Fairbanks fuel costs double over last 4 years
Published Sunday, April 6, 2008
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It’s costing us more to energize our lives these days. Twice as much, to be specific.
An analysis released last week by the Fairbanks North Star Borough estimates it cost Fairbanks residents and businesses twice as much to pay their energy bills — to heat their homes, fuel their cars and pay electric bills — in 2007 than four years ago.
The average household, according to the analysis, spent $5,724 on non-business-related energy needs in 2007, a 102 percent increase from four years prior. The borough included the analysis, which cobbled together information from electricity bills, gasoline prices and home heating costs, in the winter edition of its Community Research Quarterly.
Of those costs, the spiraling price of gasoline might be the most easily recognizable.
A pair of Fairbanks gas stations were charging $3.38 per gallon for unleaded gas on Thursday, well above the average price in January 2007 of $2.43 in Fairbanks.
Higher prices at the pump has complicated spending in other walks of life, according to resident Debra Tate.
“You may have to cut back on things like groceries to make do with higher costs of energy and gasoline,” Tate said as her son, Ryan, filled up their 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee at the Tesoro station on College Road and University Avenue. “You’re doing Hamburger Helper with no hamburger. You hope a friend gives you some moose meat. It’s really a pinch.”
The report estimates energy costs for industry and businesses in Fairbanks went up by roughly the same clip between 2003 and 2007. The report crunched numbers through 2007, and the price of a barrel of crude oil has only risen since then.
The bulk price of home heating fuel had already doubled from 2003 to around $2.60 by last fall, and local fuel companies reported base prices for fuel of between $3.60 and $3.80, depending on fuel type and whether it’s delivered, on Wednesday.
Natural gas prices in Fairbanks also rose dramatically in recent years — more than a 200 percent jump from 2002 until one year ago.
Golden Valley Electric Association reported seeing its average monthly household electricity bill rise from $112 to $135 over the year ending in January. The increase was due largely to higher fuel surcharges, the product of the cooperative’s own energy struggles.
GVEA spokeswoman Corrine Bradish said the increase in fuel surcharges was difficult to avoid. The cooperative’s fuel bills — it burns oil to run its local power plants — were rising along with everyone else’s. And because of supply issues in Southcentral Alaska, it couldn’t simply turn to shared transmission lines for cheaper power and had to generate more of its electricity locally than last year, she said.
“It was kind of a double whammy,” Bradish said.
Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker has called the rising cost of fuel and petroleum products an “energy crisis” for Interior Alaska, where life includes dealing with long winters. He and others have pushed for a huge alternative-energy investment, one that would convert coal and biomass to synthetic fuels, to help provide a solution.
Borough economic development specialist Katherine Dodge wrote in the quarterly report that tourism and military and private-sector construction projects should help Fairbanks endure a housing and credit slump being felt across the country this year. But she said long-term energy solutions are needed for the community to thrive.
“The community and its leaders must invest in affordable energy solutions for Fairbanks to continue down this prosperous path,” Dodge wrote.
Rising energy costs create a particularly worrisome trend for Fairbanks, Dodge wrote — while price fluctuations for some goods simply shift money to different sectors of the local economy, increased spending on energy is paid directly to out-of-town “natural resource providers,” constituting a cash drain.
State economist Neal Fried said high energy prices have two different impacts on Alaska’s economy. People could be seeing less disposable income as they pay more at the pump and to heat their homes, he said, and could also be planning fewer vacations or dining out less.
But high oil prices also fill the state’s coffers, which can benefit the state through government jobs, road construction projects, oil-related jobs and other fronts, he said.
“We feel the pain of high energy prices, but we also benefit, where in many states it’s only in one direction,” Fried said.
The estimated cost of food eaten at home also rose last year, from almost $114 for a family of four with two children age 6 to 11 in 2006 to $122 last year, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Cooperative Extension Service.
The American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association estimated the overall cost of housing in Fairbanks also rose by 15.5 percent from 2006 through last year. All told, the association estimated it cost more in 2007 to live in Fairbanks than most major metropolitan areas including Philadelphia, Seattle, Anchorage and Miami.
Community Discussion
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Thank you George Bush. I fully enjoy paying so much for everything. I am happy to help the oil and gas companies rake in billions in profit. Remember this when you see all those expensive ads paid for by these profits as the oil companies blow their little horns touting how they respect and love Alaska. I am so happy to hear all of this. I guess one way to look at it would be that by paying so MUCH more at the pump, we can all enjoy more empty words from these bloated companies with their overpaid executives. I guess the energy policy meetings with the White House have paid several fold. I wonder if snow machines will be the next thing to go Hybrid?
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jlscott, I vote in every local and national election. I vote for who I think will do the best job running the aparatus we call government. Remember that a stable dollar and low oil price is good for the consumer. Our country is more and more dependent upon truck borne goods. As to your placid attacks on the Democrats. I don't care, I am a registered Republican. I wish people would stop polarizing on party politics and look out for the country and state. We used to call leaders Statesmen but now use the term politician. I guess retrospect is always more noble, but we do need to get more people into office who will DO SOMETHING! Not just work in the interests of big business. We don't seem to have leaders anymore, something needs to be done at the grassroots level to wake America from it's political slumber. Remember people your vote counts! If the jerks in office don't reflect your interests or betray you for the interests of big business vote them out. Oversite is another issue. Leaders must be accountable. I just hope for the future of Alaska things can be safeguarded enough before the milk goes sour. Pipeline days are over baby!
Every once in a while, I receive one of those phone survey calls. A while back the surveyor asked if raising the price of gas would encourage me to purchase more fuel efficient technology. I have a few problems with that mentality:
I want to get xx years out of my car, and other fuel using purchases before I trade them in or dispose of them. Having said that, when the time comes to purchase a replacement, I do try to find a more energy efficient option.
The cost of 'energy efficient' items is often higher than the more common use items. I'm told its because they'll last longer or use less fuel thus making up for the higher cost of the item... so in other words I'm still out the same $$. It just went to the manufacturer instead of the gas pump/utility bills.
I guess I fall in the category of those who will be tightening their belts, cutting back on frills and ride out this economic storm. ... It's a good thing I donate to the Food Bank every year, I may need to stop by for a withdrawal.
-RK
How many years since we have developed new energy in our country, besides solar panels and windmills? What the heck did everybody think would happen, leaving ourselves at the mercy of OPEC, and worldwide supply and demand?
You can blame Bush till you're blue in the face. Many do. Just ignore the fact that we have no energy development.
Congress could ease the burden, by sucking it up, and relenting on consumer fuel taxes for a period of time. But no. They'd rather grandstand, and hurl curses at the energy companies (who actually do produce energy, as opposed to hot air).
Bush aint perfect. But it's Congress that is killing us, by continuously, for decades now, putting a halt to all energy development.
Except solar panels, and windmills.
When you hear terms like "vote them out" or "we need a change" all that is saying is we are going to continue with the same.
Big oil and big industry have the "politicians" in their pockets. The "little guy" who can and would make a difference never has the opportunity because deep pocketed companies backed by political parties want to stay at the table of greed.
THE ONLY WAY TO SEE CHANGE IS TO HAVE TERM LIMITS....PERIOD...
Members of Congress are mostly prostitutes anyhow. Right now, the highest bidder for their services are the environmentalists. If it was "Big Oil" being serviced by the Congress, maybe we'd have some new development.
bikebuilder, I'm starting to agree with term limits. I was always against it, as seniority was Alaska's trump card. But it's not working. Perhaps, citizen legislators is the answer. Congress needs to have our interests, not theirs, as the ultimate goal. Now, mostly they're interested in getting re-elected until they can retire to a lucrative lobbyist career.
Presidents of any country do NOT set oil prices....Nor do oil company's Duuuuuu. Global market.....But I will add that domestic anti-drilling greenies and the EPA are not helping. Go Pebble Mine, Go domestic drilling, Go to H---Greenies, EPA, Al Gore, Nature clubs, Movie stars with their Jets, and last but not least Go to H--- to our congress who for the last 30 years has done nothing concerning a sound domestic energy policy.
Here is the real impact that energy prices are going to have on this town.
Could increasing energy costs cause you to move out of Fairbanks?
Yes, Not sure when I will leave. 28.78 % (40)
Possibly, if it gets any more expensive. 28.06 % (39)
No, I will stay in Fairbanks no matter what. 26.62 % (37)
Yes, Already planning on leaving within a year. 16.55 % (23)
Total votes: 139 from www.fairbanksgas.com
How is a community to grow and prosper when over 70% of the people are considering if they can afford to stay here?
Here's some more numbers:
Cost of energy per million BTU's
Source---------------------$/MBtu
GVEA Electricity-----------$47.80
Chugach Electricity-------$34.31
Fairbanks Heating Oil----$27.60
Fairbanks Natural Gas---$22.67
US Average Natural Gas-$16.24
Spruce Firewood----------$10.34
Anchorage Natural Gas--$10.22
Birch Firewood-------------$8.87
Coal-------------------------$4.40
Fairbanks Heating Oil Prices
3-27-2008 100g./500g.
Polar Fuel---------$4.14/ 3.60
Alaska Petroleum-$3.76/ 3.68
Fairbanks Fuel----$3.75/ 3.65
Alaska Aerofuel---$3.78/ 3.66
Sourdough Fuel----N/A/ N/A
Interior Fuels-------$3.95/ 3.74
The Fuel Company-$3.75/ 3.65
More information on Fairbanks energy costs can be found at www.fairbanksgas.com
It's discouraging how many locals don't appreciate the unique environment we live in and want to drill, dig, build roads, build cities and generally Californicate this place ASAP. You won't appreciate what we have until it's gone.
Not positive, but I think sugarcane or sugarbeets make the best biofuel. Nice plug for the Pro-Pot smoking crowd though.
I think Valari is right, capitalism will force a correction. The worst thing that can happen is congress get involved and make an un-natural correction.
Its supply and demand, not rocket science. High prices will have the added effect of driving the search for alternative energies. We either suck up the cost of fuel, or allow more drilling, more refining. Yes, that means potentialy opening up ANWR. You cant have your cake and.....you know.
I like i_play_outside's point about the price of Hybrid cars. The cost is the same either way, just a matter of who is getting paid.
I love Alaska more than anything in this world. I grew up here, this place defines me. But we can't lock it up. There must be SOME economic development of the state. I hope that we will follow the path of the Scandinavian countries. Not everything they do is good, but they tend to be more progressive than others. Alaska should take stock of other countries in it's lattitude. Learn from their failures and push on a path that will safeguard Alaska's future and the future or our children.
How is it going folks, Republican President, House, Senate and Alaskan House, Senate and Gov. 7.5 years later, what did we get from it? Your home, your pocket, your life? Is it better or worse?
YouMustBConfused
PS jslscutt...you have been so nice to the other side, good for you. You make me laugh, thanks for the tears.
Are u sick and tired of high fuel prices? Are u interest to save ur fuel? http://water4gas.com/2books.htm?hop=dies... I have a diesel truck. It saved lot of fuel by using a electrolyzer hydrogen generator.
DOUBLE MPG!
CLEAN AIR!
bikebuilder, you are right about term limits. Politicians will do anything to stay in power, mostly spend taxpayers hard earned money to redistribute it to those dependent on the government, who will then vote to keep the politician in power who "gave" them the $$.
glacierles, you're right too. Energy demand is going up, (folks in China and India are buying cars and computers) yet supply is going down. No new oil, no new power plants, no new refineries. We have only ourselves to blame for high energy prices, listening to and believing the constant stream of hot air about 'climate change' and 'alternative energy'. Windmills and solar panels and bike paths and driving small, unsafe cars will not solve the problem. There is a huge amount of oil in Canada's oil sands, more oil there than in Saudi Arabia, yet we can't use it because of "carbon footprint" nonsense.
Real leadership is what is needed, and none of the three contenders for president seem to have any idea of what is needed to fix the energy mess. All three buy into 'global warming', which is arguably not happening, and the response to 'global warming' is exactly the opposite of what we need to keep warm in the winter and have fuel at prices that will not cripple the economy. We need MORE oil in the market, MORE refineries, MORE nuclear plants, MORE coal plants, as well as refineries to turn coal into diesel (Fischer-Tropsch process). Which candidate is supporting this? I think, no matter who wins the election, on energy policy, America is screwed, at least until the economy collapses from ever higher prices, and the American people demand something be done.
While gasoline prices have doubled in the last four years, the fact is that heating oil prices have quadrupled in the last 5-6 years.
Yes, the producers do have a hand in setting prices. OPEC sets the standard, but those separate from OPEC choose to either follow or not. Flint Hills et al charges what they do because they can. Plain and simple.
There has been significant price-gouging ever since the world's #2 oil puddle was turned into a chaotic battle field. Go ahead; check the time line re. the accelerated increases in oil prices. And if Iran is invaded, look for the prices to double again..
Once again, I'll reiterate; only fools price themselves out of a market when engaging in business.
Of interest, however, is the fact that a bbl of oil went DOWN $2.00 the other day, and gasoline went UP by .10 cents anyway.
Where exactly Do you live, Mr. Flint Hills??
Free markets do not set the price of oil, folks.
Countries and large multinational oil companies conspire to set prices by fixing (limiting) supply.
You folks ever hear of OPEC? The most obvious example of the organized price fixing of global crude oil prices is conducted by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
In Alaska the large multinationals have been conspiring to influence the policies of our State by bribing legislators, businesses, and even administration officials (like COS, and now convicted felon, Jim Clark).
These multinational corporations are not our friends.
I'm truly saddened by a number of comments here where people think that environmental plunder is the answer to all our problems. Follow the money and it leads straight to the record-breaking profits of big corporate oil companies. Which, of course they've earned by heavy political donations, buying up alternate energy patents, and the continual bombardment of public relations campaigns.
But, I'm not really posting to point a finger or place the blame. Our country has reached a point where money and corporate greed are replacing democracy, where money and corporate greed are replacing our need for a clean environment, and where the average citizen has fewer and fewer rights.
I've worked for a big oil company and I well remember how casually they violated environmental concerns and even the safety of their workers in the name of profit.
The real question is whether we'll continue on the economic and technological path that brought us to this sorry state of affairs or whether we, as a nation, can transcend our differences and launch new strategies that will insure our own well-being and that of the planet we live on.
Whether or not Global Warming is happening can be debated. But if we act as if it's actually occurring we all benefit from a cleaner planet. Term limits offers no chance of success unless we have the option of voting in politicians who aren't feeding at the corporate trough. Biofuels currently offer little because they too have an environmental impact and contribute to rising food costs, and in the case of the Third World, starvation.
It's time for A LOT of new ideas, few of which have so far appeared here.
Again, thanks from me to Fairbanksgas and 50/50. Your opinions are, to me, highly valued.
Sorry BigMary!!! I agree with you 100%... I stand corrected. As for term limits! YES and make their income transparent and let the public decide if they did actually cast the correct vote.... Follow the money...
I hope This comment was approved as per the User Agreement!;)
The best part of free speech is you don't have to listen!!!
Murphy---
You're not going to "point a finger", and then you point a finger. It's all the fault of "corporate greed", and what could we lose if we just pretended that global warming was real? Let's see...how about transportation as we know it, consumer products as we know them, food as we know it, heat source as we know it. I'm not sure how you, and others likeminded, envision our future. Huddled in little enviro-boxes, walking to and fro (in harmony with the earth), eating soy products, surviving in the cold by heating little dog lumps? All hail the Great Gore!
I'm a heathen. I want fuel! I want food! I want comfort! I want freedom!
We can all shout and point fingers but someone with a higher pay grade than mine better do something soon, or towns like Fairbanks and North Pole will become havens for military personnel solely since the military will continue to up the BAH for military which is something that our employers in the civil sector will and can not do. I have made this comment on other threads in the paper relating to energy, there are more people talking about leaving here for lower cost of living cities in lower America than I have ever heard before. The price will be payed for by struggling local businesses and WILL strongly affect the interiors economics. On top of that we have a huge number of soldiers deploying this coming fall and many will be sending their families home for their long deployment to Iraq, mix that in with the ever increasing cost of living due to energy costs and businesses will suffer greatly. I do find it humerous that the ad in the paper says that fuel has gone up 100% when in fact heating oil has gone up 300% in the last 5 years?????? Its not the price of gas in our cars thats putting folks in a hardship, its keeping the pipes flowing in their houses!
Dear Heathen,
I did not say it was "all" the fault of corporate greed. One could arguably state that it was Thomas Edison's fault when he chose alternating current over direct current or Henry Ford's fault when he chose a gasoline engine for the Model T.
Our freedoms might be stated in the constitution, but with freedom comes responsibility. That responsibility demands that we act not just to benefit ourselves, but for our country and all citizens, and through our actions the world as a whole. I've seen you put a great deal more thought into many of your posts so I suspect you're not being completely serious in your comments here.
We can have freedom, fuel, and comfort, but we're not going to get it through the same strategies that are now destroying us. There is, in the long run, no way these strategies can successfully achieve those things by competing for an ever-shrinking (no matter how much we develop and plunder the environment) share of global resources. What I'm saying then is that if we can't win that game then it's time for us to invent a new game -- one that we can win.
So, if we end up with luxurious enviro-boxes and using technologies that allow comfort, freedom, and transportation in new unexplored ways, what's so bad about that? Two hundred years ago every technology in use today was unknown.
It's fine for you to want everything now. But some of us are actually trying to consider what our children will have to face. I don't even have children, but I would like to think that I owe our society and our country something more than growing up in a global garbage dump.
If you don't want to blame the corporations who are raking in the profits, then why blame Gore? I didn't even mention him.
Well, after you get done putting mountainbike wheels under your dogsled, and after you have tossed a few lawyers and few big-oilygarchs into the windhexe-vortex to be turned into dog-kibbles...
Buying a hybrid from a manufacturer locks you into a program of pay to play...
Building your own hybrid sets you free with many more options.
Look at this video and you see a car that will soon be mass produced in Shanghai --->
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf-dNLSnl...
......but the components you see in this car [wheelmotors, ultracapacitors, controllers, batteries, etc.] are all available off the shelf from the original component manufacturers.
People like Johnathan Goodwin from Wichita,KS are showing the world the path to success from here...
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/...
Yes, you can now build your own stepvan that gets 100mpg and carries a 25kw powerplant onboard that has multifuel capability.
Anybody in Alaska who has property above a coal-seam can recover some methane from your waterwell..
sometimes you can find a lot of shallow gas..
I first saw this in 1967 when a guy was slamming in his own homemade waterwell.
Maybe someday I'll get around to showing you how to burn straight LRCWF[at 25cents/gallon]in a piston engine or jet turbine.
Klystrons will totally revolutionize how mankind manipulates hydrocarbons from A-to-Z, from deep-crude to recycling plastics and everything in between.
http://www.peswiki.com/index.php/Directo...
...the possibilities are endless
....flash/rumble
Glacierles, I feel like I have a pretty good handle of what you're about from each of your previous posts. Am I wrong when I classify you as one of those folks who denies there's a problem (any problem) because it would inconvenience you in some way to address it?
I am very curious about why you attack those who choose to address an issue like this. Does it make you feel uncomfortable? Do you feel as though the mere discussion may require something of you that you are unwilling or unable to provide?
Distant Thunder, my hat is off to you! New technologies = new freedom.
Heck I am guessing he doesn't even live here in Alaska.
Christopher FNM; GREAT STORY and all the blogs are OUTSTANDING, too.
Now, are the politicians and bureaucrats reading what WE THE PEOPLE in our collective wisdom have stated? Because if you elected officials and public servants haven't...don't worry about election this November, WE THE PEOPLE still retain the RIGHT to throw you out of office before then.
I have to wonder what the heck GVEA is thinking using oil to generate electricity! Alaska has massive coal reserves!
If we really want to find blame. We can only blame ourselves for allowing governmental behavior as we see today. I'm as guilty as the next guy. My interaction with any form of government is as little as possible because my feeling is it would be a waste of my time. My feeling it seems is because governments are designed to aid the group not the individual.
We as individuals have allowed the government to put us in a situation where we must depend on them.
I would really like to just get my river boat and go up some river, build me a cabin, and live free and wild, however if I dont have the proper permit, permission, and influence it aint gonna happen.
GVEA decided to burn oil because it is much easier to get EPA approval for a naptha turbine than a coal power plant.
We have outsourced all of our nations manufacturing overseas to save money. We save money because the other nations do not take the environmental impact of industry into consideration. While it is next to impossible for us to build a conventional coal plant in Alaska, China is bringing new coal power plants online almost weekly. In fact China is the world's largest consumer of coal.
Thanks bikebuilder. Unfortunately, it is difficult most us to look in the mirror, even when we are part of the problem. We all agree that SOME THING NEEDS TO BE DONE ~ ASAP! ~ to solve the mess we now find ourselves.
While most of us can struggle by and wait for a solution, but wonder how the old and disabled living below the poverty level are surviving?
http://www.silveradogreenfuel.com/
http://www.silveradogreenfuel.com/
http://www.silveradogreenfuel.com/
http://www.silveradogreenfuel.com/
http://www.silveradogreenfuel.com/
http://www.silveradogreenfuel.com/
http://www.silveradogreenfuel.com/
U.S. oil production has been spiraling downward for the last 40 years.
But there's one area that's just starting to heat up...
Locals call it "The Bakken." It's a behometh oil reserve stretching across North Dakota, Montana and southeastern Saskatchewan... a reserve so massive it contains 10 times more barrels of oil than Alaska's North Slope.
The U.S. Geological Survey has reported the Bakken Formation could hold more than 400 billion barrels of recoverable oil!
Until recent years, the technology simply wasn't available to economically extract the oil from the Bakken shales. But with breakthrough techniques such as horizontal drilling, the full potential of the Bakken play can now be developed.
And unlike Northern Canada's oil sands, the Bakken's oil can be extracted relatively cheap, without the use of energy intensive processes.
http://www.peswiki.com/index.php/Directo...
Klystron Technology can recover the remaining 60% of the unrecovered oil from abandoned oilwells..
The governor of Pennsylvania has opened the option on 7000 oilwells abandoned by Standard Oil many decades ago for PennState and Pringle to rework.
....flash/rumble
I enjoy hearing from some of the well informed people who have posted hear. I would only like to add that because big oil has sooo much money they are watching the people that are able to develope some of the alternative energy sources. Because such items could have an economic impact on there buisness they buy the technology and then it disappears from the market.
The Pace corp out of California brought an inline gas filter that not only cleaned up unburnt carbon from the engine and improved the emissions of gas powered vehicles it increased the gas mileage dramatically. They were sold to Alyeska for there vehicles back in the late 80's and then the technology was bought and the product disappeared from the market. My friends father still has one on his 63 Chevy pickup truck and has less than 4 parts per million on emissions (on a63!) and gets close to 30 miles to the gallon on a four wheel drive that is carburated! The tech comes out, the tech gets bought, big oil still controls the market, and we pay. I dont see that trend changing just because more technology is made, we need to harness in the powers that have control over our markets. We are dependent on OPEC, they decide how much oil to produce and sell all to control profits.
The other side, did American buisness' in the last decade out source a lot of jobs to China and India and now they are both turning the corner as industrial nations and competing on the world market for the same oil thus driving our costs up? We as people have supported these companies, alot of them American (started as) based companies, and now they are going where the money is, out of the US. There are so many things that come into this scenario we are living that it is impossible to hit one thing and say this is it, fix it and all will be good.
Imusuallyright---
I'm very careful not to attack other posters. Because I disagree with you, consistantly, does not put me in an attack mode. If I see the problem, and the solution differently than you, well so be it. So please can the dimestore psychology. If my posts are critical of public figures, then I'm not alone in that regard. If I had a dime for every Bush hater comment, well that would be real dough. As the late Bill Walley used to say, "It just depends on whose ox is being gored".
Murphy---
You caught me. I am guilty of using sarcasm. My swipe at Al Gore was not directed at your comments, just a general loathing of the charlatan. You state that your beliefs are because you want the children to have a better world. That insinuates that I dont. I find that insulting, and intellectually lazy (even though you're probably a great guy). Honest. I just disagree with your solution to the problem. Until we can develop usable alternative energy, my humble opinion is that we need current development of resources. Meanwhile, we keep looking for other solutions.
The prices are also set by the stock market. As long as corporations are allowed to speculate the stock market all prices will go up. Then when it crashes they will raise prices again to cover their losses. Look at the housing market, credit card companies, etc. The deck of cards is about to tumble down.
Glacierles,
You're the one who described himself as a heathen (and heathens aren't by definition those who care about anyone but themselves). You're the one demanding heat, comfort, and transportation via status quo technologies that have led to our current predicament. You're also the one mocking those with different opinions other than yours.
As far as intellectual laziness, you're the one admitting that our politicians are prostitutes while maintaining they've been bought off by the environmentalists -- as if those groups could possibly match the incredible amount of money the oil companies are pumping into their campaigns to keep control of our country. I'm sure you're a great guy too, but your last post is the first time I've noticed any support for alternative energy.
Have I missed something or was it just buried beneath the sarcasm?
Al Gore won a Nobel Peace prize, a prestigious award that shows support from the global community. When I see that award go to an oil company or company exec then I'll be happy to admit there's some merit to your arguments.
I'm all for new additional energies for sure. But if we're paying too much for oil and gas we Alaskans can blame ourselves.
We've been sitting on oilfields and the gas that built this state to what it is now for over 30 freakin' years. What have we done with our permanent funds?
We depended on them for things we should have used our common sense to fund. Me esp.: Paying bills I let lapse because I was going to get the dividend, buying school clothes for the kids, squirrelling SOME money for their college, new used vehicles....when we should have been pushing for stocks in an Alaskan Based Oil Company.
If we did that, we'd have had the All Alaskan Gas Line 25 years ago, and CONGRESS would actually LISTEN to US when we wanted to drill ANWR because it WOULD have been our life savings and economy going in to it.
And doing things in a more TIMELY manner, might have helped our portion of the melting ice cap. We've known all along the big guys were taking us to the cleaners.
Alaskansheilah...
It's not too late to invest now in our own "Alaskan Based Oil Company"
Just because Katalla Oil was torched in 1933 doesn't mean we will never be free to think for ourselves again.
check this out...
http://www.adn.com/money/story/367244.ht...
...and the comment
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/120825...
.....flash/rumble
We knew that the oil era would end. We all knew that we would be paying more for energy. Everybody knows that the corporations are going to simultaneously milking the oil business and impede alternative energy development until the time was right---for them.
Other things we know:
Simply burning fossil fuels to render the energy will continue the imbalance in the ecosystem.
The developing world will continue to consume oil and gas at an increasing rate, and will continue to pollute, no matter what we in the west do.
Its a tossup as to whether the developing world will run out of fuel or fresh water first.
I believe that there are vast untapped reserves of hydrocarbons out there, but whats the point? Shouldn't we get out of the habit of plundering the limited resources of the earth and focus instead on trying to make humanity sustainable?
Or get out the nukes.
Murphy---
Is that the same Nobel Peace Prize that was previously awarded to Yasser Arafat? Oh yea, they've got a good track record.
Actually, a "heathen" is a non-believer. Such as myself regarding man-made global warming. Has nothing at all to do with selfishness.
I dont believe in fairy tales, and I dont believe that Congress Members are pushing environmentalism out of the sheer goodness of their heart. There is huge money, and influence, involved here. That is the way it works. And with all of it's flaws, we seem to have managed quite well for a couple of hundred years. That doesn't stop me from calling a prostitute a prostitute.
Of course, I would like to see new energies developed. Nuclear comes to mind. Hydrogen. But in the meantime, I choose not to starve, suffer, or give in.
Glacierles,
You're quite correct. Yasser Arafat did get a Nobel prize. So did Jimmy Carter and Al Gore. George Bush has not gotten one. So I'd say the Nobel Prize Committee is spot on.
Again, where is all this huge environmental money coming from? And what is this huge influence? Bush created an EPA that has no more effectiveness then FEMA had in handling Hurricane Katrina. Corporate Industry flaunts what little regulation there is at every turn.
It's your choice, of course. Anyone with an actual choice can choose not to suffer or starve. But too many people are losing that choice (which was kind of the point of the original article).
Murphy---
You're killing me dude. Arafat, Carter, and Gore? Spot on? Oh, my goodness. It might as well been awarded to Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe.
There are huge environmental organizations at work here. Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club, others. Admittedly, they are funded some by members and donors. Much of their funding is in grants from super rich foundations. Celebrities. And misguided philanthropists who already got theirs. Rockefellers, Kennedys, Soros.
You really just need to look at GVEA and the crappy job they (board of directors and managers over the last 10 years) have done.
Look at the pensions they pay out and the really, really, really poor decisions they make. Then look at your power bill .... It is about 3-4 times the national average!
Aside from the school district, GVEA is the biggest rip-off in history. They waste a terrific amount of money and always looking for more. It is the small stuff you don't really see.
For example, GVEA owns the oil tap to the refiners so why on earth are we paying these ridiculous electric rates and why on earth are we paying the same price for gas/fuel as they are in Calif?
Your leadership is why and you need to FLUSH the toilet.
Look at Fairbanks today ... what a friggin mess. I mean it is pitiful with people, cars everywhere. I am leaving after 37 years and say so long.
i dont know if we can live anymore frugle than we are at our house. two of us working full time in good paying jobs, raising two kids. paying the mortgage, taxes, insurance, car payment and now with these huge heating bills we seem to just be living from paycheck to paycheck. we are not alone though and this is happening all over the place not just here. if people start leaving here where are they going to go? how do you sell a mortgaged house when houses are not selling well right now and what do you do if you stay here and you can not afford heating oil? somethings got to give!
to the people who look around at the mess fairbanks has become and have done nothing to fix the problem except throw a tantrum from there soap box up until they decide to leave: BYE! Any one can point out and see a problem, come up with the answer and try it, if it doesnt work perfect, tweek it, change it, or come up with a different one; dont just run and assume someone else is going to fix it, if you think I am wrong then call me from where ever you go and tell me then that everything is hunky dory.
The biggest myth out there is that someone else is taking care of it. (whatever 'it' may be to you) Get involved!
What I want to know is why our Congressional leaders find it more important to conduct investigations in Major League Baseball, which has little to nothing to do with the economic fiasco that is plaguing our country in regards to the high price of oil. The economic recession is primarily due to the extreme high cost of oil. The ones to address this to is our Congressional leaders and the time to do it, is NOW!
Having recently returned to Fairbanks after being gone for 9 years, I was amazed at how many people are now leaving their vehicles running while shopping or dining during the winter. Some vehicles were running for over an hour! I also observed people not wearing coats and hats, presumptively due to the fact that they were moving quickly between heated houses, cars and businesses. Not only is this a waste of energy and personal income, but contributes to the poor air quality in the city. How to address this wastefullness? Perhaps a gasoline allowance that affords all citizens the right to commute but not the right to pollute? Once you have used up your allowance, then you pay substantially higher rates for fuel?
Building a quickie rtp-gasline from Atigun to Fairbanks this summer will supply propane fuel for many dual-fuel vehicles..
..when the temps get below -30F the LPG can be spiked with 5%-ethane to make LPG-e ArcticMix.
http://www.parnellusa.com/home.htm
http://afvi.org/propane.html
I predict dual-fuel carbs will become very popular again in Fairbanks when various LPG,CNG,Syngas,CBM fuels become more "discovered" by desperate Alaskan drivers. You'll probably see the fleet mechanics roll it out first.
NaturalGas powered engines are useful for multi-fuel applications..
http://www.everytime.cummins.com/every/a...
.....but, arrrgh!! it seems there's very little volunteer interest and community spirit behind getting the population of jacka$$e$ in NorthStarBurro to support an effort to build our own 3"gasline this summer...
...everybody's waiting for WalMart to do it for them.
I'm buying another LPG-tankertruck, drive north and buy my own once a year.
....crash/tumble
FairbanksGas- I'm confused. isn't the Aurora Energy plant run at least partially from Coal? My brother in-law works at the Aurora Energy power plant and unloads coal shipped in from Usibelli via train all day. What is all that coal being used for?
As for gasoline prices I just traded my gas guzzling Chevy SUV for a more efficient Subaru. I felt a little safer in my SUV, but in our new Subaru I don't worry (as much) that my family is going to be eating "hamburger helper with no hamburger".
New technology, in my opinion, is our best bet.
I am curious as to where all of the posters on here work/worked. Does anyone that posts on here own a business? If there is, are you not entitled to profit being that you put forth the capital to start/buy the business?
Oil is a world commodity. Supply and demand.
If you dont like the current state of affairs, drag your nearest politician from their home kicking and screaming, then sack and burn his house. Thats how the founding fathers started to turn things.
If you want someones attentions you cant tap them on the shoulder anymore, you must hit them with a sledgehammer.
-John Doe
.....er, uh, maybe we can grow our own gasoline in underground farms using CO2 resequestration via plastic-gaslines shipping the exhaust gasses back to the field.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/...
Craig Venter, and many others, are making the old empires of monopoly nervous.
snickerdoodle!
Or, if Craig Venter fiddling with microbes is too spooky for you, maybe Robin Chase can help Fairbanks get half of the cars off the road by keeping the remaining 50% moving all the time???
Zipcar......
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/...
....huh?
Glacerles,
Larry, Moe, and Curly, heck even with Shep could have done a better job then Bush, Rove, and Rice. At least they wouldn't have done more than throw pies in Sadaam's face. Instead Bush has involved us in an illegal war intent on oil assets, ignored the true terrorists in Afganistan, pulled us out of the Geneva Convention, and through their biased-for the rich- programs attacked and decimated America's own middle class.
Wake up and look at the facts, my poor, misguided friend. Net worth of the Sierra Club: $4,331,200.
Net worth of British Petroleum: $8.9 billion.
So who really has the money to buy who?
Our government is currently in the hands of war criminals who should be prosecuted. Our government is currently under the thumb of massive corporations who understand that if they can destroy the American Middle Class, there's no real populace to oppose them.
If you want to think only of yourself (as your posts continue to indicate) that's your choice. I want a government who doesn't advocate torture. I want a government who's willing to support the middle class, and even the poor at the expense of the filthy rich. I want a government who sees our planet as something to cherish instead of something to rape.
As you suggested, I'll go with Larry, Moe, and Curly as opposed to the abominable war criminals you support by your own selfish and misguided policies.
Fairbanksgas 4/6/2008, 3:15 p.m. Suggest removal GVEA decided to burn oil because it is much easier to get EPA approval for a naptha turbine than a coal power plant.
We have outsourced all of our nations manufacturing overseas to save money. We save money because the other nations do not take the environmental impact of industry into consideration. While it is next to impossible for us to build a conventional coal plant in Alaska, China is bringing new coal power plants online almost weekly. In fact China is the world's largest consumer of coal.
Hmmm.... This is GVEA's input on the Healy Clean Coal Project. http://www.gvea.com/about/hccp/
For those of your who don't think that a working coal energy plant in Alaska was not investigated. This plant was up and operational for 2 years, it did not make enough money for GVEA, so they shut it down. (that and they got in a fight with another member of the project, Usibelli Coal Mine)
I mean seriously - there is already a WORKING coal power plant - at only $4 a BTU vs $22+ for oil - lets fire that puppy up!!!! Or if it is not - remove the board members of GVEA who refuse to look at anything but an Oil fired power plant!
i am NOT agree with fairbank99 what u said " 'global warming' is exactly the opposite of what we need to keep warm in the winter " what about polar bears and seals and other animal so natives people can hunting . if u want to keep 'global warming' in warm in the winter thier animal are gone and native will lose polar bears , seals and other.. what native people needs ................. but Are u native person ?
water4gas hydrogen/electrolysis is a very good way to fight Global Warming.
water4gas hydrogen/electrolysis works big magic on all engines [cars, trucks, powerplant-generators]
More Efficient = Less Heat = Less Smog
Hydrogen can save the Arctic for Inupiat.
O.K., JB, here's a list, and most of this is already completed or happening at my home:
----------
Triple pane windows.
Double-wall construction (not too difficult to retro-fit).
Tight vapor barrier with heat recovery ventilator system (" ").
Shielding material on the outside of structure (between siding and sheathing).
High-efficiency boiler systems with -regular- -routine- tune-ups.
Turn down the heat a bit, and put on a sweater.
Cook larger amounts of chow at one time so that left-overs can be heated for less cost than cooking smaller individual meals.
Drive to town only when necessary, and when driving to town, prepare the night before by getting everyone in the household (or even neighbors) together to add items/input to 'the list,' then travel across town in a methodical manner from stop to stop, to minimize back-tracking, or circular routes.
Ride a bicycle or motorcycle when weather permits.
Car-pool with neighbors/family when possible, and especially if travelling to town from a distance, with similar work schedules.
If mass transit operates near your home, then use it.
Grow a larger garden, and invest in jars, seals, pressure cookers, etc.
Maximize heating style; ie., convert forced air or hwbb to radiant flooring/radiant slab.
Anticipate yellow/red lights from a distance, and coast to a stop for that last 1/4 mile.
Accelerate gradually when leaving red lights and intersections. (Difficult to adhere to when the person next to, or behind you at the light has been visibly driving like an idiot for the last several miles, while in front of, or next to you...)
If none of that helps sufficiently, there's always Reader1's recommendation. 'Cause no matter what Bill Clinton said about "feeling my pain", it's highly doubtful that the ruling class of oligarchs can feel anything even REMOTELY like 'my pain.' And there's no cake left to eat.
A little over one year ago:
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) the unemployment rate was 4.5%.
Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we're seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) the cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.25 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.
America voted for a Democratic change in 2006, and we got it! Do you want still more in 2008??
I wish it were as simple as Democrat or Republican.
Something has to give!
Reader1:
As what seems usual, I agree.
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