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California: the energy miser?
Steven Mufson, Washington Post
At the height of the 1973 energy crisis, Arthur Rosenfeld had a revelation.
Disturbed about having to spend half an hour in line at a gas station one Friday night, the particle physicist calculated that keeping his floor of offices brightly lit all weekend as usual would consume the equivalent of five gallons of gasoline. So Rosenfeld took what then seemed like a bold step: He turned off the lights.
For 30 years, Rosenfeld has been one of the forces guiding California on a mission of conservation. And today the state uses less energy per capita than any other state in the country, defying the international image of American energy gluttony. Since 1974, California has held its per-capita energy consumption essentially constant, while energy use per person for the United States overall has jumped 50 percent.
California has managed that feat through a mixture of mandates, regulations and high prices. The state has been able to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, keep utility companies happy and maintain economic growth. Now California is pushing further in its effort to cut automobile pollution, spur use of solar energy and cap greenhouse gases.
(9 March 2007)
Canada to be top oil supplier to U.S. for 20 years
CanWest
Canada – which in 2005 replaced Saudi Arabia as the single-largest supplier of energy to the U.S. – will continue that position over at least the next two decades, thanks to the multibillion-dollar oil-sands developments in Alberta. “The projects in Fort McMurray and Athabasca will ensure that Canada remains in the top spot until 2030,” Guy Caruso, administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, said yesterday on the sidelines of an industry conference in Calgary. According to EIA estimates, Canadian exports to the U.S. will reach 2.6 million barrels per day by 2030, compared with current levels of just over one million bpd. But a different picture emerges for natural gas; U.S. consumption will increase, but Canadian supplies will decrease, he said. Prime reasons are low gas prices, which has made drilling and upstream development unattractive, and the growing need to meet demand from the oil-sands projects.
(6 Mar 2007)
Green Guru Helped Sway Campbell in B.C.
Tom Barrett, The Tyee
California’s Governator sent motivator to BC.
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When Premier Gordon Campbell called on Arnold Schwarzenegger for help in terminating B.C.’s greenhouse gas emissions, the Governator sent him Terry Tamminen.
Tamminen is California Gov. Schwarzenegger’s environmental advisor, a former head of the California Environmental Protection Agency, former state cabinet secretary and a man who has called petroleum “the enemy” and has likened Big Oil to the tobacco industry.
His resume reads like a Hollywood character — or maybe several characters: actor, sheep rancher, ship’s captain, swimming pool cleaner, Florida condo salesman, environmental activist, author of books on pool maintenance, Shakespeare and America’s addiction to oil.
Late last year, back when Campbell’s new-found environmental enthusiasm was still a well-kept secret, the premier called Schwarzenegger for advice on how to tackle climate change.
(5 March 2007)
Nader Elected
Hans T. Noeldner, Energy Bulletin
Selected stories from the Delphic Newswire.
Washington, November 3, 2004. In an upset victory that stunned the entire world, Ralph Nader has been elected 44th President of the United States. Sweeping into Washington on President-elect Nader’s coattails, Green Party candidates garnered enough seats in the House to shift leadership to the Democrats.
Washington, January 21, 2005. Newly elected President Ralph Nader pledged to eliminate all oil imports to the United States within three years, and to fully comply with the Kyoto Protocol by the end of his first term. European leaders expressed their delight. In a press conference following the Inauguration, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands stated, ”In joining us to fight the Greenhouse Effect, the United States government has clearly and for the first time demonstrated its concern for hundreds of millions of coastal dwellers around the globe who are threatened by rising sea levels.”
Boston, September 20, 2005. Environmentally-inclined Democrats and Republicans have joined President Nader and Green Party members introducing legislation to slash US oil consumption 46% by December 31, 2007. Legislators are working feverishly to differentiate among necessary and discretionary uses of oil, and to design incentives and regulations that meet their ambitious goals.
Washington, January 23, 2006. The House and Senate began hearings today on President Nader’s flagship legislation, known as the Energy Independence Act. Provisions of the Act include a rationing scheme and a trading system for carbon dioxide credits to be administered by the Chicago Board of Trade. House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi noted, “We put lots of carrots in the Act, but there is no avoiding sticks.”
Los Angeles, September 4, 2006. Police in Washington DC and other major cities across the nation confirmed that the Labor Day “Drive for Freedom” demonstration was 15 times larger than any protest in US history. Aging veterans recalled that ticker tape parades for returning WWI soldiers paled in comparison. All throughout Los Angeles yesterday, protestors’ demands for unfettered rights to drive whenever, wherever, and as much as they want, could be heard intermittently on loudspeakers and powerful car stereos above roaring Harleys, crackling hot-rods, and growling off-road truck tires.
Denver, November 6, 2006. Sue Viego, founding director of Soccer Moms for More Mobility (S’MMORE), reports her organization has flooded Washington with over 41 million letters, calls, and emails demanding that Congress respect parents’ need to drive their kids to soccer. S’MMORE was formed five months ago in response to gasoline rationing being imposed by the Nader-Administration-led Energy Independence Act.
Washington, April 1, 2007. Ralph Nader, 44th President of the United States, has been impeached.
(9 March 2007)
(Satire). This is the nightmare of every U.S. politician since President Jimmy Carter tried to tell the truth about energy to the American people. -BA
