Collateral damage...? 
Dow Chemical raises prices in response to increases in petroleum-related costs
USA Today
May 28 2008
Dow Chemical (DOW) says it's raising product prices as much as 20% to offset the soaring cost of energy and raw materials.
. . .

"For years, Washington has failed to address the issue of rising energy costs and, as a result, the country now faces a true energy crisis, one that is causing serious harm to America's manufacturing sector and all consumers of energy," Chairman and Chief Executive Andrew Liveris says in the company's press release.  ... [read article]

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Fuel costs close the gap for farmers' markets
By GORDON DRITSCHILO (Time Argus)
May 18, 2008
. . .

Rising food prices, driven at least in part by increasing oil prices, have been referred to as a global crisis in recent months. The American Farm Bureau, an agricultural lobbying group, reported in March that the total cost of 16 basic grocery items went up 8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008.
. . .

Greg Cox of Boardman Hill Farm in West Rutland said many local farmers are insulated from a number of the factors driving up prices.

"... [W]e don't have the transportation costs from A to B," he said. "That certainly helps us out. Small farmers, we're not as big energy hogs. Our caloric input is a lot less per acre than the big guys. Our machines are more efficient — a lot for us is labor."
. . .

Emmett Dunbar of Anjali Farm in Londonderry said he has not escaped the rising expenses facing farmers.
. . .

From seeds to plastic bags for holding salad mix, Dunbar said farmers are seeing across-the-board cost increases. Dunbar also said he is going to have to raise prices on all his animal products because grain prices have doubled and tripled.

... "None of us produce a lot of grain in the state of Vermont. Unless the animals are grass fed, you're going to see a rise in meat and eggs and milk and cheese prices."
. . .

Prices [at farmers' markets] fluctuate "partly by season and by location in the state," [Rene] De Geus [agricultural research chief at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets] said. "Food in Stowe costs a lot more than at a farmstand in the Northeast Kingdom. … It's all over the place. A lot of times of the year, fresh local produce is the same (price) as what's in the store."
. . .

"People of more modest means, like myself, can't afford [farmers' markets]," he said. "A lot of us who are watching this trend have tried to keep our prices reasonable, and we're taking a hit."
. . .

"If you assume that a lot of the increasing cost of food is the fuel cost of transporting food great distances … presumably, if you're buying as close to the farm as possible, you're reducing that expense," [NOFA director Enid] Wonnacott said. "I think, in general, local food production is going to become cost-competitive with conventional agriculture."
. . .

"It makes economic sense that if food prices go up in the supermarket, the farmstand can price slightly under the supermarket and capture sales," De Geus said. "You don't need to way-underprice the supermarket."

At the same time, Vermont's farmers markets are growing. The number of markets in the state has almost doubled since 2000, from 37 to 64, and NOFA recently helped in the creation of the Vermont Farmers Market Association.
. . .

In the long term, Dunbar said, the organization wants to build a stable infrastructure for the state's markets, 90 percent of which he said operate on year-to-year leases. Dunbar said Vermont has more farmers markets per capita than any other state and that more money per capita is spent on local food products in Vermont than in any other state.

"We've always had to make our argument on supporting the local economy of the nutrition of food that's fresh," Wonnacott said. "We haven't had the argument to shop locally to save money. It would be a welcome development." [full article here.]

Stopping Oil's Assault:
Ever-rising fuel prices are a monstrous supply-demand problem. Here are five possible solutions.
excerpts from article by Reid Kanaley, [Philadelphia] Inquirer Staff Writer
original here.
What would it take to stop the madness of rising oil prices?

Shocking increases in crude-oil costs - which spiked above $135 a barrel at one point last week - are now pushing airlines and truckers to the brink, forcing many consumers to say they are staying home this holiday weekend, and recharging fears of recession in the face of $4-a-gallon gasoline.

It's a supply-demand problem on steroids. Here are five possible solutions, along with the outlook for each.

Solution No. 1:

Reduce world demand for oil.

Outlook: Very unlikely.
. . .

Solution No. 2: Pump more oil out of the ground.

Outlook: Not likely for decades.
. . .

Solution No. 3: Pop the speculation bubble.

Outlook: Try changing human nature.
. . .

Solution No. 4: Strengthen the weak dollar.

Outlook: This could happen in coming months.
. . .

Solution No. 5:

A big, bad recession.

Outlook: Sadly, this could happen, regardless of the efforts of the Fed, stimulus checks and anything else.

And it is oil that could finally tip the economy into recession.

Experts say gasoline prices have yet to catch up with the spike in crude, and $200-a-barrel oil, which some officials say is possible in the next two years, could cost $6 per gallon at the gas pump.

Chances are, that'll do the trick.  [read full article here.]

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Vermont's new Energy Plan may not go far enough...
State releases draft energy plan
excerpts from article by Candace Page, Free Press Staff Writer
published May 28, 2008
The Douglas administration released a draft plan Tuesday to help shape Vermont's energy future. Critics immediately lambasted the 267-page document as inadequate to reduce the state's dependence on petroleum, to increase energy efficiency or to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The plan, drafted by the state Public Service Department, calls for continued reliance on electricity from Hydro Quebec and Vermont Yankee while utilities find more diverse, preferably in-state, sources of renewable power.

It also foresees Vermonters buying more efficient, less-polluting cars and trucks, particularly plug-in hybrid vehicles after 2010.
. . .

The draft plan released Tuesday [...] calls for a continuation of many existing state policies, while others among the 150 action recommendations call for additional study or for the state to "encourage" changes by utilities and consumers.

For example, the plan says the state should "encourage more renewable energy investments through established incentives and programs" and "continue to foster sound investment in electric energy efficiency programs" for which Vermont is well-known.

The plan does not call for any new mandates on utilities, businesses or consumers, nor does it call for expansion of investment in electrical energy efficiency in homes and businesses.

It anticipates a move by consumers to vehicles powered in part by electricity from the power grid. It says the state should "encourage" that technology and "encourage" utilities to research the effects on their systems of many plug-in vehicles.
. . .

At VPIRG, [James] Moore said he was disappointed that, after the plan lays out Vermont's energy challenges, it does not proceed to make meaningful recommendations to cope with those issues.

He was particularly critical of what he described as the plan's failure to expand investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
. . .

"The Department of Public Service has put in a lot of time and energy in coming up with this document. It clearly needs a lot of work, but it gives Vermonters an opportunity to be heard, and I hope they take it," he said.

**The Douglas administration's draft Comprehensive Energy Plan released Tuesday recommends what it describes as more than 150 action steps. Some highlights:

**The draft of Vermont's Comprehensive Energy Plan 2009 can be found here.

**Five meetings will be held around Vermont this summer to gather public reaction to the plan. A schedule will be announced in coming weeks [watch your local news source.]

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Montpelier hosts energy town meeting
by Carl Etnier
Published on Vermont Commons 05/30/2008 
While Congress passes legislation raising the vain hope of bringing down oil prices by suing OPEC, OPEC dwindles in numbers.
. . .

It's possible that they're just trying to evade the long arm of US law, which our representatives in Washington seem to think can force Indonesia to squeeze more oil from its rocks and then sell it to us. But I doubt it.

Meanwhile, back in Montpelier, many in the city are serious about the only real leverage we have over how much we pay for energy: Not trying to force rocks or their owners to yield more oil, but reducing our demand for energy.
. . .

[some highlights from the meeting]

Colin Gunn of FreeRide bicycle collective showed off the first model of their new set of loaner bikes, cobbled together from old bike parts and new accessories like fenders and racks. The bikes will be lent out to individuals and businesses on a model akin to a lending library, though a deposit may be required.  

Tim Maker of the Biomass Energy Resource Center described the work of the district heating committee, which is investigating a way to build and finance a central, biomass-fired combined heat and power facility for Montpelier businesses and residences.  

Cheryl King Fischer and Johanna Miller reported on the scrumptious doings of Central Vermont Localvores.

Paul Markowitz reported that the Lighten Up Montpelier initiative had resulted in 12,000 compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) being sold in Montpelier since November 1, both by students going door to door and by Aubuchons. He estimated that the combined effect would be $500,000 in savings for the users of the bulbs, and he reminded CFL owners to take dead lights to Aubuchons or another authorized recipient, so the mercury in them is properly cared for.

The big new initiative announced was the 80% Challenge for fuel oil. Using a combination of weatherization through Central Vermont Community Action Council and installation of pellet stoves or boilers, Ken Jones announced work to reduce carbon emissions from heating in Montpelier by 80%.  [see Carl's blog for full story.]

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Energy in the News
Sampling of Headlines from Energy Bulletin
Wall Street Journal... "Peak Oil in Paris" (International Energy Administration)... It's been a big month for peak oil and energy in mainstream news.  Paul Roberts quoted on NPR's Marketplace, Michael Klare interviewed on BBC's The World... what's next?  An intelligent response would be wonderful.

Here are a few headlines:

Wall Street Journal May 29th, 2008
 "The world's top oil producers are proving unable to put more barrels on thirsty world markets despite sky-high prices, a shift that defies traditional market logic and looks set to continue."

Peak Oil in the News...
Peak Oil in Paris: International Energy Agency Now Skittish Too
Keith Johnson, Environmental Capital (WSJ blog)
Peak oil is contagious: even the International Energy Agency is getting the rash. ... the Paris-based IEA will slash its forecasts of global oil supplies, after years of rosy predictions that oil output would rise in lockstep with developed countries’ appetites. The IEA’s latest project? A close look at 400 of the world’s biggest oil fields to figure out how much oil is really left, and how much production is declining. 

IEA Plans to Lower Oil Supply Forecast in Next Annual Report
Tara Patel and Grant Smith, Bloomberg
The International Energy Agency, the energy adviser to 27 nations, plans to reduce its long-term projection for crude oil supply after studying depletion rates at the world's 400 largest fields. The IEA will present a "more realistic supply potential'' estimate following criticism previous forecasts have been "optimistic,'' IEA head Nobuo Tanaka said in a television interview today.

The Wall Street Peak Oil Journal
Andrew Leonard, Salon
Page A1: The Wall Street Journal, Thursday, May 22, 2008:
A growing number of people in the industry are endorsing a version of the "peak-oil" theory: that oil production will plateau in coming years, as suppliers fail to replace depleted fields with enough fresh ones to boost overall output. All of that has prompted numerous upward revisions to long-term oil-price forecasts on Wall Street.  -- today's front page story is the most pessimistic piece I've seen the newspaper publish.  

Drilling

Rep. Bartlett, in reversal, backs drilling in Arctic refuge
Associated Press via SF Examiner
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, a conservative Republican with an unusually green reputation, said Thursday he will co-sponsor a bill to allow oil and natural gas drilling in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge after years of opposition.

Fuel crisis makes drilling top priority for America
Robert Samuelson, News-Press (Florida)
... The truth is that we're almost powerless to influence today's prices. We are because we didn't take sensible actions 10 or 20 years ago. If we persist, we will be even worse off in a decade or two. The first thing to do: Start drilling.

It's a delusion to think drilling will help ease current oil crisis
Sen. Bill Nelson, News-Press (Florida)
... I want to make clear that any oil still deep in the ground has no direct link - none - to today's pump prices. Any oil in the ground won't be in the marketplace for some ten years. Further, the oil companies that want to drill much closer to our shores already have leases on 33 million other acres where they haven't even started drilling yet. More importantly - no matter what anybody says or writes - the U.S. has only 3 percent of the world's oil reserves while it uses 25 percent of the global supply. In other words - and I'm using Samuelson's terminology here - it's "sheer stupidity" to think the U.S. can drill its way out of an energy crisis.

Speculators:
Some wonder if speculators are fueling oil run-up
David Ivanovich, Houston Chronicle
Crude prices have rocketed nearly $70 a barrel in the past year. Some energy experts suggest speculation could account for $20 to $30 of that run-up.

Oil insiders say investors driving up prices by banking on fear of low supply
Jim Landers and Elizabeth Souder, Dallas Morning News
You're paying way more for gasoline than common sense would suggest, and you might be surprised by who's to blame.

Not the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It lost control of the markets 20 years ago. Not Big Oil. It contributes only a sliver of global oil supply. Not the government. The U.S. investment in oil is relatively small.

Each of these former powerhouses influences the market sometimes, but these days what's driving prices higher is a rush of new investors.

[read more at Energy Bulletin.]

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EIA (US Energy Info Admin) Annual Energy Outlook 2008
From the EIA website
The Annual Energy Outlook presents a projection and analysis of U.S. energy supply, demand, and prices through 2030. The projections are based on results from the Energy Information Administration’s National Energy Modeling System. The full [2008] publication, to be released at the end of May, 2008, will include complete documentation and additional cases examining energy markets.

Trends in energy supply and demand are affected by many factors that are difficult to predict, including energy prices, U.S. and worldwide economic growth, advances in technologies, and future public policy decisions both in the United States and in other countries. As noted in ...2007, energy markets are changing in response to readily observable factors, which include, among others: higher energy prices; the growing influence of developing countries on worldwide energy requirements; recently enacted legislation and regulations in the United States; changing public perceptions on issues related to emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases and the use of alternative fuels and; and the economic viability of various energy technologies.

Projections in the ...2008 reference case have been updated to better reflect trends that are expected to persist in the economy and in energy markets. For example, the projection for U.S. economic growth, a key determinant of U.S. energy demand, is lower in ...2008 than it was in ...2007, reflecting an updated assumption for productivity improvement. Other key changes in the ...2008 projections include:


Coal, liquid fuels (excluding the biofuels portion of total liquids supply), and natural gas meet 80 percent of total U.S. primary energy supply requirements in 2030—down from an 85-percent share in 2006, reflecting the incorporation of EISA2007 provisions, slower economic growth, higher energy prices, lower total energy demand, and increased use of renewable energy when compared with ...2007.  [visit EIA website for more information]

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Bernie Sanders wants to hear Your Story:  "How are gas prices affecting you?"
Issue May 14, 2008 - http://sanders.senate.gov
The Senate on Tuesday [May 13th] passed a measure cosponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders to suspend oil deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The measure would increase supplies and lower prices for gasoline and other fuels. Sanders said the vote to suspend the shipments until the end of the year was a first step by Congress to confront the gasoline price crisis. "The Senate voted to stop the Bush administration from continuing the absurd policy of adding 70,000 barrels of oil a day to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which already is 97 percent full," he said. "This is a small but important step forward in providing some relief to consumers who are paying record prices at the gas pump." 

Sanders, a member of both the Senate energy and environment committees, added that a comprehensive approach is needed to resolve the current energy crisis. “Long term, we must aggressively transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and foreign oil into energy efficiency and sustainable energy.  Short term, we must take some very immediate steps to protect the American people against the soaring prices of gas and oil.”

Bernie wants to hear your story.  Please take a moment and click here to watch a message from the senator about gas prices and you. [ed note: even if you are on dial-up, you can send the Senator your comments; the video, however, is harder to "enjoy."]

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Brattleboro Selectboard cuts Peak Oil Task Force
excerpts from article by BO