honest……most of our oil comes from Mexico, Canada and Nigeria….very little comes from the Middles East…..if makes you feel better then by all means believe the slogans and the hyperbole…..but reality will eventually set in…..

Does anyone think that Exxon or Shell or BP will sell gas cheaper because it is drilled on US soil?  (that is a rhetorical question but it does warrant some thought)…..

You want cheaper oil?  If so, there is only one answer……an answer that few will like…..and it involves the “N” word!  As it is today….NOTHING will give you cheaper gas!  No amount of promises or vague policies will lessen the price.

How many times must I go over this issue before people remove their heads from the sand and realize that there will be NO cheap oil!

There Is Always A Scheme

The other day I got a letter from my power company……I had to read it a couple of times because I thought I was missing something…….

Gulfport, Miss. – Mississippi Power today filed with the Mississippi Public Service Commission for recovery of financing costs associated with constructing the Kemper County energy facility, which will be used to mitigate and stabilize future rate increases. The filing was made in accordance with the settlement agreement reached on Thursday with the PSC for regulatory procedures related to the Kemper project.

The company has requested to recover $172 million, representing a 21 percent adjustment on total retail revenues. If approved, the typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh a month will see an increase of less than a $1 a day on bills in 2013.  (that is $30 increase a month or $360 a year)

“We have worked hard to keep this increase as low as possible,” said Mississippi Power President and CEO Ed Day.

Working with the PSC on the procedures outlined in the settlement agreement and the Mississippi Legislature on legislation allowing alternate financing of a portion of the project, the company anticipates the overall average rate effect of the Kemper project will be approximately 25 percent.

“This is well under the increase we had anticipated and significantly lower than what opponents to the project claimed,” said Day.

It has been more than three decades since Mississippi Power has built a base load generating plant, which runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The facility will be fueled by abundant, low-cost Mississippi lignite and will provide reliable electricity to customers at a significantly lower cost than other alternatives.

The Kemper project is nearly 75 percent complete and is scheduled to begin operation in May 2014. The project has created 12,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction. When operational, it will create 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, while also contributing millions of dollars in tax payments to the Mississippi economy.

If approved, the requested increase will go into effect in April 2013.

Mississippi Power, a Southern Company subsidiary, serves approximately 186,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties.

My state is controlled by Repubs….this should be a given…….interesting in they got a tax break for upgrading, they got a tax break for hiring…..and yet they want the consumer to pay for their building……it is opened by the Southern Company, a for profit company and yet they want me to pay for their new building, while they will be charging me about $350 more a year for their service…..and will remain in effect after the construction completion……..this is the same company that fought any clean air additions saying that it would be bad for the consumer because they would have to pass along the cost……..isn’t capitalism a great thing?

It Is All So Much Worthless Rhetoric!

The media and politicians spend a lot of time talking about the problems and the so-called solutions….the media spends a couple of weeks a year dedicated to energy or education or the deficit….they talk with experts and the talk with normals and they program this spot or that….all highlight the problem and all appear to want to be sincere….and then there are our politicians, you know….. those elected ones that cannot act like a mature adult once they get their votes and rent an office in Washington….. the silly ballet that we call the US Congress.

CBS, MSNBC and others have spent time, a couple of weeks a year,  and money on “Green is Universal” and other such catchy titles where they discuss the problems of energy….we listen to the oil man Pickens who wants to make more money with Nat Gas….or some leader of some foundation that throws a wealth of stats at the view to make their point……and then they stress the dire need for some action on this front…..and then we wait and wait…..nothing has been done after nearly 40 years of these “talks” and programming…..it is all so much worthless rhetoric!

And they choose a couple of different weeks to focus on education…we hear how we need to change the system because we are falling way behind the rest of the world….we hear from this expert and that group, we hear about a successful program in Harlem and then we hear from lawmakers who want to make a difference….and then we wait and wait….and once again…It is so much worthless rhetoric!

Then we have to sit through endless hours of the media bitching about the deficit and then we must listen to the media talk with all the Congress people about the problem and the solutions….we have elections where the people loudly voted for more action on the deficit…..and then the Congress goes and votes for the largest increase in the deficit in years…..over a trillion it will cost for the new tax plan and NOT one job will be created from all this action……and yet again….it was all so much worthless rhetoric!

All this valiant effort is nothing but a sugar high!  A temporary action that has NO lasting outcome or an effective solution other than some feel good moments for those participating in the so called “solutions”….all they accomplish is some questions with NO answers and little promise of solutions….it is all so much rhetoric!

Take a look at what you are getting from the people you elect to protect you from disaster….

Some perspective on the tax cut deal from Ezra Klein: “The $858 billion package does more damage to the deficit than anything other piece of legislation passed during the Obama presidency. It’s also expected to receive the largest bipartisan majority of any major piece of legislation the Senate has considered in the last two years.”

I do not know how much long Americans can go through life with blinders on…..For the love of God……find some people that will be willing to do what it takes to make us energy independent or an educated country or at least find some politicians that are NOT wind bags of worthless rhetoric!

It’s Green Week! (Again)…. (And Again)

A Daily Irritant

“Green Is Universal”……..a catchy little phrase from NBC/Universal when they want to appear to be trying to solve our energy problem…..it appears once or twice a year….like any other of the major failures the US has and they want to talk about it……

This week their promo is…”let the conversation begin”

Is that not the most putrid piece of garbage you have ever heard?

Let the conversation begin……here is a news flash for you guys……NO ONE is listening…NO policy maker gives a sh*t…..we have been having this “conversation” for 30+ years…..now what has that accomplished?  I know!  I know (he said raising his hand)………cars have been made more efficient by 3-5 mpg!

Now there is something your can tell your grand kids about…..

PAY ATTENTION!   NO ONE IS LISTENING!  Money talks and bullsh*t walks!  Talk is cheap! Do you now get the idea!  Can you grasp the concept of reality?

You can talk about every solution you can think of….but until we are willing to act on this then shut the Hell UP!  Cowards one and all…..they willing to talk but not to act……30 years of talking and you still sound like cheating husband trying to figure out what to say……you guys are pathetic!

Here is a sterling idea……FIND SOLUTIONS OR SHUT THE F*CK UP!

An Ignored Idea

In keeping with the subject line of posts I will have another one onb alternatives….some good….some not so good…..but as I have been saying….it is time to FIX the damn problem and stop giving it lip service only……

There is a plentiful source of alternative energy that is being ignored……I know…Professor, do tell….do tell…..

It’s natural gas, the same fossil fuel that was in such short supply a decade ago that it was deemed unreliable. It’s now being uncovered at such a rapid pace that its price is near a seven-year low. Long used to heat half the nation’s homes, it’s becoming the fuel of choice when building new power plants. Someday, it may win wider acceptance as a replacement for gasoline in our cars and trucks.

Natural gas’ abundance and low price come as governments around the world debate how to curtail carbon dioxide and other pollution that contribute to global warming. The likely outcome is a tax on companies that spew excessive greenhouse gases. Utilities and other companies see natural gas as a way to lower emissions — and their costs. Yet politicians aren’t stumping for it.

about 27 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions come from coal-fired power plants, which generate 44 percent of the electricity used in the U.S. Just under 25 percent of power comes from burning natural gas, more than double its share a decade ago but still with room to grow.But the fuel has to be plentiful and its price stable — and that has not always been the case with natural gas. In the 1990s, factories that wanted to burn gas instead of coal had to install equipment that did both because the gas supply was uncertain and wild price swings were common. In some states, because of feared shortages, homebuilders were told new gas hookups were banned.

This is truly a low emissions industry and it is a good alternative for the foreseeable future…… then why not push it tooth and nail?  Lobbyists are the main answer….too many power generating industries are paying good money to keep this off the agenda….

In the area I live there are many, many natural gas wells that have been drilled but capped…..why?….because the oil companies were looking for more oil, not natural gas….

I will be watching the next big Washington sideshow….the energy debate…..to see if alternatives are there or if the gas companies get the same deal insurance companies got in the health debate……

Climate Change–Impotent

Everybody for the last week has been watching Denmark and the issues coming out on climate change conference…….many leaders and lots of protesters have descended onto the capital…….even Obam has returned to the scene of one of his biggest screw ups…..the Olympics…….and what did he get this time?

Not much……it has been called a limp penis of a deal……

The agreement between the US, China, Brazil, India and South Africa is limited to lip service to the goal of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. It reportedly drops any reference to a 2010 deadline for a legally binding climate accord, which had been the centerpiece of earlier drafts, in favor of a pledge to continue discussions when the conference reconvenes in Mexico City next year, and to make progress by 2016.

While a draft communique reportedly proposes several numerical goals, such as an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, compared to a baseline of 1990, these are merely aspirational, with no actual targets for specific countries or groups of countries, and no concrete mechanisms for either verification or enforcement. The target of limiting the rise in world temperatures to 2 degrees Centigrade has been widely condemned by environmental activists and scientists, because it means the effective desertification of much of Africa. Even this “limit” is expressed only as a wish, an acknowledgment of the scientific consensus, and not translated into specific policies to achieve that goal.

Okay, I watched……what did these people accomplish?  Yet another waste of time chasing some Quixotic tilting of windmills………and they will do it all again and again….and the result will be the same…..wasted days and wasted nights……and the song remains the same……

Energy Alternative

If you have been watching or reading or listening stuff on the proposed energy reform bill, aka cap and trade, there is more but that is the focus that Repubs want, not anything that would help the environment just the damn silly part that they can attack with obfuscation…..this will be one of the major confrontations of the coming year….that is if the health debate moves on past the silly stuff…..

But with all that said there are alternatives been offered up by various people……

The proposal by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was being offered as an alternative to a more complex cap-and-trade climate bill already before the Senate and approved by the House. Senators who believe Congress must address the problem of climate change are trying to cobble together a bill that has broad enough bipartisan support to get the 60 votes needed for it to pass, possibly early next year.

Cantwell said her approach is a simpler way to reduce carbon pollution and boost clean energy alternatives. Like the rival Senate bill, it would impose limits on greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels and is designed to cut emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and about 80 percent by mid-century.

While the Cantwell-Collins bill would still limit greenhouse gas emissions, it would also allow limited trading of emissions allowances. The government would auction “carbon shares” — or allowances — to fossil energy producers and importers. Three-fourths of the revenue collected would be returned directly to consumers in the form of monthly checks and the rest would be used to spur clean energy and energy efficiency development and help in the transition to “green” jobs.

Allowances could be traded among the energy producers and importers that are subject to the cap, but not other traders or speculators.

Typically, the part that is almost always under attack has little to do with the overall bill……it will be just another confrontation with few alternatives offered to solve whatever problem that they want to make up….

A New Path To Bi-Partisanship

In case you are wondering…..Hell is in the process of freezing over!

That is the buzz word for Washington….Dems say they are trying to form an alliance with the Right….the Right accuses the Dems of NOT working in a bi-partisan way…..bi-partisanship….will it ever change?

Well, a quick answer is yes…it will…..I know…How can I say that with all the polarization in the nation’s capital?

Hebert and Cappiello of the AP have reported:

Senators trying to craft bipartisan climate legislation offered a revised proposal Thursday that would add incentives for building nuclear power plants and open the way for expanded oil and gas drilling off the nation’s coastlines in hopes of attracting wider support.The new framework for a Senate climate bill would ease back requirements for early reductions of greenhouse gases. It calls for cuts in the range of 17 percent by 2020, instead of 20 percent, similar to reductions already approved by the House and what Obama will call for at an international climate conference in Copenhagen.

The senators said the bill would include tax credits and a substantial increase in government loan guarantees for building nuclear reactors as well as some streamlining of the reactor permitting process. Currently loan guarantees for new reactors — which can cost $9 billion or more each — are limited to a total of $18.5 billion, and even those have yet to be awarded by the Energy Department.

The framework provided only a broad view of what a compromise bill would include with details to emerge early next year. But it reflects a widespread view that the climate bill that advanced out of committee in early November would need to be significantly revised for any hope of getting bipartisan support from at least 60 senators.

Are the Dems this desperate that they will water down an important bill just so they can say it was bi-partisan?  Or is it just an attempt to make the delegates think that the Washington crowd is serious about climate change?  Once again there are the ever present tax breaks….that seems to be the standard answer for all the country’s problems….tax breaks and the sun will shine again……personally, I think all this is pure manure!

A new path to bi-partisanship?  Why not?  The majority has been a limp penis so far….why take your Viagra now?  God forbid that the people doing the most damage to the climate should have to pay to repair it….hell that would be down right Un-American!

The Battles To Come

This year is quickly coming to a close and the major battle has been the health reform issue…it is debatable that it will be solved before the end of the year….but for the sake of argument and this post….we will say that it is…..

But what will be the burning issues in the coming year?  In my opinion, it will be one of two, possibly both, immigration and energy…..most likely the biggest and loudest will be the energy issue…..and within the debate on energy the NEW evil will be the “cap and trade”……but what the Hell is “cap and trade”?

Good question, because there is probably NO one outside of the Washington debate that really knows what it isa….other than some BS about taxes and a rise in the power bills…..

Just thought I would give my readers a little heads up before they are bombarded with the crap being slung by both sides of the political spectrum….good luck…

The biggest sticking point on any energy bill will be “cap and trade”….thius from the EPA website:

The cap and automatic penalties for noncompliance ensure that the environmental goal is achieved and maintained.

  • The cap provides market value and certainty.
  • Trading and banking allow companies to choose compliance options.
  • Trading and banking minimize costs through compliance flexibility.

The cap ensures that the reductions are achieved and maintained over time even as new power plants are built. The trading program gives power plants the flexibility to choose how they meet their target emission reductions, which minimizes compliance costs and lowers consumer electricity prices.

  • EPA distributes allowances equal to the cap amount. (For example, in the Acid Rain Program each allowance authorizes one ton of emissions).
  • Sources have flexibility to choose how to meet their limits – by reducing their own emissions or purchasing allowances from other sources.
  • Sources measure and report emissions, and must have sufficient allowances to cover their emissions; significant automatic penalties apply for noncompliance.
  • Near-perfect compliance – Compliance with the Acid Rain Program has been an unprecedented success (over 99%).
  • Early reductions – Reductions in the early years of the program averaged 25% below allowable levels, resulting in early benefits to human health and the environment.
  • Air quality improvement – Emission cuts resulted in air quality improvements over a broad area of the U.S. and significant reductions in acid rain.
  • Cost savings – The Acid Rain Program cost 75% less than originally projected.
  • Innovation – A monetary value for lower emissions creates the right incentives.
  • Integrity – High accountability and transparency provide credibility.
  • Support – The Acid Rain Program enjoys a high level of acceptance by environmental organizations and industry, and bipartisan Congressional support.

There you go sports fans….that is the official EPA stand on how cap and trade will work….now the Repubs will have a different point of view….

‘Cap-and-trade’ is code for increasing taxes, killing American jobs, and raising energy costs for consumers.  Middle-class families are struggling during this recession, and the last thing they need is even higher costs of living and weaker job security, which is exactly what ‘cap-and-trade’ would deliver.

The so-called “cap and trade” proposal amounts to a carbon tax, plain and simple.  The plan would cap emissions, such as carbon dioxide, and force companies to purchase “credits” from companies who use less energy to meet the governments’ emissions requirements.  House Republicans agree that we should work together to make real progress in promoting clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment, but “cap and trade” is not the answer.

What will it be tax or no tax?  Next year this debate should turn into yet another political circus of misinformation, lies and games…my question is what will be the vehicle for the silliness?