tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3441020117205433950.post5095505694287596596..comments2023-11-04T23:31:40.392-10:00Comments on got windmills?: HEELAndy Parxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15398587036690312685noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3441020117205433950.post-55991449814923972322008-11-25T07:49:00.000-10:002008-11-25T07:49:00.000-10:00You may be right, Andy. At least Elisabeth Rosent...You may be right, Andy. At least Elisabeth Rosenthal - in today's New York Times - makes the same observation:<BR/><BR/> "Just as the world seemed poised to combat global warming more aggressively, the economic slump and plunging prices of coal and oil are upending plans to wean businesses and consumers from fossil fuel.<BR/><BR/> From Italy to China, the threat to jobs, profits and government tax revenues posed by the financial crisis has cast doubt on commitments to cap emissions or phase out polluting factories. <BR/><BR/> Automakers, especially Detroit’s Big Three, face collapsing sales, threatening their plans to invest heavily in more fuel-efficient cars. And with gas prices now around $2 a gallon in the United States, struggling consumers may be less inclined than they once were to trade in their gas-guzzling models in any case.<BR/><BR/> President-elect Barack Obama and the European Union have vowed to stick to commitments to cap emissions of carbon dioxide and invest in new green technologies, arguing that government action could stimulate the economy and create new jobs in producing sustainable energy.<BR/><BR/> But as the United Nations prepares to gather the world’s environment ministers in Poznan, Poland, next week to try to agree on a new treaty to reduce emissions, both the political will and the economic underpinnings for a much more assertive strategy appear shakier than they did even a few weeks ago."<BR/><BR/>I guess it's a bigger-fish-to-fry scenario that can't be denied. We may well be paying through the nose once again in order to do the frying.<BR/><BR/>A.H.Ace Harbingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09822845087169789308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3441020117205433950.post-71916798559720744832008-11-24T17:18:00.000-10:002008-11-24T17:18:00.000-10:00I once thought I knew something about the oil indu...I once thought I knew something about the oil industry but I too remain in the dark about the current low price of oil. <BR/><BR/>Several thoughts:<BR/>1) Because demand is down internationally, the big producers are trying to maintain their market shares;<BR/><BR/>2) The big market speculators have mostly been taken out of the game which has produced a more level playing field keeping prices down;<BR/><BR/>3) T. Boone Pickens scared the shit out of them with his "wind corridor" idea as you suggest and the lower oil price takes the wind out of his sails (renders it not economically viable), and<BR/> <BR/>4) A smattering of all of the rest that you touch on.<BR/><BR/>In any event, my guess is that oil prices will remain low for the time being simply because of the much-lower demand world wide.<BR/><BR/>If, and I do mean "if' we survive this recession/depression, perhaps enough people will have become wise enough to the reality of how politics effects their lives to focus their angst on their local politicians - those that one can get close enough to to yank their hair out. The DC folks might at least notice the ruckus back home and who knows what could happen? Sadly, in our case, given Hawaii's plantation mentality, etc., I'm not holding my breath. - Scott Foster, Communications Director, Hawai`i Advocates For Consumer Rights www.scottfoster.org/afcrScott Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17026678402542022811noreply@blogger.com