RE: Rita and panic gas buying

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>]

After our youngest daughter went away to college, my wife and I sold our
single family house last year and move closer into Boston to a condo.
Overall, our energy consumption has dropped dramatically.  We now pay about
$1,000 per year for heat vs. $4000. (2004 prices).   I now can walk to work
and we no longer need a second car.   I use a bus as a backup for bad
weather.  Our electric bills haven't changed that much since we still seem
to turn on the same number of lights, watch the same amount of TV, and use
computers for the same amount of time.  

However, there was been one big jump in our energy costs which I never
anticipated.  As part of our condo fee, we are now paying about $150 per
month for electricity in the common areas.  Most of this money is going
towards running hallway and garage lighting 24/7.  This expense is one that
folks who live in single family houses don't have.  It's an example of
anti-economy of scale, I guess.

Things are looking more grim for gas supplies over the next week or two:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050922/bs_nm/rita_energy_dc

Richard

-----Original Message-----
From: funsec-bounces () linuxbox org [mailto:funsec-bounces () linuxbox org] On
Behalf Of Paul Vixie
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 2:56 PM
To: funsec () linuxbox org
Subject: Re: [funsec] Rita and panic gas buying 

well, so, i live off-road and i have a ranch, so my SUV-looking vehicle is
actually a farm truck with lots of seats.  i regularly (that is, daily) fill
all seven seats with children and fill the cargo area with backpacks and
drive a carpool to the nearest "middle school" (30 minutes or so).  the
vehicle runs on diesel #2, which is USD $3.17 today.  that's USD ~$135.00 to
fill the tank, which i do about three times per month on average, more if i
have to haul a lot of concrete or other building materials for a job.

that means my fuel cost is very close to my monthly "car payment".

i don't mind, because i chose this lifestyle, and i can afford it.

but if the world's oil costs go up 5X as many analysts recommend, it would
change the way all of us who live outside major cities live.  i'm not sure
the change would be good for the world.  i know it wouldn't be good for me.

so, hopefully another solution will be found.

interestingly, the only reason fuel is so cheap is because OPEC's stated
policy is "don't charge what the market will actually bear, because that
would just make the industrialized world alternative energy sources faster."
now that we're past the peak oil point, and we're cutting deeply and quickly
into what a lot of geologists say is the second half of the crust's oil
deposits (which are a lot harder and more expensive to get to), i think we
can expect a big change in OPEC's policy.  in other words if there's not
going to be enough oil to run the world at the current pace beyond ~2076,
and there will be so much CO2 in the atmosphere that none of us will be able
to find dry land or fresh water by ~2072, then it's safe to bet that the
industrialized world will find alternative energy sources by ~2070, and that
they will have a hard time doing this, and so there's not much reason to
keep the prices artificially low for more than the next decade and maybe not
even that long.

my children will live in interesting times.

re:

# From: "Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah" <rslade () sprint ca> #
Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User # To: Gadi Evron
<ge () linuxbox org>, funsec () linuxbox org # Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005 11:32:32
-0800 # Subject: Re: [funsec] Rita and panic gas buying # X-mailer: Pegasus
Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) # Reply-To: rslade () sprint ca # Sender:
funsec-bounces () linuxbox org # 
# Date sent:            Thu, 22 Sep 2005 20:43:50 +0200
# From:                 Gadi Evron <ge () linuxbox org>
#
# > Actually, some would say this is good for Global Economy. The US is fat
# > on oil with rather low prices (that you bitch about anyway). US and # >
China are the two biggest consumers of oil in the world and both should # >
probably curve their enthusiasm. At the US by getting gas prices higher.
# >
# > This will get me flames, but it's what every analyst out there would # >
agree on. 
#
# I agree that you'll probably get some flames, but you're right.
#
# I find it highly ironic that those on the "right" side of the
socio-political spectrum # are always lauding the "invisible hand of the
market"--until they get hit in the # pocketbook.  North American farmers
tend to be a fairly independent, # "government hands off" group--until you
talk about ending farm subsidies.  Not to # knock people involved in
farming: they are hardworking and generally very able.  
# And lots of other groups do exactly the same thing.  Everybody seems to
have a # blind spot to the factors that (sometimes unfairly) support them.
#
# Canadian oil prices are somewhat above those in the US (despite the fact
that we # *export* oil to the US!), but still relatively low compared to the
rest of the world. 
#  People around here have been screaming at the recent increases.  I have
to drive # more than most, but I'd still be willing to get gas prices to
realistic world levels # here.  (Might get some of the *%^*&^ SUVs off the
road.) # # ======================  (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus
Mailer)
# rslade () vcn bc ca      slade () victoria tc ca      rslade () sun soci niu edu
#                That thought got run over as it was crossing my mind.
# http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev    or    http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade
#
# _______________________________________________
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