Jun

25

I am quite fed up with all the right and left wing spin demonizing each presidential candidate. The latest rift started by James Dobson (whom usually is sane) is just a load of crap.

If James pulls out his Bible he might note that the “religious right” of the day tried to trap Jesus into a similar church and state argument. Jesus response was to take a Roman coin and respond by saying “Render unto Ceasar the things which are Ceasar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”. Jimbo, I suggest you do the same.

But this is not the point… To all you dillweeds out there…

Here is the point…

-The housing market is on the brink of collapse

-Our healthcare system is an out of control nightmare still unavailable to many

-Dependency on oil and current prices are going to put us over the edge and require both long and short term solutions

-Climate change is an issue we need to address NOW! The science exists, is valid, and conservative media Bozo’s need to pull their heads out of their ass and get enagaged in reporting how we solve this problem.

-Oh, and by the way, there are jihad zealots who are willing to sacrifice their lives to kill us and our way of living…

Given the above most of us could give a crap who Barack or John’s pasters are or who is or is not endorsing them this week. We could care less about most of the sniping that is going on between the left and the right and the polarization that occurs as a result. Maybe we all could pull our collective heads out of our rear ends and focus on what we are going to do short term and long term to solve these problems.

As someone that tends to be conservative in my political views I would suggest that the conservatives start listening to folks like Newt Gingrich. The Republican party and the right are so out of touch with reality these days it is hard to even listen to word most of you are saying. Y’all need a huge look in the mirror. You have become inflexible, intolerant and disconnected with reality. This November conservatives will be in for the political shock of your lives. And by the way, the church seats are well populated with Christians like myself that hold similar points of view.

As for you liberal weenies, to quote a Navy term, you will soon have the “Deck and the Con”. Make the most of it and start leading us in digging out of this mess we are in. Some words of wisdom. Listen to some of the ideas of the right and do not dismiss them because they come from the right.

It is time we start working together. I do realize for most of you this is too much to ask.

Jun

23

Jun

23

Global climate change is real! Hear is a site with some compelling information (though very scientific) http://books.nap.edu/html/climatechange/. For those of you that do not want the science (this would include all the influential media shit for brains telling us there is not a problem… Sean Hannity and Glen Beck come to mind) let me put it to you on these terms.

If you do not think the continual release of man made gasses and chemicals into our atmosphere is not a problem why don’t you just pull your barbecue into your home, start using it (please do not be an idiot and do this) and see how long you live. The only difference between the two is economy of scale.

Jun

22

Accoring to the Natural Reources Defense Council (http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/aoilpolicy2.asp) America spends
$13 million per hour on foreign oil. This represents about 60% of the oli America uses.

“In Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy” by Matt Simmons has created a compelling case that Saudi Arabia production will soon reach an apex, after which its production will decline and the world will be confronted with an immense and potentially catastrophic oil shortage. If this happens and the globe does not have an alternate plan we could face times that are unprecedented in the history of modern civilization.

It is time to start looking at alternate forms of energy. We NEED a national energy policy that outlines both a short term and long term strategy on solving this problem. We need to solve this problem in a sane and safe way looking for a solution that considers future generations!!!

But if you think this is solely the job of the government you need to rethink your position. With gas prices over $4.00 and even at $4.50 for regular this is also an economic issue. The days of $2.50 a gallon gas are gone, and left us so quickly my head is still spinning. This is a problem unprecendented in modern times, one that will require consumers, business, and government to solve.

It is also a problem whose solution is directly tied to our climate change problem.

Jun

7

Oil and energy prices skyrocketing. Food prices soaring. Home prices tanking. Jobs shrinking. Things are looking pretty bleak. Living through these times can be a real roller coaster ride.

For those of you not saddled with debt there are some potential long and short term opportunities out there.

Energy prices are heading upward. They will likely level out at some time in the future (who knows when), but it is highly unlikely that we will ever see gasoline under 3$, even 4$ again in the good ‘ol USA. It is already over 8$ in many parts of Europe. As I said in a previous post, the answer is to build cars that increase MPG. What is the most popular vehicle? The Prius. Gas hog vehicles sales are plummeting, fuel efficient vehicle sales are on the rise.

US auto dealers are being tight lipped. While their management can be a bit stodgy and slow to react they too can read the tea lives. In fact, it may very well be the energy crisis that cause both GM and Ford to get busy and to emerge again and compete with the likes of Honda and Toyota.

Rising gas prices are going to create a demand in the market (it already is) for fuel efficient cars. In two years time we have gone from an average price of $2.25 to $4.50 a gallon and still climbing. At $5.00 a gallon (not far away) it is going to cost you $3600 a year to drive your 20mpg car 12,000 miles. Compare this with $1350 just two years ago! At $8.00 a gallon the cost will be $4800.00 a year.

Ford is allegedly working on a technology called hydraulic hybrid which could lead the way. There are rumors of an F-150 that can get 60mpg. GM is working on hybrid technology as well. Both stocks are currently in the tank (Ford has been for years).

If you have some patience, and are willing to take some risk this might be a good time to start buying auto stocks. This is bit of a contrarian view. And, there is no guarantee that US Automakers will see the writing on the wall.

 

 

May

31

This ain’t the late seventies.

Remember the seventies? Gas prices hit .90 cents a gallon in 1979. How about the oil embargo in 1973? The average price of gas in 1973 was .65 cents, up from .52 cents in 1972. Of course this change was not a linear .13 cent increase across the board. Rather, it was a few months in the year where there were huge gas lines, stations ran out of gas, and prices approached nearly $1.00 a gallon which was a chunk of change back then (still less than we pay now if adjusted for current times!!!) Add to all of this a flood of cheap foreign imports and American auto manufacturers nearly went into the abyss.

Why?

Foreign imports were cheaper to buy. They got mpg 2 to 2.5 times that of American gas guzzlers.

Detroit started making subcompacts and fuel efficient (for the times) cars. Remember the Citation, Chevette, Monza, Omni, Fiesta? Chevy even made a pickup truck (LUV) that got close to 40mpg (unloaded) city and close to 50mpg on the highway. Oh…how we forget.

So What happened?

Oil prices came back down and Detroit again started making gas guzzlers. Actually Detroit caused the foreign auto manufacturers to make bigger less fuel efficient cars to keep up. Fact is business is driven by consumer demand. With lower gas prices Americans could afford to trade in their cracker jack size Yugo for a roomier ride.

So?

This ain’t the late seventies. No, it is much worse (though we are a pretty clueless people these days). Less than a month ago they were predicting $3.00 a gallon gas prices and we are now over $4.00 in most parts of the country for regular. It is so pathetic that when I was filling up yesterday I began longing for the days of $3.00 a gallon gas. We can probably forget about seeing $3.00 a gallon oil ever again. And that prices did not last for very long (months). To put this in perspective, gas prices for the entire decade of the eighties ranged from a high of $1.03 (1980) to a high of $1.27 (1984).

Why?

First, there is a greater demand oil in the world than their was in the seventies. Second, do you really believe oil companies are going to reduce their prices, especially in the face of this demand?

What now?

But to make these type of cars their has to be sufficient demand for them. Trust me if gas stays at $4.00 a gallon or higher long term there will be suffient demand. The only way to deal with this is to make cars that get double the mpg of current vehicles. This way everything is relative.

What else?

The Chrysler $2.99 a gallon price rebate for three years is a good short term strategy for selling their gas guzzlers and reducing inventory. Others should follow suit. But, buyers had better be sure that they can afford the price of fuel after the three years as they will be unlikely to unload their vehicle and who know what the price of gas will be in three years.

Parting gifts…

We can quit whining too much. Most of Europe is currently paying between $8.00 and $10.00 for a gallon of gas.

As a barrel of oil is now selling for over $125.00 you will be amused to know that in 1959 oil sold for .18 cents a barrel.

May

9

Hertz is starting to offer the Prius. I drove about 65 highway miles and 25 city miles. I see how people can get addicted trying to see how high they can get their mpg. The console has a display where you can watch how you are doing on a digital scale that goes from 0 to a 100. It calculates and displays total miles driven and your average mpg once a minute. It almost becomes a game to see how well you can do, at least it was for me on the highway. I got 53.5 mpg driving the rolling highways of Central Wisconsin, and about 35 mpg in Marshfield.

I was staying about 30 miles from the airport. Filled it back up for $5.25 (obviously it was topped off a bit more before). Drove to the airport and it was still of F when I parked.

The guy at the Hertz counter said a lot of people did not want to drive it. I thought it was a great car. Unless they come out with something with even better gas mileage I plan on buying one.

 

 

Mar

4

I read in a recent Seattle Times article that if every American used just one CFL bulb that we could prevent greenhouse emissions equivalent to 800,000 cars. What are you waiting for?  

The next story I would like to read is about stores not being able to keep them in stock. 

Mar

3

There is a new trend gaining some momentum in the fight against global warming. Buying offsets for carbon emissions. What is buying offsets for carbon emissions? The general idea is that you make a payment to counteract the damage you have done to the environment caused by a trip you take (As I write this I am hurling through the skies on a jet spewing hydrocarbons into the atmosphere). This money is used for programs that implement green/renewable energy sources which in turn reduce our dependency on carbon producing energy sources. In 2006 these programs brought about 110 million dollars.

This type of program is a great idea. Frankly though, $110 million is pretty much “chump change” in the fight to reverse the coming catastrophic effects of global warming. Local, state, federal, and world governments need to quit postering and spinning and mandate programs like this. It is up to business and individual consumers as well to shoulder the burden for this problem. We need to start a dialog and start taking action together.

Taxes for reducing carbon emmissions should be mandatory, not compulsory. Government needs to regulate and make businesses reinvesting in renewable energy resources accountable. While I am not a huge fan of government regulation, this is an area where I think some form of regulation is needed. We need sin taxes on travel, on cars that get crummy mileage (after we define crummy in a sensible way). We need to increase mpg ratings and offer auto manufacturers incentives for doing this, and consumers incentives for buying green.

Write your government and get them on the case. Our collective numbers and voice are going to be what makes a difference. Indifference will not.

http://www.nativeenergy.com
http://www.gocarbonzero.org
http://www.carbonfund.org

If you would like to buy a carbon emmisions offset check out the following websites.
Yes, I plan on buying a credit to offset this trip.

 

Feb

11

According to a recent article in the New York Times Richard Branson has declared that ”all of his profits from his five airlines and train company, projected to be $3 billion through the next 10 years, would be invested in developing energy sources that do not contribute to global warming”. For someone running a major airline this is quite a statement. I trust Sir Richard will follow through as he has always been one of the good guys of big business.

We need business to start thinking green. Green can be profitable, and if we can get business to invest in green, and divest in business related to fossil fuels we will be on the right track. Now is the time for action…get busy.

— keep looking »

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