Tag: Energy Policies

How About Those Savings In Energy?

Donny promised the nation that he would save us peons money by lowering energy costs….and how has that worked our after a new year of promises?

Well I am still waiting for that $2 a gallon at the pump price…..but to be fair my state has one of the lowest price for gas…..but it still is not $2…

Home energy use was suppose to get cheaper but I was informed that my power bill will be $4.44 more expensive ever month….that does not sound like the cutting of my energy bill in half that I was promised….

President Donald Trump made a bold promise that he’d slash energy prices in half within 12 months of taking office during his campaign in August 2024.

“You will never have had energy so low as you will under a certain gentleman known as Donald J. Trump,” he said at a North Carolina rally.

Nearly a year into his second term, here’s what’s happening with energy costs under Trump’s administration.

Trump recently claimed at the U.N. General Assembly in September that “energy costs are down,” but data shows costs have been rising. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), retail electricity prices have gone up since 2022 and will likely continue rising through 2026. On the other hand, as of the end of August 2025, residential electricity prices jumped 6.2% compared to the last 12 months, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Federal Reserve data shows the average household energy cost hit $280.91 in August 2025, up from $261.57 the year before. Some regions are experiencing even sharper increases. Based on EIA data, Maine, New Jersey and the District of Columbia saw residential electricity prices spike as of August 2025. Only two states have seen a slight decline in power prices: Nevada and Rhode Island.

Multiple factors are driving electricity costs up, with the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) being a major factor. A late 2024 report from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that data center energy usage has tripled for the past decade and could double or triple by 2028.

https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/economy/trump-promised-energy-price-cuts-here-is-where-they-are-at-today/

More promises that are just more lies….why do you people keep supporting this d/bag?

The only thing Donny is accomplishing is making your wallet lighter.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The World To Come

I have noticed from power bill to power bill that the amount owed is getting stiffer….even now when the A/C is not running the bill continues to rise.

What is going on?

More people are falling behind on paying their bills to keep on the lights and heat their homes, according to a new analysis of consumer data—a warning sign for the US economy and another political headache for President Trump, the AP reports. Past due balances to utility companies jumped 9.7% annually to $789 between the April-June periods of 2024 and 2025, said The Century Foundation, a liberal think tank, and the advocacy group Protect Borrowers. The increase has overlapped with a 12% jump in monthly energy bills during the same period. Consumers usually prioritize their utility bills along with their mortgages and auto debt, said Julie Margetta Morgan, the foundation’s president. The increase in both energy costs and delinquencies may suggest that consumers are falling behind on other bills, too.

Nearly 6 million households have utility debt “so severe” that it will soon be reported to collection agencies, according to the foundation’s analysis, drawn from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel. Troubles paying electricity and natural gas bills reflect something of an economic quandary for Trump, who is promoting the buildout of the artificial intelligence industry as a key part of an economic boom he has promised for America. But AI data centers are known for their massive use of electricity, and threaten to further increase utility bills for everyday Americans.

These troubles also come as Trump faces political pressure from voters fed up with the high cost of living. The president spoke about the economy and affordability issues Monday at an event hosted by the McDonald’s fast food company. “We have it almost at the sweet spot and prices are coming down on different things,” Trump said at the event, adding that inflation has been “normalized” at a “low level.” Ever since Republicans saw their fortunes sag in off-year elections this month and affordability was identified as the top issue, Trump has been trying to convince the public that prices are falling. Fast-rising electricity bills could be an issue in some congressional battlegrounds in next year’s midterm elections.

I keep hearing from Donny that energy costs are dropping…..I have not seen such…..how about you?

Maybe that elusive check from Donny will help out.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

EU Has Plan

This post is for all my friends in Europe that their countries depend on Russian oil and gas.

By now most Europeans have heard the ban of Russian oil and gas….and I would imagine the question on their minds is …..how will we cope with this loss of resource?

Well the EU has a plan to help out with this situation……

Some 25% of all oil imports to the EU came from Russia last year. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is ready to take that figure down to zero. Von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed a total ban on Russian imports to the EU as part of a sixth package of sanctions, under which crude oil would be banned within six months and refined products by year’s end. What you need to know:

  • Context: Most of the oil the EU gets from Russia is used for gasoline and diesel for vehicles (14% of the EU’s diesel comes from Russia), reports the AP. That could make trucking even more expensive. This proposal doesn’t touch natural gas, which is used to heat homes and generate electricity. The EU gets about 40% of its natural gas from Russia, and alternatives are tougher to find.
  • Von der Leyen’s standout lines: “Let us be clear: it will not be easy. Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it. We now propose a ban on Russian oil. This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined,” she said, per the Guardian.

Next steps: The Wall Street Journal reports all 27 member states will need to give the proposal the OK. A decision is being sought within the week.

The asterisk: Under the proposal, Slovakia and Hungary would get an extra year to wean themselves fully off of Russian oil due to their current dependence on it. But the BBC reports Slovakia’s economy minister is seeking a three-year period to do so, and the New York Times quotes Hungary’s foreign minister as saying, “It is physically impossible to operate Hungary and the Hungarian economy without crude oil from Russia.”

Oil prices: Predictably, they jumped. Prices were up more than 3% on the news. The Journal notes it’s unlikely that every barrel the EU were to refuse would find a home elsewhere, meaning the global supply could shrink.

Yellen’s concern: The Journal points out that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in early April pointed out the likelihood that a full ban could cause prices to soar; that could soften the blow of the lost EU revenue and lessen the impact of the sanctions on Russia.

That EU revenue. The Guardian cites calculations by NGO Europe Beyond Coal, which estimates the EU has paid roughly $22 billion to Russia for oil since the start of the invasion.

My question for my European visitors….does this plan solve anything?  Is it a sound plan?  Or is it a band-aid?

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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!

2012 Election Issues #1–Energy

The debates are over (mercifully) and now the dash for the finish line….we will hear lots of slogans, spin and utter bovine fecal matter (that is bullsh*t in case you were confused)…..but what about the issues…you know those stances that were seldom spoken about during the debates…..if you could call them debates (that is a future post in the making)……..let me give you a few of the issues that I think should have been more important during the debates……

Energy–

President Barack Obama proposes an “all of the above” strategy that embraces traditional energy sources such as oil and coal, along with natural gas, nuclear power and renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydropower. Obama has spent billions to promote “green energy” and backs a tax credit for the wind industry that his Republican rival Mitt Romney opposes. While production of renewable energy has soared, critics point to several high-profile failures, including Solyndra, a California solar company that went bankrupt, costing taxpayers more than $500 million.

Romney pledges to make the U.S. independent of energy sources outside of North America by 2020, through more aggressive exploitation of domestic oil, gas, coal and other resources and quick approval of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas. Obama blocked the pipeline because of environmental concerns but supports approval of a segment of it.

Now this is something that needs attention……we can whine about a lot of things but some of us want more information…just keep in mind that academics are for sale……they strive for grant money and in doing so they become whores to special interests….just ask yourself….how funded that study…..and then you will know just who will benefit from the “findings”…….There needs to be a clarification by both candidates and their plans should be more informative.

The Keystone(XL) Cops

If you are an old fart like me you will remember the humor that was the Keystone Cops……and today we have another Keystone humor if it were not so sad!

A good friend of mine, a person who truly believes that drilling will break our dependency on oil, ask me why I had not written much about the environment lately…..and I had no good answer other than the silliness of politics is all consuming…..this is a person who in the past has called me an eco-commie….so to make him happy I will now write about the Keystone XL Pipeline……

A little background…..this pipeline will run through the middle of America from Canada’s oil fields to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas…..there are those that protest the pipeline and those that see it as a good thing (especially the oil industry)……of course the con side of the issue is that it would be a polluting problem waiting to happen…then there are those that think this is a good idea because it will create thousands of jobs, relieve our oil dependency are the two big pro side arguments…..

But those jobs created will be temp jobs…..how will it end our dependency on foreign oil….it will be pumped out of Canada.  The last time I checked Canada was not part of the US (you can thank a disastrous attempt in 1812 to invade Canada)…it is still NOT American oil!  And then the one thing that few have mentioned is….national security.  A continuous pipeline that runs for that many miles is a perfect target for a terrorist attack…..any spill will effect a large segment of the water table and water is not something we need to put in jeopardy (kinda like the absurd idea of frakking)……

And then there is the most transparent use of the fear card….T. Boone Pickins was interviewed on the pipeline and being an oil man he is all for it….but his argument is if it is not built all that oil will go to China….would that be one of his companies that sells it to China?

Obama has step forward to oppose tying the pipeline to tax cuts extension…but that is a game.  He and his cronies have postponed the decision on the pipeline to after the 2012 election….go figure!  Obama does not want this to be an issue that would alienate the environmentalist until after the election…….and you could almost wager that it will be a done deal in some form after he is re-elected……so his opposition is half-hearted at best.

To me, the only people that would actually benefit from this pipeline is the oil industry.  PERIOD!  It is a bad idea on so many levels.

2010 Anal-Ocity #29

Just when I thought it was safe to start narrowing down thew Anal statements to prepare a list of finalists for the “Assie” award…there had to be yet another mindless politician that just had to make it harder……

With the House of representatives to be in the hands of the GOP major committee assignments are already being prepared…the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee could be lead by Illinois Repub. John Shimkus, which is all well and good but for one minor point……he says that the Bible will protect the Earth from climate change……

“The earth will end only when God declares it’s time to be over. Man will not destroy this earth. This earth will not be destroyed by a flood. … I do believe God’s word is infallible, unchanging, perfect.”

“Really, the focus is not going to be climate,” as Shimkus told Politico. “The climate debate has, at least for two years, has ended with this election. The real focus is on energy security.”

Need we say more?

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!

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….