MINI's out of production...temporarily

Production shut down
The drastic rise in oil and fuel prices this year have caused ripples to form in the massive global economy. Last week in Spain, cargo carriers protested the high prices of diesel fuel. This caused traffic and shipping headaches and effectively shut down the production of my favorite new car...MINI's.

A key component of the car is manufactured in Spain, and with the drives on protest, MINI was forced to temporarily shut down production of the cars until the protests were resolved. This effectively shut down the production of around 700 cars per day and affected several workers. As of today though, it appears that the protests are fading and the parts are starting to arrive again. You can see the update here. Motor on!

Getting Linked to...exciting!

I was recently linked to by a Natural Disaster Blog...I was very excited :-) You can see it here! Otherwise...oil is falling, but will most likely rise with the latest EIA report. Oil inventories are down, Gas inventories are up. Oil prices are near record prices and Gasoline is at record prices and continuing to rise. I love depending on fossil fuel crack...love it!

'Oiling' the 'Strategic' wheels of politics...

SPR Debate
As much as I would like to stay out of the oil topics, I keep getting sucked back into the fray. Today, Congress passed a bill to suspend shipments of oil to the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help ease the pain at the pump. Why now and not earlier when prices started jumping above $100?

The most obvious is that there are several seats up for election this year and these congressman (and women) need to appear that they are doing something for their constituents in their home districts. A congressperson appears to be in favor of these high oil and fuel prices would certainly destroy their chances of getting reelected. This is also evident from 2 of the 3 presidential candidates were proposing suspending the federal gas tax for the summer to help ease prices.

What this all amounts to is just another bandage on the open gash that is our addiction to petroleum. I, along with countless others, have said that we will have to fundamentally change the way we live in order to adjust to this new era of 'expensive' oil. Reducing shipments to our Strategic Petroleum Reserve is NOT going to be the fundamental change. The SPR is currently at around ~700 million barrels of oil. This suspension will divert 70,000 bpd back into the oil stream flowing to our refiners. That's about 0.3% of our total petroleum consumption per day (based on 2007 data). Will that help? Doubtful...Its mostly political rhetoric to get elected and maintain the status quo.

So what is there to be optimistic about in these troubled times? For me, its the concept of close knit neighborhoods and a sense of local identities rising again. Since the disappearance of the front porch, which was a result of air conditioning and the invention of the television, the closeness of communities has been falling ever since. We crave interpersonal communications and relationships, why do you think that social networking sites are so popular. But, they still leave a sense of emptiness that makes us crave real interactions with people. Maybe a side result of closer knit communities, brought together because of high energy prices could alleviate some of the social ailments, poverty, crime, and poor education among our nations schools. Grand dreams...probably...optimisitic in a time of dire pessimism...sure. But instead of doing nothing about the current situation, change, adjust and move on. If not, you might just get left behind...

Refuel my A$$

Refueling America?!?
I stated a while back that I was going to cut out any talk of high oil prices but in the past couple of weeks some totally dumb proposals to curb high oil and gas prices have caused me to be flabbergasted. The first is the proposed "Gas Tax Holiday" that Clinton and McCain are proposing.

This tax holiday is a bad idea and just political rhetoric to get them elected. I know that they could hypothetically persuade the congress to pass a bill to suspend the gas tax, but by the time they are President, the 'holiday' would have passed. Whats more is that it would save the average consumer the likes of $25-$30 (US) amounting to about 3/4 or the standard gas tank. There is also no guarantee that the producers of gasoline would not rise their prices to recoup some of the billions in taxes that would else wise go to the government. This would result in the increased consumption which would pinch supplies and result in higher oil and gas prices. Great plan! Lets work on efficiency first, then better alternative means of transportation and maybe we can make a dent in the petrol grip that has this nation by the throat.

The second idiotic thing I have read/seen just recently happened. Chrysler is offering their Refuel America plan which includes a set price of $2.99/gallon (US) for three years. It is essentially subsidizing the cost of fuel for Chrysler's fleet which just LOVES to suck gas. This is on par with those countries that subsidize the cost of gas for its citizens...maybe we can add Chrysler to the Axis of Evil...as that axis loves to subsidize fuel.

Giving Americans is not the way to ween us off of the oil addiction. It only prolongs it till we hang ourself with the oil noose. We have to first feel the pain and then realize how wrong we really were with depending on oil for so long. You can not run a marathon without going through some pain, neither will weening us off of oil is going to hurt for awhile as well. So please, do not buy a Chrysler car, its a dumb idea that sounds good, but really will prolong the pain. Hope you had a good weekend!

Hangin High with Oil

Hanging Climate Change out to DRY!
This topic has been swirling around my mind like my socks on Sunday wash day. I first picked up this topic a couple of months back with a report in the NYTimes about a guy who was fighting against neighborhood planning commissions over the right to hang up laundry in ones back yard. Finally, with the help of TreeHugger, I have the article in which to formulate my thoughts!

One of my most vivid childhood memories is that of helping my mom hang up the laundry on the clothes line in the back yard. Five lines were strung between two T poles at either end of the yard and nearly our entire weeks worth of wash could fit on the line at the same time. I can still smell the clothes line smell of the fresh air that dried the clothes. I will admit that I HATED having my jeans dried on the line, but that is but a small inconvenience. The only items that were dried were the personal items (socks and underwear) or when the temperature was to crappy in which to utilize the line.

Electric clothes dryers using between 5-10% of residential electricity each year and the benefits of hanging clothes outside clearly outweigh the negatives. First and foremost, the weather for nearly all of the US is ideal for hanging clothes whether in the summer or in winter. There are locations in which the temperature is below freezing for much of the winter and its nearly impossible to hang clothes outside during this time. But if you hang clothes indoor during the winter, it can act as a humidifier for the dry air in the home. Plus, clothes last longer, sunlight is a natural disinfectant, and the smell is something that no chemical can beat! Best of all...its FREE, minus the small purchase of a piece of rope, or a drying rack for the indoors!

I am flabbergasted to find that many community organizations ban the presence of a clotheslines from a persons private property. It is hard to believe that anyone would be opposed to something that is so environmentally friendly and easy to do. It screams comfy down home American neighborhood, yet, many developments ban such lines and fine homeowners if they are found to have a clothes line. I think, with the current downturn in the economy, that these communities would be more willing to allow clotheslines, they are defiantly more appealing than row after row of For Sale signs that dot the landscape now.

High Oil
I really should just stop writing about high oil prices, since everyone else seems to be writing about it now as well. So, unless oil tops $110 (US) or is something interesting that I feel I should pass along, oil is officially dead in this blog. I am tired of the media feeding the speculation, which has driven prices higher. In a way, I am for higher prices for fuel, as I am ashamed at how wasteful our society has become on the cheap fuel that we have become addicted to. But when the fundamentals of supply and demand no longer dictate the price of a particular item, I just don't buy it. This weeks EIA report shows that US stocks of oil rose for the eighth straight week and gasoline inventories are at least 8% higher than the running 5 year average. This doesn't have as big of an impact on gas prices as one would hope as oil is running $40 (US) higher than a year ago and the drastic increase in the price of oil is just now really starting to be pushed onto the consumer. Diesel fuel is at an all time high and gas prices will soon follow suit. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of months. We, can for the sake of our pocketbooks, hope that the Fed doesn't decide to lower interest rates any more and investors pull profits and oil prices recede some. But don't hold your breath on that, it is oil by the way, and no matter how high it goes, we're all still sucking it down like a fine bottle of whine!
Cheers

Refining the Bling with Abe

Honest Abe is 199 today, so Happy Birthday to the first president of the U.S. to have a beard while in office. He's also the tallest president that we have had and he adores the penny. Which, starting May 12th is what you'll need if you want to buy those annoying 1 cent stamps to mail a letter. USPS announced that the price of stamps will go up another penny over the current rate of 41 cents. Luckily we can buy our Forever stamps and be done with these petty increases in postage. Ah the days when stamps were 29 cents...

Dominica kicks Oil in the Mouth...for Now

Good news today that I first spotted on Steves Dominica Blog that the government is suspending its current plans to build a Venezuelan oil refinery on the island. The Prime Minister said that the public should be included in the debate and the total situation should be examined more closely. I think that the tourism boards public statement that I discussed the other day was a decent swing point in the process and hopefully this is a positive step. Lets hope that Chavez will not spew his Anti-American/ America is the Empire wrath on Dominica for taking a step back and looking out for itself and the resources that the tiny island does have. Anyways, as others and I have said, you can't have "The Nature Island" of the Caribbean and have your oil refinery too.

Do you Bling?

Finally to close out this exciting Tuesday, I have to ask the question...Do you Bling? So I feel bad for getting on Xango yesterday for selling people $40 bottles of "super" fruit juice. I send a small apology (though only a small one) to Xango as Kevin Boyd is catering to your inner star (and pocket book) with BlingH2O. I all honesty I shouldn't give this junk a bit of spin, but it just shows how much our culture is obsessed with "image" and consumption of high end stuff. At $40 a pop, the frosted bottles come with Swarovski crystals and are corked, just like wine. What a horrible idea and its seriously probably the water out of the guys bathtub. Seriously, who wants to lug around a corkscrew at the gym? Why not get creative and cover your Sigg water bottle with some eco bling...like dirt or something?

I can top this on the holy crap-o-meter. The Water Bank of America (WTF is that) is selling prepackaged ice cubes called IceRocks. Yes you read that correctly, prepackaged ice cubes. Here is what their website states:

"ICEROCKS® are secured, ready-to-be-frozen ice cubes made with high-quality spring water. These cubes, to be consumed within two (2) years, are hermetically packaged in disposable containers. ICEROCKS® uses a patented technology, providing a container of refreshing ice cubes that are pure and hygienic.
To enjoy the fresh taste of ICEROCKS® simply freeze, remove the plastic seal, and pop the ice cubes into your favorite beverage!"

Thanks to ecorazzi for showing us this wonderful idea. You have to check out the website because they totally try to spin their product in a eco-savvy/green/_______ (insert eco buzzword here) product. I do have to hand it to them for great marketing, but seriously, trays to make ice are like 35 cents. Better yet, most modern refridge/freezer units come with an ice maker. Seriously, prepackaged ice to go with your bottled water? What will they they think of next? Dehydrated water?

Cheers!

Soccer Saturdays

I slept almost 13 hours last night and I am finally starting to feel like myself again. Hopefully this will be the last time I get sick for awhile. To make sure, I disinfected the apartment this morning. I normally don't like to use "antibacterial" products but felt that I should make an exception this time. Plus its GORGEOUS here in "The Rouge" which is exciting!

Dominica Soccer

I knowing nothing about Dominica soccer, heck I can not even name a single player that hails from the island. I do know that many are part of the European soccer scene but that’s about the extent to what I know. I had a great world cup experience on the island in 2006 which was one of the great memories I have of Dominica. So why soccer today? Dominica played host to Barbados in a world cup qualifier at Windsor Park Stadium. They drew a 1-1 tie which was hailed as a small victory against the higher ranked Barbados team. Steve from Steve’s Dominica Blog had some great pictures from the game. More can be seen here.

Dominica Refinery
The tourism industry has released and official statement in regards to the proposed Venezuelan oil refinery. It echo’s much of what has already been said in regards to the image that Dominica wants to present to the world. If you put an oil refinery on the island how can you be honest in marketing yourself as the “Nature Island of the Caribbean?” Since nearly all of the money that comes to Dominica in the form of tourism is based on the “Nature Island” concept and the product that is derived from that, the refinery will surely have an impact. We can hope that whoever is doing the EIS for the island will find that it harms outweigh the benefits to the island, but it probably won’t happen. It took several public outcries about the oil storage facility before the government was able to produce the EIS that was supposed to have been done. Does anyone know who is doing the EIS for the oil refinery? Any place we can get a copy of the one done for the oil storage facility?
Cheers!

Dominica's "Resource Curse"

I recently posted about my disappointment of the government of Dominica to accepting to build an oil refinery for Venezuela. It is hard to get steady news streams from Dominica but there are a few people who are keeping information abreast of what is happening on the island. Check out Dominican View, Living Dominica or Dominica Oil to get some snapshots of what has been happening, but unfortunately there is no good single outlet of information. But that’s what makes if fun!

Recently I stumbled upon an article in Newsweek that talks about the "resource curse" associated with oil and other valuable commodities like diamonds or gold. This is a discussion that I have had several times with my friend Bob, who is working in the industry over in Azerbaijan and has seen the effects of this first hand. It is hard, for an outsider, to understand the bizarre and often backward thinking of countries with VAST amounts of reserves of commodities (mostly oil). For some reason, these countries seem to routinely have poorly run governments that are incapable of investing in the long-term good of the country, instead a select few line their pockets with plush funds. Nigeria is probably the best example of this, but the list seems to never end.

Unfortunately, monetary policy of countries is governed by the principal that to be 'developed' one must strive to meet certain 'standards' that are based on monetary derived figures like GDP, per capita income, etc. If you do not meet these standards (coincidently defined by western cultures and ideals) you are considered 'poor,' 'underdeveloped' or '3rd World.' This leads countries to develop shady and unsustainable economic policies (loans from bigger 'prosperous' countries) to bring their countries into the 'developed.' The most common result is the upward mobility of a select few and general population that is worse off than when they were '3rd world' and the country in complete shambles.

So how does this all link to Dominica and the proposed refinery? Dominica does not have a supply of oil, gas, diamonds, or gold in which it can tap into for funds for which to "develop" the country. But Dominica does have a HUGE resource of something that is scarce in today’s hustle and bustle...Great people and Great natural beauty. Unfortunately Dominica has been labeled a "developing" country and the government is trying desperately to provide for its people, which deserve major kudos. BUT, just like the governments of other resource rich countries, Dominica is squandering its resources, in this case its natural beauty, to provide a quick fix and inject money into the economy. The reason why people come to Dominica is because of its friendly people, towering peaks and its lush, never-ending forests. The sustainable eco-tourism business on Dominica can work, but like many other countries before it, Dominica seems to be leaning towards policies that seem good in the short run, but will cost it dearly in the end. Therefore Dominica too, is cursed by having such a wonderful and plentiful resources that will most likely (but hopefully not) be squandered away because of a few bad choices at the hands of political figureheads...i.e. Skerrit and Chavez.

www.Cuts, Cannabis, and a dab of Oil

Today's title is a little bit cryptic, but hopefully by the end of the post you'll see how they all piece together. Today was just kind of a strange day news wise and well work was kind of boring. We have a huge documentation project that is due. It feels like that very last term paper at the end of the semester that you have to turn in in about 5 hours and you have yet to start. You don't want to do it, yet you know have to get it done...

School children in the Middle East at least had a good excuse as to why they couldn't get their term papers done. Somehow an underwater cable was "disrupted" and internet access across the Middle East was lost. I have yet to hear if it has been restored. Why doesn't something cool like that happen on a Monday morning here? Surely our internet here in "The Rouge" is connected through a huge cable in the Gulf of Mexico. C'mon oil companies, sever that line for us!! Speaking of oil, the annual EIA (Energy Information Administration) released its weekly oil inventory report. The report made oil trade mixed on the day because investors were digesting information on this report and what the fed was going to do with interest rates, which were cut by another 0.5% again today. The oil report showed that crude inventories rose and is starting to close in on the high end of the 30 year averages for stockpiles.

BUT there is bad news on the horizon as refiners are switching over to "summer blend" production and many analysts predict that the cost of gas is likely to skyrocket in the coming days (for California) and months ahead. MTBE, an additive that is no longer used in summer blend gasoline, has been phased out in favor of Alkylate, which is a petroleum product. Shortages of the product have driven up prices in the past two springs and it looks as though it is going to happen again. Some believe that the average price of gas will top $3.50 for the NATIONAL AVERAGE! So I guess this is our warning to start saving now. Oh yea, when is that economic stimulus check coming in the mail?

Two interesting things I think you should check out on EIA website is the weekly petroleum stock supply and the EIA Short Term Energy Outlook. The stock supply, not counting the Strategic Reserve, is somewhere around 20 days. This means that at current refinery utilization, we could run those refineries at their current 4 week average capacity and have enough feed stock for only 3 weeks. Gasoline supplies are roughly in the same neighborhood. Check out, the graphs show lots of interesting trends that you just don't hear about in the news! The second thing is the Short Term Energy Outlook. Just to wet your whistle, take a look at this excerpt.

"Global oil markets will likely remain tight through 2008, then ease moderately in 2009. EIA projects that world oil demand will continue to grow faster than oil supply outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2008, leaving OPEC and inventories to offset the upward pressure on prices. In 2009, higher non-OPEC production and planned additions to OPEC capacity should relieve some of the tightness in the market. As a result, the level of surplus production capacity is projected to grow from its current level of under 2 million barrels per day (bbl/d) to more than 4 million bbl/d by the end of 2009"

Does anyone know where this extra surplus is currently being developed and will be online in '09? Interesting outlook and should be interesting to see how it pans out. The EIA also predicts that the average price of crude for '08 to be somewhere near $87 a barrel. Will we see $100 oil again soon? Bets anyone?

Finally I never thought I would write about pot in my blog, but just a mere 30 days into this project and I am writing about it. It appears that in some select locations in Los Angeles you can purchase (as long as you have the creds. man) to buy medicinal marijuana out of a vending machine. You know how vending machines tend to tease you when you purchase something; you know what I'm talking about, the little arm spins, the M&M's get close to the edge and..............opp it gets stuck right...at...the...edge. Just bang on the glass a little, and maybe they will teeter. Question is, what happens when your dime bag gets stuck? Ah the interesting converstations you could think of with that thought! :-)

Cheers!

Refining Walmart

Earlier I posted how Venezuela and Dominica were coming to terms on the building of a purposed oil refinery on the "Nature Island of Dominica" in an earlier post. There has been a lot of opposition and you can read up on some of it from some local Dominican blogs (check out my links.). today Forbes quoted a minister on Dominica as saying that even though there is opposition to the refinery plans are still in progress to move forward. I really do not like this. The purposed "jobs" that this refinery would bring in is a joke. As other have stated it will most likely be state of the art (automated) and need little work force to run it. And since it will most likely be built by the Venezuelans, I suspect it will be run by them as well. Also, Dominica will have to, get this now, PURCHASE the oil from Venezuela to refine the oil FOR Venezuela. Makes perfect economic sense. Plus, if its anything like the new Cricket stadium on Dominica (see Here) then the refinery will not be built by Dominicans (whom the jobs should go to) but by workers brought in by Venezuela. Hopefully that will not happen. What a disappointment on the Skerrit Administration.

In other news Walmart is still working to green up its act. Read about it here. Cheers

Heath Whole Food Ledger

Today saw the death of a valiant cowboy, one who had "10 things he hated about you" and loved a good "jousting match". He was a patriot for the film world and a "joker" in the face of challenges. Heath, you will be missed! Heath Ledger, 1979-2008.

Good news on the environmental front today, Whole Foods has decided to ban plastic bags in all of its outlets by Earth Day 2008 (April 22nd). One of the test runs in San Fransisco said that the use of paper bags only rose 10% compared to normal usage, which hopefully means that more consumers were switching to reusable bags. On the Plastic Fish link here, the author has a pet peeve though of so called "Eco-shoppers" who use their recycled bags. When they go to buy produce, each piece of veggies and fruit are in their own plastic sack. Kind of defeats the purpose right? Hey, we have to start somewhere, though I agree with the author. If you can start by getting used to using a large reusable bag, migrate up when you bag your produce. Its hard to imagine a supermarket with out plastic. I was in the supermarket tonight and when you stop and look, literally everything is plastic. How much oil/landfill space could we save if we reduce our packaging by say 1/3 or 1/2! Something to ponder. How ever did our ancestors survive without plastic? Maybe we should take a lesson? Cheers!

Biofueled Blackberrys

Today was a busy day in the office so not a lot of interesting reading occurred. First though I have something that I really need to get out. Why of all places do guys (not sure about the ladies) feel that it is OK to conduct business and personal calls while on the toilet? It is at least a weekly occurrence when I will walk into the men's room and either 1.) hear the tapping of someone typing on their blackberry, or 2.) someone conducting a business call from their stall. I guess in today's business driven society that even going to the bathroom is time wasted when you could be working.

So with that off my chest I turn to the billionaire mogul Richard Branson and his attempts at helping to reduce global warming. In February, Virgin Atlantic will run tests flights on one of its jumbo jets using a blend of 20% bio-fuel and %80 standard aviation fuel to fly from London to Amsterdam. It is an interesting concept, as many have said that finding a suitable and sustainable alternative fuel source for aviation was one of the greatest hurdles in the energy equation. Branson, who has all the money anyone would need and then some, has been accused of being hypocritical because his business help to contribute to global warming. Virgin (in my opinion) is one of the leading companies in actually attempting to try and use new technology to offset their footprint. So to me, Branson is getting his house in order and if you have the means, and your house is in order (unlike Gore, who runs a huge electric bill),then more power to you. Either way it will be interesting to see where the bio-fuel is composed of and if/when they will up the percentage of bio-fuel-to-conventional fuel mixture. Its a start and a I feel a push in the right direction. Interesting point to note (this is at the end of the last link), if Branson is correct in his assumption of the profits he will make in the next 10 years ($3 Billion US) then he will committed more money on an annual basis to renewable and alternative energy sources than the United States government! The $150 million (US) pledged by President Bush to research alternative energy sources is purely laughable.

Its all about oil

One thing you will find about this blog (and me) is that the country of Dominica is dear to my heart. Eventually I will post an entire entry just about some of my experiences on the island. In a way I wish I would have wrote or started a blog about it when I was there three times over the course of a year in 2006. So look forward to reading about that.

If you want a crash course on Dominica look here. Earlier this year, the Around the World for Free team stopped by the island for a longer than expected stay and did some amazing stuff. Defiantly worth the look and you can see some of the beauty of Dominica. Check out Alex's trek around the world, definitely and amazing adventure this guy is on. He was in Dominica on days 20 -29, check it out!!!

Today I discovered that Venezuela is likely to build an oil refinery on the "Nature Island of the Caribbean." This does go both ways and I feel that the government of Dominica is as much to blame as Chavez is. You can not blame the people to want jobs and economic prosperity, but so much revenue and image is tied to the nature and beauty of Dominica. Its what the tourists come for. Its just a shame to see this happening, but what position am I to say what is right and wrong for the people of a nation? Check out some of the Dominica blogs on my main page, they are pretty interesting and give some good insight island life.

Tomorrow, back to the grind....

Saturday Car Wash

Washed the car today for the first time I think since my car has been down in the 'Rouge.' It took up a better part of my day but she cleaned up pretty nice. I was out doing some photos and decided to do a little profile shot of her down in the south. Up next to a Louisiana Levee seemed fitting I thought.

I also cleaned the apartment because I was bored and needed some dishes for dinner.

I was searching around on blogspot today and found a good environmental blog with one of those titles that would make a great book. Come to find out its part of a title of a family living book. Nonetheless check it out, its got interesting articles (mostly mainstream) but are all interesting. Interesting posts and nice links to other good blogs.


I feel the need to find something to commemorate such a momentous week that we just finished up. OIL topped $100 a barrel for the first time ever on the Merc. So I was looking around earlier in the week and stumbled upon this site that was selling a commemorative barrel necklace to document the occasion, perhaps some "black bling" is in your future? Better hurry up, only 100 were made. Its an interesting design, but more disturbing than this "black bling" is that 1 person performed a trade of above $100, creating ripples across the market. It only cost him $600 to become the first to trade over $100, scary...