Oh sorry, as oil gentily falls to 70 or 80$$ per barrel. Americans will have to come to grips with the fact that the super wealthy just soaked the world for 350 billion $$. The Saudies have to be trembling. Americans travel 40 billion miles less this year. Bummer guys.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission….say it now Commodity Futures Trading Commission …..oh yah now the CFTC is going to be hot on TV. God Bless Steve Hargreaves. I am a thief.. but I am not going to list his entire post or even claim it as my own. But I have been bitching about the speculators in oil since last September so I think I get to thump my chest a little. I even rented the Movie Trading places so I can get into the spirit of the thing. So let’s recronical the events. In August the Fed announces that they are more worried about stability in the housing market, refuses to back the dollar with interest rate increases and the dollar plunges. All of the currency speculators dumped their dollars (many of whom are also the oil speculators today – hint hint) and the price of oil climbs to 50$$s a barrel. The Saudies and OPEC see the rise as good for them and constrict production slightly. The price climbs to 60$$s a barrel and the speculators say hmmm. There is a commodity we can abuse so they buy long in the futures market, take that oil out of the market and the price begins to soar. WHY? Because these are people who have never been in the oil market. They are not going to touch a single barrel of oil and the oil guys do not know these people. So the speculators keep buying and the price keys rising which should have ended at about 100$$ a barrel. At that point every financial planner for every rich person said, “get into oil” like it was gold or something. As they did the oil soared again to somewhere around 130$$ per barrel. The gasoline refiners realized they could jack the price of gasoline under the guise of expensive oil even though that’s not the price they were paying.
The Saudies got pissed off because they know at some point people will quit using gasoline and they know most that quit using gasoline will not come back ultimately destroying their market. This is when it gets good because this is when the chisslers and the real crooks get in. They start selling their futures to each other at inflated prices, and the people busted today start hammering the market at the open and the close and the market hyperinflates to high water marks for now at 148/149$$$ a barrel. Damn you would think these people would at least have the decency to hit 150$$ but nooooo. That is because the Senate announced that they were holding hearings on speculation and the Bushman order the CFTC to investigate. OH OO. So the speculators start to sell off but they have to doooo itttt slowlllly or the oil market crashes and the whole world starts looking for them to kill them!
So what will happen now? Well alot of minor chisselers and crooks will go to jail. The real players at the hedge funds will be nearly out of oil by the end of August and prices will slowllllly come down until the refiners have to drop prices and start up capacity that they have not been using lately.
Now, who is responsible for all of this? Well Phil Gramm and his Wife Wendy actually (yes the guy who said we were whiners) They effectively changed the rules for commodity trading at the end of Bill Clinton’s term and people just sort of played with it in 2000 to 2003 BECAUSE there was more money to be made, and more fun too, in the housing market. Yah those Wall Street guys are real wacky when it comes to stealing other people’s money.
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http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/24/markets/cftc/index.htm
Traders manipulated oil prices – U.S.
Regulators claim firm attempted to ‘bang the close’ by amassing large positions
just before markets closed.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The government charged an oil trading firm Thursday with manipulating oil prices in the first complaint to be announced since the regulators began a new investigation into wrongdoings in the energy markets.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused Optiver Holding, two of its subsidiaries and three employees with manipulation and attempted manipulation of crude oil, heating oil and gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“Optiver traders amassed large trading positions, then conducted trades in such a way to bully and hammer the markets,” CFTC Acting Chairman Walt Lukken said at a press conference. “These charges go to the heart of the CFTC’s core mission of detecting and rooting out illegal manipulation of the markets.”
In May, under the backdrop of record oil prices and calls from legislators to crack down on speculative oil trading and market manipulation, the CFTC announced a wide-ranging probe into oil price manipulation. The agency says it has dozens of investigations ongoing.
The complaint filed Thursday names Bastiaan van Kempen, chief executive; Christopher Dowson, a head trader; and Randal Meijer, head of trading at an Optiver subsidiary.
The CFTC said the firm attempted to “bang the close” by amassing large positions just before markets closed – forcing prices up – then selling them quickly to drive prices down and pocketing the difference.
The alleged manipulation was attempted 19 times on 11 days in March 2007, the agency said. In at least five of those 19 times, traders succeeded in driving prices higher twice and lower three times, according to the CFTC.
Optiver issued a written statement saying the firm had received the complaint.
“We take the Commission’s action very seriously, and are treating it with utmost attention and care,” said the statement. “Obviously, we cannot comment further until we have had the opportunity to review the complaint.”
CFTC stressed that the price changes were small and the manipulation was isolated, and that the investigation has nothing to do with the recent heat the agency has taken on Capitol Hill over rising oil prices.
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Here is more from the CFTC itself:
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/enforcementpressreleases/2008/pr5521-08.html
The CFTC filed the civil enforcement action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Optiver Holding BV, a global proprietary trading fund headquartered in the Netherlands, and two subsidiaries – Optiver US, LLC (Optiver), a Chicago-based corporation, and Optiver VOF, a Dutch company. The complaint also names defendants Christopher Dowson (head trader of Optiver), Randal Meijer (head of trading and supervisor of Optiver and Optiver VOF) and Bastiaan van Kempen (Chief Executive Officer of Optiver).
The Energy Futures Contracts Manipulated by Defendants
The defendants’ manipulative trading scheme involved three futures contracts listed for trading on the NYMEX: the Light Sweet Crude Oil futures contract (Crude Oil, also referred to as West Texas Intermediate (WTI)), the New York Harbor Heating Oil futures contract (Heating Oil), and the New York Harbor Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock futures contract (New York Harbor Gasoline). The settlement price for the Crude Oil, New York Gasoline, and Heating Oil futures contracts is derived by calculating the volume weighted average prices of futures trades conducted during the closing period for the contracts (from 2:28 to 2:30 p.m.). The volume weighted average price is referred to commonly as the VWAP.
The defendants’ manipulative scheme involved the Trading at Settlement (or TAS) contracts in Crude Oil, Heating Oil, and New York Harbor Gasoline contracts. TAS contracts are futures contracts, except that the parties determine at the initiation of the contract that the price of the TAS contract will be the day’s settlement price plus or minus an agreed differential. A TAS contract which has been bought or sold can be offset by trading a futures contract in the opposite direction.
The Manipulative Scheme
The manipulative scheme, in defendant Dowson’s words, to “bully the market,” involved trading a significant volume of futures contracts in Crude Oil, Heating Oil, and New York Harbor Gasoline in the opposite direction of the associated TAS position, before and during the close of the contracts. The defendants’ goal in trading the large volume of futures was to improperly influence and affect the price of futures contracts in Crude Oil, Heating Oil, and New York Harbor Gasoline. The defendants’ manipulative scheme was, in the words of defendant Meijer, “built on the idea that we can control the VWAP.”
As alleged in the complaint, the scheme ultimately permitted defendants to profit regardless of the direction of the market move, provided that Optiver’s futures trading in the close and before the close was in the opposite direction of the TAS position it had accumulated during the trading day.
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All of this is hysterical because they just said that the reason for the rise in the price of oil was SUPPLY AND DEMAND 2 days ago. Dare I say it? Thats Rich.
TGI(WB)F! Heh we should start a restaurant that serves only emmu or something. Its a totally original idea. Today’s weird bird is more like birds. There are 4 birds in the picture, can you point them out:
http://shop.onrez.com/item/53856
Dedicated to John and Susan in Denver who have increasingly focused on the Great Denver Fire caused by the 2008 Democrat Convention.
http://www.thedrunkablog.blogspot.com/
Little do people know that they both have very naughty tattoos on large parts of their bodies.
Forget high gasoline prices. That maybe a short term issue but the fact is global warming is the more important issue that we should not lose sight of:
Like all automakers, Toyota is acutely aware of evolving consumer demands and is responding with some pivotal changes in its manufacturing structure and product mix. It’s beginning this in a big way by adjusting the production mix at three of its U.S. plants to improve production efficiency. In short, big trucks like the new Tundra aren’t selling so Toyota is aiming at the need to build more of its fuel-efficient cars that are in high demand. And the place to start? The Prius, of course.
The most interesting news to come out of this shift is that the next-generation Prius hybrid will be assembled at Toyota’s new Blue Springs, Mississippi plant in late 2010. That move makes it the second Toyota hybrid to be built in the U.S., with the current Camry Hybrid already assembled in Kentucky. The Highlander mid-size SUV was originally slated for production at the Mississippi plant but will now be built at Toyota’s Princeton, Indiana manufacturing facility in place of the full-size Tundra pickup. All current Prius models are currently built at Toyota’s Motomachi Plant in Toyota City, Japan. The move toward building popular hybrids in the markets where they’re already selling well or are expected to do so is already in play at Toyota, which announced recently that it would build the Camry Hybrid in Melbourne, Australia for that market.
When it emerges from the Mississippi assembly plant, the 2010 Prius will be the fourth generation of Toyota’s iconic gasoline-electric hybrid in North America. Speculation and rumors about the new car are running rampant as the current Prius – introduced as a completely revised model in 2004 – nears the end of its life cycle. Spy shots are circulating of what “might” be the next-generation Prius and sketches imagining what the next iteration will look like are also at play. Some are speculating that the 1/X Concept shown here, which debuted at the most recent Tokyo Motor Show, may provide clues regarding the look of the next Prius. The reality is that nobody really knows the true scoop. No doubt, when the new Prius debuts at the 2009 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit this coming January the world will definitely be watching.
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http://www.greenercars.org/highlights_mkttrends.htm
This year, the natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX claims the title as the greenest vehicle for the fifth year running. Toyota’s hybrid-electric Prius, which places second, is the year’s top-scoring gasoline vehicle, while Honda’s Civic Hybrid ranks a close third. Rounding out the top five are the recently released Smart Fortwo Convertible and Coupe and Toyota Yaris. In total, the Greenest Vehicles list contains one natural gas, four hybrid-electric, and seven conventional gasoline vehicles, a mix of technologies that demonstrates some of the avenues automakers have taken in developing greener vehicles. Whether using hybrid gasoline-electric designs, compressed natural gas, or simply clean and efficient conventional gasoline designs, automakers have visibly demonstrated their ability to engineer with the environment in mind.
This year sees a number of changes to the nameplates on the Greenest Vehicles list. After being shut out of the top twelve in 2007, a domestic automaker makes an appearance on our top-twelve list. The 2008 Tier 2 Bin 3 / PZEV-certified Ford Focus comfortably takes the 9th spot in the annual ranking. Other new entries to the 2008 “Greenest” list include the Smart Fortwo Convertible/Coupe and the Mini Cooper/Clubman, both small cars that achieve excellent fuel economy. However, Hyundai’s PZEV-certified Elantra narrowly misses a spot on our list, landing in 13th place as a result of the above-mentioned new entries. Following suit are the Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, Chevrolet Cobalt, and Pontiac G5, all of which score very well according to our ranking but face more competition this year from several clean vehicles that have entered the market. This is, of course, good news to consumers, who have greater options when it comes to buying the greenest vehicle that meets their needs and fits their budget.
Other good news is the fact that the vast majority of the year’s greenest vehicles are widely available coast-to-coast. Not too long ago, the list was dominated by vehicles for sale only in California, while today more than 80 percent of the Greenest Vehicles can be purchased in any state.
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http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center-top100/
Concept Green Cars
Toyota first demonstrated a futuristic hybrid concept vehicle at the Tokyo Auto Show in 1995. The car, which consisted of an electric motor connected to a regular gasoline engine, was called the Toyota Prius. Hybrid skeptics ?both at the show and afterward?are now silent, as cumulative global sales continue to surpass all expectations. Which of today’s wild and wacky hi-tech enviro car concepts will become tomorrow’s practical fuel-efficient vehicles? Let’s take a look at some contenders.
The Volvo 3CC concept car, a rocket-shaped three-seater, can accommodate the full range of power systems, from traditional gasoline and alternative fuels such as ethanol, to hybrid and all electric. Three thousand lithium-ion batteries, just like those used in laptop computers, give it the equivalent of 105 horsepower. The 3CC has the aerodynamics of a two-seat sports car, but can slip a third passenger, or perhaps two children, in a single seat in the back.
Daihatsu UFE III
Daihatsu, the Japanese car company known for compacts, is on the third generation of the UFE (which stand for Ultra Fuel Economy). This mini-hybrid vehicle can transport three people?one upfront, and two in the back. The hybrid system comprises a 660-cubic centimeter direct-injection gasoline engine, two motors, and a nickel-metal hydride battery. Its estimated fuel economy is 169 miles per gallon.
Nissan Pivo
Nissan has developed a bubble-shaped, three-seater electric car called the Pivo?short for pivot. It runs exclusively on electricity. The cabin sits atop a wheeled platform that can swivel 360 degrees, doing away with the need to reverse when emerging from narrow spaces.
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But these are concept cars which means that they are years away from production. I do not think we are going to make it.
For more:
www.editorial.autos.msn.com/
www.ecoworld.com/energy/
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Since the oil/gasoline price spike I have avoided driving. I know that not everyone can do that but I refuse to give 1.50$ to oil speculators and .50$ to gasoline refiners through rigged gasoline prices. Still the question of whether Henry Ford knew he was killing us by using the sky as an open sewer is intriguing
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1594/is_n6_v5/ai_16437572
Ford’s environmentalism is more practical. Vehicle Recyclability Coordinator Susan Day is touring the country, touting the company’s use of recycled products in its far-flung manufacturing operations. “The first Henry Ford used to break down shipping crates and use the wood as floorboards for the Model T,” she said. “And he also tried to build car bodies out of soybeans.” The latter operation was aborted after cows began showing an interest in eating the finished product, but Ford is now recycling more than it ever did.
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Early on he was a pacifist:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAford.htm
On the outbreak of the First World War in Europe, Ford soon made it clear he opposed the war and supported the decision of the Woman’s Peace Party to organize a peace conference in Holland. After the conference Ford was contacted by America’s three leading anti-war campaigners, Jane Addams, Oswald Garrison Villard, and Paul Kellogg. They suggested that Ford should sponsor an international conference in Stockholm to discuss ways that the conflict could be brought to an end.Ford came up with the idea of sending a boat of pacifists to Europe to see if they could negotiate an agreement that would end the war. He chartered the ship Oskar II, and it sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey on 4th December, 1915. The Ford Peace Ship reached Stockholm in January, 1916, and a conference was organized with representatives from Denmark, Holland, Norway, Sweden and the United States. However, unable to persuade representatives from the warring nations to take part, the conference was unable to negotiate an Armistice.
:}Apparently he was a big fan of biofuels and assumed his cars would run on ethanol. In fact he favored waste plants and cellulose rich plants for the creation of that ethanol:
http://www.hempcar.org/ford.shtml
Fuel of the Future
When Henry Ford told a New York Times reporter that ethyl alcohol was “the fuel of the future” in 1925, he was expressing an opinion that was widely shared in the automotive industry. “The fuel of the future is going to come from fruit like that sumach out by the road, or from apples, weeds, sawdust — almost anything,” he said. “There is fuel in every bit of vegetable matter that can be fermented. There’s enough alcohol in one year’s yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for a hundred years.”
Ford recognized the utility of the hemp plant. He constructed a car of resin stiffened hemp fiber, and even ran the car on ethanol made from hemp. Ford knew that hemp could produce vast economic resources if widely cultivated.
Ford’s optimistic appraisal of cellulose and crop based ethyl alcohol fuel can be read in several ways. First, it can be seen as an oblique jab at a competitor. General Motors had come to considerable grief that summer of 1925 over another octane boosting fuel called tetra-ethyl lead, and government officials had been quietly in touch with Ford engineers about alternatives to leaded gasoline additives. Secondly, by 1925 the American farms that Ford loved were facing an economic crisis that would later intensify with the depression. Although the causes of the crisis were complex, one possible solution was seen in creating new markets for farm products. With Ford’s financial and political backing, the idea of opening up industrial markets for farmers would be translated into a broad movement for scientific research in agriculture that would be labelled “Farm Chemurgy”.
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He is faring better than I thought he would. Wonder if the Oil and Gas Companies had anything to do with the Great Depression? Oh.
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Then there is this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15233556/
ST. LOUIS – A century ago, Henry Ford’s Model T was the first flexible-fuel vehicle, running on gas, ethanol or both, and the automaker foretold the future when he said fuel could be gotten from fruit, weeds, sawdust, or anything else that could be fermented.
The story, as told by Archer Daniels Midland’s CEO Patricia Woertz, resonated with her audience at a national renewable energy conference here Wednesday.
Woertz, formerly head of refining at Chevron, now heads the Decatur, Ill.,-based agricultural company that is also the biggest ethanol producer in the U.S.
Count her among the converted.
“We believe we are just at the start of this new era of bioenergy,” she said, acknowledging ADM began building toward that start 30 years ago. “We believe the market can and should grow larger.”
Woertz was among dozens of speakers representing business, financing, government and research at the conference co-hosted by the U.S. departments of energy and agriculture.
President Bush addressed the conference Thursday, saying that, while he liked seeing the recent drop in oil prices, “it’s not going to dim my enthusiasm for making sure we diversify away from oil.”
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Then there is this:
http://www.umd.umich.edu/eic/fordestate.htm
The Castle Made of Fossils:
Henry Ford Estate Fairlane
The building material used to build Henry Ford’s final estate in 1914 is Limestone from Kelley’s Island in Ohio. Glaciers carved out this island exposing many fossils which can be seen in the walls of the the estate. For more information on Kelley’s Island and its rich natural history please visit the Kelley’s Island Natural History webpage. The Natural Area is located on the grounds of the Henry Ford Estate. Henry Ford helped to create and shape this landscape in the early 1900’s. To learn more about the Estate, please visit the Henry Ford Estate official website.
This waterfall on the Rouge River was used by Henry Ford to generate electricity for his home. The Estate’s Powerhouse still generates electricity today. In 1914, Thomas Edison laid the cornerstone for the Powerhouse. Can you find the Cornerstone that he laid?
Scavenger Hunt Question:
Can you find the cornerstone on the powerhouse near the waterfall behind the Estate? It was laid on October, 1914.
Environmental Interpretive Center University of Michigan-Dearborn
4901 Evergreen Road Dearborn, MI 48128 (313)593-5338
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So even though he spread the combustion engine throughout the world which ultimately could do us in he was an EARLY Environmentalist. He generated his own Hydro Power. I am so kind>
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Last week the State Journal Register solicited a “Guest OP-ED” piece from the mouth piece for the Illinois Petroleum Council that in simple form says we must overcome our current energy crisis by, Conservation and
fuel economy (which he instantly discounts), Stronger energy-trading alliances with neighbors, Expand domestic resources, and Diversify supply. By diversify he means Nukes. You can read the rest of the slop at:
I know for a fact that many people have written to respond against most of his ideas because many environmentalists including Will Reynolds and Diane Lopez always do. I posting my letter here because I sent one and they did not publish it:
Editor
State Journal Register
One Copley Plaza
Springfield, IL 62701
Emailed – 07/015/08
Dear Editor:
Dave Sykuta recent guest editorial “Get Over It” (the title of an Eagles song) was nothing but one long environmental taunt. It had nothing to do with the irrationality we call the Oil Market.
Supply is not the overwhelming issue that he makes it out to be. The Iranians have 7 or 8 super tankers full of oil (depending on which report you listen to) parked in their main port because nobody is buying them. Why? Because the price is artificially elevated. Speculators beginning as far back as September of last year have bought up the cheap oil. We are now at a precipitous economic moment. An oil Mexican Standoff. The speculators can’t sell or the price will drop dramatically and hardly anyone is buying because they know the price is too high. Best guesstamates are that at least 40-50$$ of the current price of oil is due to speculators.
But the Drillers want to take advantage of this artificial shortage to get more Leases, because in their warped minds the leases that they hold are the leases the other guy don’t. The proof of this is the current 85 million acres that they lease that they won’t explore.
Really though nobody cares about the price of oil, what they car about is the prices of gasoline products. That price is being rigged as well. Refineries are at 85% of their capacity because if they ran the refineries at capacity they would lose money. In a perverse market flaw, the more they make the cheaper gas becomes and they lose money. Again the gasoline refiners are using the rigged higher oil prices to run up their profits by keeping refineries at the bare minimum it takes to run this country.
All the loud shouting at each other about the price we pay at the pump has obscured the realities on the ground. Oil production has been stuck on 85 million barrels a day now for sometime. Even though everybody has pledged to raise it. That may be the real limit on production and the world may have to learn live with it, discounting the fact that China is hording diesel in preparation for the Olympics.
Anyway, “if the drill here drill now” crowd had their way, what would they drill with? Brazil just bought or leased the 160 available rigs in the world to try to extract oil from their new alleged oil field off their southern coast.
When an oilman that I trust (there ain’t many – please see There Will Be Blood) T. Boone Pickens pledges to build a 1000 megawatt wind farm in Texas and then pays his own money for an TV advertisement to say why. (hint: we are running out of oil) Then I go with the wind farm guy every time.
I believe the Eagles said they would tour again when hell freezes over. Did I miss something?
Doug Nicodemus
948 e. adams st.
riverton, IL 62561
629-7031
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AND YET THEY RUN STORIES LIKE THIS IN THEIR Business Section in the newspaper and don’t even acknowledge that they did on their web site:
http://www.pe.com/business/local/stories/PE_Biz_S_oilprofits22.3ad2ac6.html
Big Oil steers record profits to investors
MONEY: Critics say too much is going into stock
buybacks and not enough into exploration.
HOUSTON – As giant oil companies like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips get set to report what will probably be another round of eye-popping quarterly profits, just where is all that money going?The companies insist they’re trying to find new oil that might help bring down gas prices, but the money they spend on exploration is nothing compared with what they spend on stock buybacks and dividends.It’s good news for shareholders, including mutual funds and retirement plans for millions of Americans, but no help to drivers already making drastic cutbacks to offset the high cost of fuel. The five biggest international oil companies plowed about 55 percent of the cash they made from their businesses into stock buybacks and dividends last year, up from 30 percent in 2000 and just 1 percent in 1993, according to Rice University’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.
The percentage they spend to find new deposits of fossil fuels has remained flat for years, in the mid-single digits.
The issue has become more sensitive as lawmakers and Americans frustrated by high gas prices have balked at gaudy reports of oil industry profits. ConocoPhillips is scheduled to kick off the latest round of Big Oil earnings reports Wednesday.
Oil prices are set on the open market, not by the oil industry. But that hasn’t stopped public protests, a series of congressional grillings for top oil executives, and a failed attempt by lawmakers to slap Big Oil with a windfall profits tax.
In the first three months of this year, Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company, shelled out $8.8 billion on stock buybacks alone, compared with $5.5 billion on exploration and other capital projects.
ConocoPhillips has already told investors that its stock buybacks for April to June of this year will come to about $2.5 billion — nine times what it spent on exploration.
Stock buybacks are common throughout corporate America, not just for Big Oil. They shrink the amount of stock on the open market, essentially increasing its value and giving individual shareholders a bigger stake in the company.
But some critics say Big Oil focuses too much on boosting stock prices, in an industry that sometimes ties executive pay to stock price.
And in focusing on buybacks and dividends over exploring for new oil, some critics say, oil companies jeopardize its already dwindling share of world supply.
“If you’re not spending your money finding and developing new oil, then there’s no new oil,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy expert at Rice University who’s studied spending patterns of the major oil companies.
Investor-owned companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron hold less than 10 percent of global oil and gas reserves, way down from past decades. And finding new oil has become harder and more expensive.
No one questions that Big Oil is rolling in cash. The cash the biggest oil companies bring in from running their businesses, or operating cash flow, is four times what it was in the early 1990s.
“It becomes a management decision,” said Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s. “It’s not like they’re going to the board and saying, ‘Well, I can do one or the other or the other.’ The balance sheets are flush with cash.”
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Oh never mind. As I said, all along, the oil run up was 3 parts speculation and 1 part nerves. As the August Senate hearings approach on speculation the speculators, like the cock roaches that they are, will scurry and the nerves will harden. Guess what? Oil will fall to 70$$ a barrel and gas prices will come down. How will the American public respond to the fact that they just stuffed 350 billion $$ in speculators pockets? Like sheep – BAAAAAAAAA?
This will happen again however so now that we have a house we can live in, in energy confort what shall we do with what is sitting in the driveway? Like the speculators – SELL
Friday, July 18, 2008
.
It’s time to dump SUV
.
TOM AND RAY MAGLIOZZI
.
DEAR TOM AND RAY: This will probably seem like a really stupid question, but I need professional advice. I own a 1-year-old Jeep in perfect condition, which I purchased for my job. I was laid off from said job, and now I own a gas-guzzling, really nice-looking Jeep Grand Cherokee that is too big and too expensive for me to drive, especially since I no longer have a job. My question is, Should I trade it in for a smaller, more fuel-efficient car? I have no payments, and being unemployed limits what I could purchase. With gas prices continuing to climb, I don’t really know what I should do, since I own the vehicle outright. Care to advise an idiot? — Micci
RAY: I guess this is what you might call “idiot-to-idiot” communication.
TOM: Or, more accurately, “idiot-AND-idiot-to-idiot communication.” So consider yourself warned, Micci.
RAY: Actually, you’re hardly alone. SUVs and pickups were, for many people, a fashion trend during the past 10 years. And like many fashion trends, they were, at heart, exceedingly impractical.
TOM: Tell me about it. Try wearing a miniskirt like I did during the entire winter of’68!
RAY: People who didn’t need pickups and SUVs bought them anyway, because they were seen as cool, despite the fact that they handled like crud, tended to flip over more than other vehicles, ripped countless inseams during ingress and egress, and drank gas like it was a dark-chocolate-caramel-mocha freddo from Feet’s Coffee.
TOM: So now, here we are, with a lot of people stuck with SUVs that get 15 mpg while gas is $4 a gallon. What to do?
RAY: I’d say dump it, Micci. You’re going to take a bath on it, no question. Anytime you sell a car that’s a year old, you take a huge hit from initial depreciation. Add to that the fact that you’re selling a vehicle that not many people want nowadays, for the same reasons you don’t want it. But there’s always a price at which someone will take it.
TOM: If you don’t want to sell it yourself, you can even try CarMax, if there’s one in your area. They buy late-model cars at the wholesale price.
RAY: And since you own it outright, you can take the cash you get, buy a cheaper 2-, 3- or 4-year-old fuel-efficient car, and then put aside a few grand to get you through this period of unemployment.
TOM: If you had an income and weren’t in desperate straits, you could hang on to it a little longer, to see if gas prices level off and come down a bit — which they might. That might make your Jeep a little more valuable on the used-car market. But if you can’t afford the gas to go out looking for a job, you need to do something now. Plus, I don’t see gas prices coming down a lot.
RAY: Me, either. Combine the instability and war in the Middle East with increased demand from growing economies in China and India, and the decreasing supply of oil in the Earth, and the long-term trend for oil prices is up, rather than down.
Got a question about cars? Write to Click and Clack in care of this newspaper, or e-mail them by visiting the Car Talk Web site at www.cartalk.com.
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TGI(WB)F! In honor of Susan’s return to regular Friday posting, I give you a Mayan Bird. Though I am unsure which bird spirit it represents and am to lazy to find out, it is a truely weird bird:
John and Susan Blog at:
http://www.thedrunkablog.blogspot.com/
It is a little know fact that they studied Channeling with Shirley McLaine and were Maya in previous lives. That explains their penchant for vacationing in Mexico or is it the exchange rate?
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As with the Clothes Washer, the Dish Washer uses hot water and that is the big cost. Our house is super insulated and the water is solar heated so we save a lot more money then the normal home owner. The experts say:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_dishwashers
Dishwashers
Replacing a dishwasher manufactured before 1994 with an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher can save you more than $30 a year in utility costs.
Earning the ENERGY STAR means a product meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy.
Remember, saving energy prevents pollution. By choosing ENERGY STAR, you are helping prevent global warming and promote cleaner air without sacrificing the product quality and performance you expect.
You may also be interested to know that you can save extra energy while washing dishes, whether with a standard or an ENERGY STAR model:
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More over:
http://www.aceee.org/consumerguide/dishwashing.htm
To find the most efficient products, download a list of qualifying products from the ENERGY STAR Web site (link to excel file in the upper-right). Sort by “Size” and “Energy Factor” to see which meet our recommendations (below). You may need to also check product literature or with your utility for further specifications. For a quick search by manufacturer, here’s a direct link to the list in html.
When buying a new dishwasher, consider the following:
1. High Energy Factor
ACEEE recommends that you consider dishwashers that have an Energy Factor (EF) of at least 0.65, or an estimated energy use of less than 340 kWh/year. This is about 40% better than the federal standard. You can find which products meet this requirement on the showroom floor by looking on the yellow EnergyGuide label on each product.
Energy Factor measures the number of cycles that can be run with 1 kWh of electricity, and, unlike clothes washer efficiency ratings, does not take into account water use; although high-efficiency models are more likely to incorporate improvements to the spray arm, sump geometry, and/or pump design to reduce water requirements per cycle.
2. Low Water Use
To find the most water-efficient models, you must look beyond ENERGY STAR and EnergyGuide. Some ENERGY STAR models use half as much water as others, saving hundreds of gallons of water each year. Check the manufacturer’s literature or contact your local water utility. In some states, electric and water utilities offer rebates for the purchase of models that are exceptionally efficient.
3. Wash Cycle Options
Most dishwashers have several different wash cycle selections. The more options you have, the better you can tailor the energy and water use needed for a particular load. Look at the manufacturer’s literature for total water use with different cycles.Some dishwashers on the market today use “soil sensor” technology to automatically adjust water use depending on how dirty the dishes are in each load. There are highly-efficient dishwashers with and without this feature.4. Energy-Saving “No-Heat” Dry
An electric heating element is generally used to dry dishes at the end of the final rinse cycle, consuming about 7% of dishwasher energy use. Most new dishwashers offer an energy-saving no-heat drying feature. At the end of the rinse cycle, if the feature is selected, room air is circulated through the dishwasher by fans, rather than using an electric heating element to bake the dishes dry.
| Energy Saving Tips |
Whether you are buying a new dishwasher or using an existing one, you may be able to save a considerable amount of energy by changing the way you operate it.
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AND The Winners Are:
http://products.pricerunner.com/results/query?q=energy+efficient+dishwashers
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General Electric GLD4400NWW / GLD4400NBB / GLD4400NCC Built-in Dishwasher This 24″ Built-In Dishwasher by GE, provides you with an array of useful features to ensure clean dishes, efficient use of your time, and a sleek design to compliment any kitchen decor.One specific feature highlight of the GLD4400N is the 6-Level… $314.oo |
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Frigidaire FDB1502RGC Built-in Dishwasher ENERGY STAR qualified appliance. Imagine efficient cleaning that saves both time and energy. The tall tub design of the ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher can wash up to 14 five-piece place settings at once and the 5-level Precision Direct Water Delivery… |
$310.00
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Frigidaire FDB1502RGS Built-in Dishwasher ENERGY STAR+ qualified appliance. Imagine efficient cleaning that saves both time and energy. The tall tub design of the ENERGY STAR+ qualified dishwasher can wash up to 14 five-piece place settings at once. |
$289.00
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Fagor LFA-65 IT Built-in Dishwasher The AIS Fagor Dishwashers regulate consumption and troubleshoot for you. These dishwashers simplify your everyday chores and make the most efficient use of your appliances, allowing you to use water, energy and time according to your needs. |
$799.00
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General Electric GLD4650NCS Built-in Dishwasher This 24″ Built-In Dishwasher by GE, provides you with an array of useful features to ensure clean dishes, efficient use of your time, and a sleek design to compliment any kitchen decor.One specific feature highlight of the GLD4600N is the 6-Level… |
$404.00
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Fagor LFA-073 IT Built-in Dishwasher The AIS Fagor Dishwashers regulate consumption and troubleshoot for you. These dishwashers simplify your everyday chores and make the most efficient use of your appliances, allowing you to use water, energy and time according to your needs. |
$999.00
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Fagor LFA-065 SS Stainless Steel 23 in. Built-in Dishwasher The new AIS Fagor Dishwashers regulate consumption and troubleshoot for you. These dishwashers simplify your everyday chores and make the most efficient use of your appliances, allowing you to use water, energy and time according to your needs. |
$899.00
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Hotpoint HDA3500NCC Built-in Dishwasher This dishwasher features a 5-level PowerScrub wash system with PowerShower that has 5 wash levels and redesigned wash arms direct water precisely for a quiet and efficient clean. The 100% water filtration with ExtraFine filter helps deliver clean… |
$239.00
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General Electric HDA3540NSA Built-in Dishwasher This dishwasher features a 5-level PowerScrub wash system with PowerShower that has 5 wash levels and redesigned wash arms direct water precisely for a quiet and efficient clean. The 100% water filtration with ExtraFine filter helps deliver clean… |
$269.00
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DCS DD124-C Built-in Dishwasher Powerful and efficient. Choose from nine distinct cycles, including four energy-saving Eco Options, for maximum flexibility. Handy door controls and a concealed control panel give you the ease of on-touch programming. Detergent dissolves immediately,… |
$849.00
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The beauty here is the bulk of your cost to operate a washing machine consists in heating the water. Since our mythical homeowner is both super insulated and using a solar water heater, we can wash clothes for next to nothing:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=clotheswash.pr_clothes_washers
Residential Clothes Washers
Want to save money and protect the environment? Ask for ENERGY STAR…
An ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washer can save you $550 in operating costs over its lifetime compared to a regular clothes washer. ENERGY STAR qualified washers are also better for the environment because lowering energy and water use means less air pollution from power plants and less water going to waste.
Choosing an ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washer over a standard model can lower your utility bills, save energy, and save water. Qualified models perform more efficiently than standard models without sacrificing performance.
An ENERGY STAR qualified clothes washer can save you time and help lengthen the life of your clothes.
New technological advances have allowed ENERGY STAR clothes washers to use significantly less energy and water.
Make sure you choose a clothes washer that is the right size and model, and has the appropriate features to fit your needs.
Take advantage of simple energy-saving tips and best practices to save more money on your utility bills and avoid maintenance.
Find local rebates and tax incentives available for ENERGY STAR qualified products in your area.
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Here is one of many reviews. IN FACT I am shocked that you have to look for most of the residential stuff we have reviewed so far. You type energy efficient washing machines into google and you get hundreds of sites. I swear there is something wrong with this country sometimes.
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/washing-machine-reviews/
Washing Machines Reviews
While some basic top-load washers have plummeted in performance testing when it comes to cleaning ability, the GE WJRE5500GWW gets good scores for washing performance and costs less than a high-efficiency front loader. This model has a 3.5-cubic-foot capacity with a stainless steel tub and the usual wash cycles. It uses rotary dial controls. Also included is an automatic load balancer – a feature that’s starting to disappear on less expensive washing machines. The most common owner complaint is that this washer’s spin cycle isn’t particularly strong, so clothes may need more drying time.
Fisher & Paykel Intuitive Eco IWL16
There are now many high-efficiency top loaders on the market — these replace an agitator with some other technology that uses less water and energy. Unfortunately, we read very mixed owner reviews for most of these, including the Maytag Bravos and Whirlpool Cabrio. Owners seem far happier with the Fisher & Paykel Intuitive Eco IWL16, which uses less energy than a conventional top loader, yet gets clothes as clean or cleaner with less noise. Three spin speeds let you customize how much water is wrung out — the 1,000 rpm speed is great for towels and jeans, meaning they’ll need less drying time. Unlike other high-efficiency washers, you can use regular detergent with the Intuitive Eco.
Front-loading washing machines clean better, are more energy efficient and use less water than conventional top-loading machines. The trouble is that reliability is often iffy. The Frigidaire GLTF2940F is one of the cheapest front loading washers available, yet its scores for efficiency and cleaning ability are as good as some models that cost twice as much. The Frigidaire is a bargain if you want a front-loading washer, but we did read some complaints about water building up in the rubber door seal causing odors — a very common complaint with most front loaders. Reports on reliability are mixed, but in line with what we’ve seen for most washers.
Unlike most other machines, the LG SteamWasher offers an important extra: two steam cycles. One steam cycle prepares clothes for ironing, while the other sanitizes them for a longer period, which reduces lingering odors. The LG has a large-capacity 4-cubic-foot stainless steel washtub, and its faster 1,320-rpm spin cycle gets more water out of laundry (which means less drying time). This machine also features a delay cycle that can put laundry on hold up to 19 hours, and the wash cycle can be monitored remotely via computer. While expensive, the LG TROMM gets better owner-written reviews than other front-loading washing machines.
July 8, 2008 Update We found the most thorough, credible and up-to-date washing machine reviews at Consumer Reports. Its website also has a moderated discussion board that allows subscribers to ask questions and exchange information about washing machines. Its methodical testing in several categories helps buyers to choose the best washers currently on the market. Although we also found excellent hands-on evaluations and extensive testing of washers at Australia’s Choice and Britain’s Which? magazines, most of the models in these two publications are not available in the U.S., so these articles are of less help to American consumers.Good Housekeeping magazine used to be a good place to find reviews on major appliances, but we didn’t find any recently written information on washing machines. However, we have found an increasingly large number of owner-written reviews for washing machines, which are extremely helpful when it comes to gauging noise level and reliability. Sears.com, BestBuy.com and HomeDepot.com are all great places to check for user reviews on a given washing machine.In January 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy phased in tougher efficiency requirements for washing machines. New washers are required to use 21% less energy. While that seems great in concept, the end result has been dirtier laundry. Consumer Reports has the most balanced information on the effects of these requirements. For many conventional top-loading washing machines, models must now use less water and lower wash temperatures, which can affect performance. Although we found some heated debate on this topic, Consumer Reports is the only publication that backs up its opinions with product testing.
In Consumer Reports’ testing, the least expensive type of washing machine – traditional top-loaders with agitators – had a hard time cleaning clothes as well under the new efficiency mandates. Front-loading washers and some alternative top-loaders use a different technology than a traditional agitator, and are not as impacted by the new laws. To get the same level of cleanliness, users may need to do more pre-treating of stains.
We found many websites that rate washing machines based purely on efficiency, but with no performance testing. These include the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), EnergyStar.gov and the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE). All of these websites have good explanations of technology and related articles despite the lack of performance testing
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AND many more useful sites:
www.saveenergy.about.com/od/
www.ecobusinesslinks.com/
www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt070.shtm
www.veggierevolution.blogspot.com/
www.ehow.com/
www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/
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