Yes, this is a first for me. My only questioning before has been to say the amount was way too small.
But, on vacation, seeing several U.S. Forest Service jobs aided with stimulus money? I doubt that really saved any jobs. No government jobs were likely to be lost. And, unlike city street departments and county or state transportation departments contracting out highway work, the Forest Service projects surely involved very few private sector jobs.
That said, the stimulus dollars spent on stuff like this were surely small. But, then, why tout them?
April 14, 2011
Mobile homes in Santa Fe?
Who would have thought? And inside the city limits! And, without a requirement to be abobed over! The City Different is slipping,
April 13, 2011
Oil at $150?
Well, not immediately. Maybe by 2015, though?
China has already passed the U.S. in coal use. By 2020, it may pass us in oil consumption. And, that "surge" cannot but impact oil prices.
Since we may well have hit "Peak Oil" three years ago, if China doubles its oil use in a decade or less, that will inevitably put upward pressure on oil prices.
Per Canadian Liberal MP Dan McTeague, that may open the door to more speculation.
That said, if this really starts hitting the fan early enough before the general election, we may see Obama forced to choose between continuing to run a $1 billion presidential campaign and working to pass something that's not completely toothless in terms of commodities regulation.
China has already passed the U.S. in coal use. By 2020, it may pass us in oil consumption. And, that "surge" cannot but impact oil prices.
Since we may well have hit "Peak Oil" three years ago, if China doubles its oil use in a decade or less, that will inevitably put upward pressure on oil prices.
Per Canadian Liberal MP Dan McTeague, that may open the door to more speculation.
“What that means in normal lingo is that the fundamentals of supply and demand have been thrown out the window,” he said. “If supply and demand fundamentals cannot discipline the price discovery, then price can be whatever it wants to be and any excuse can be used.”At the same time, don't forget that hear in the U.S. President Obama refused to tackle the need for more regulation of commodities derivatives as part of financial regulation reform. If Peak Oil is here, Enron of a decade ago will seem like nothing.
He said tax on fuel in Ontario, Quebec, B.C. and New Brunswick is also helping to push the price up, in addition to refineries in eastern Canada who charge between 17 and 20 cents per litre to convert crude into transportation fuel when the actual conversion cost is more like three to five cents per litre.
“Consumers are now vulnerable to the effects of unbridled speculation and subject to potential shortages as a result of restraint in competition at the refinery level,” McTeague said. “We’re flying blind. We have no idea just how serious this situation has become.”
That said, if this really starts hitting the fan early enough before the general election, we may see Obama forced to choose between continuing to run a $1 billion presidential campaign and working to pass something that's not completely toothless in terms of commodities regulation.
April 12, 2011
Peak Oil raising its head again
The continuing high oil prices are in part due to continuing political uncertainty in Libya. But that's not the only reason.
Shell, as in Royal Dutch Shell, the oil giant, has admitted to more uncertainty about the future of oil supply. By 2050, if current trends continue, it says the supply-demand gap could be as great as the entire industry of 2000.
Of course, on the supply side, the biggest "pusher" is China.
Even if China is the Potemkim village Nouriel Roubini predicts, there's too much of the West invested in it for it to remain permanently that way. U.S fat cat CEOs simply have to have their supply source of cheaply made cheap products and they know it.
So, it will continue to be a driver. So will India.
That said, the Guardian also notes that Japan, post-Fukushima, gives us an image, even a laboratory, of what Peak Oil may be like.
Shell, as in Royal Dutch Shell, the oil giant, has admitted to more uncertainty about the future of oil supply. By 2050, if current trends continue, it says the supply-demand gap could be as great as the entire industry of 2000.
Of course, on the supply side, the biggest "pusher" is China.
Even if China is the Potemkim village Nouriel Roubini predicts, there's too much of the West invested in it for it to remain permanently that way. U.S fat cat CEOs simply have to have their supply source of cheaply made cheap products and they know it.
So, it will continue to be a driver. So will India.
That said, the Guardian also notes that Japan, post-Fukushima, gives us an image, even a laboratory, of what Peak Oil may be like.
April 11, 2011
Sure Obama will make a big contrast with the GOP on the budget
Let's call him Preznit Pinocchio instead of Preznit Kumbaya now. His own Catfood Commission halfway agreed with Paul Ryan, after all, so why should be believe Obama that he'll be sharply different on the deficit?
This is the same Obama who is once again claiming to oppose the Bush tax cuts, after all.
This is the same Obama who is once again claiming to oppose the Bush tax cuts, after all.
IKEA ... the e isn't for egalitarian
An occasional post while on vacation.
IKEA decided to open a US manufacturing plant to go along with its explosion in stores here.
Just one problem. Unlike in Sweden, IKEA-US apparently hates unions.
And, maybe black people.
And, consideration for its workers in general.
Just "wow" on this story.
IKEA decided to open a US manufacturing plant to go along with its explosion in stores here.
Just one problem. Unlike in Sweden, IKEA-US apparently hates unions.
And, maybe black people.
And, consideration for its workers in general.
Just "wow" on this story.
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