Fuel Oil

[W1RKW]

Just had the fuel oil tank topped off today to get me through the summer and fall at $4.29/gal.   Ouch!  Fortunately, it was only 81 gallons unlike last year at this time when it was 180 gallons.  Glad I turned off the furnace a long time ago.

[WA1GFZ]

I wanted to fill up last month when it was below $4 and oil Co. told me to hold off. That was dumb. I need about 350 ga to fill both tanks.
I think I'm going to do electric in the living room and keep the rest of the house cooler on oil. When do we take out the trash at the white house

[W1RKW]

Evicting the inhabitants of the WH unfortunately won't get rid of the problem. Capitol hill needs to be cleaned out too and then a swift and hard education of the people is in order.

[Jim, W5JO]

Capitol hill needs to be cleaned out too and then a swift and hard education of the people is in order.

I will supply the pitchforks and torches.

[WB2CAU]

I don't understand what high oil prices have to do with our administration.  Prices are controlled by supply and demand in a free market system. The government isn't raising the price of oil.

I doubt if you really want the government to have control over market prices.

The only thing the government can do is reduce or eliminate the tax on oil, but experts say that is only a temporary solution at best. 

While we're on the subject of home heating oil, does anyone know where to find a site on the web where I can obtain a graph showing the monthly home heating oil prices over the past 30 or so years?

[KL7OF]

Be glad you don't buy your petroleum products in bush Alaska....  Unleaded gas..$6.02/gal...  Av gas..$7.25... furnace oil...$6.51...  Higher prices in the more remote villages...We have a deep water port here in Naknek and can get a fuel barge up to the dock...They have to fly the fuel into the interior towns that are off the road system.....The fuel prices on the Alaska road system are comparable with the lower 48...We have the oil and the refineries but we can't get it to our homes and cars in the bush....Good news is...Winter is almost over here.....

[W4EWH]

Capitol hill needs to be cleaned out too and then a swift and hard education of the people is in order.

The people do not need education, no matter how swift of hard any of us might want it to be: experience, it is said, keeps a dear school, and the people have learned its lessons well. You would to better to ask the people what they want, because it is not for you or me to decide what they need.

The people want what they have always wanted: leadership and hope for the future. Changing the current occupant of the executive mansion will not provide either unless the people give up the fantasies they've been living by and start electing wise men who are willing to tell them hard truths and demand honest answers. Such men do exist, and they can get elected - you know the names as well as I - but their rise to power tends to come only in times of extreme crisis, when ordinary people can see that the glad-handers and liars and poseurs must be cast aside.

I have a lot of experience in this area: I founded the Huntington Avenue Tenants Union, I organized a union among engineers at Verizon, and I walked picket lines as a union technician in the phone company. One of the saddest lessons of my life has been the realization that Lincoln was, in the end, wrong: while you really can't fool all the people all the time, it's very easy to fool a majority of the people on election day.

At the end of that day or any other, the people need to be treated as adults and trusted to make wise decisions. Given that chance, they will surprise you.

73, Bill W1AC

[Bill, KD0HG]

Nah, Bill. People always take the easy way out.

A former engineer and president warned that this was coming, he set a national goal of 20% less reliance on petro-fuel by the year 2000, he wanted the nuke industry upgraded and improved, he turned the thermostats down in the winter and wore sweaters to work to set an example; he installed solar panels on the roof of the White House and gave the public tax credits to do the same on their homes, too... Which his successors then tore out.

Am I the only person that remembers this?

[K6JEK]

Nah, Bill. People always take the easy way out.

A former engineer and president warned that this was coming, he set a national goal of 20% less reliance on petro-fuel by the year 2000, he wanted the nuke industry upgraded and improved, he turned the thermostats down in the winter and wore sweaters to work to set an example; he installed solar panels on the roof of the White House and gave the public tax credits to do the same on their homes, too... Which his successors then tore out.

Am I the only person that remembers this?

We weren't ready to hear it. Most of us still aren't ready to hear it.

[Opcom]

part of it is certainly the vehicle choices.
I need a pickup truck every week, but not to commute.
it's 25 miles each way to work.
The truck gets 16.5MPG on this trek.
I would like to also have a small car with good mileage like a geo metro or something for commutes.
I could afford the car but not also the insurance.

I refuse to pay ripoff double insurance on such a thing, that is, I only drive one vehicle at a time. Why should I pay insurance fulltime on two vehicles? The auto insurance industry needs an attitude adjustment. I would prefer to insure the driver, one price, not each vehicle, unbundled, paying fulltime insurance on all. I say to the ins. co.'s: Charge me the current rate for the most dangerous vehicle I own, the truck. This gives me the right to drive any other vehicle I own, and I promise to drive only one vehicle at a time, for I, the driver, am the insured entity. I have yet to see anyone driving both their vehicles at the same time, yet all decent folk insure their entire motor pool. for what?

[k4kyv]

Déjà vu, we went through this in the 70's, didn't learn a damn thing.  People sure have a short memory. 

Besides, the news media have been keeping our attention focused on things that are actually relevant to our daily lives... The latest Brittney Spears meltdown, Paris Hilton's sexploits, and of course, Obama's bowling score and Hillary's beer preferences.

I just listened to an in-depth story about current events in China.  Our addiction to cheap Chinese consumer junk is in for a big jolt.  Chinese workers are making demands for decent wages and Chinese leaders are beginning to listen.

Wages Up in China as Young Workers Grow Scarce

[Opcom]

I don't want to buy their cheap junk. But where can I buy a computer or cellphone or calculator or VCR or microwave or ____ made in the USA?

[ka3zlr]

Well, leading sheep and cattle is a slow process, especially in this free open robbery system of ours..but then again the Free demanded deregulation....there ya have it.

it's good for business...

On a slighter note...in G tuning..i'm a blues fan  .. one of my older brothers bought a super duty Dodge Ram single axle Dump truck...his search was based on how much or what trucks were actually produced in Amero-ka.. he found that 60 % of his truck was in fact built and produced in Amero-ka...Nice truck don't get me wrong... but he's a Knock down red blooded American... believes in the American way..(lost in that frame work)...even has a Flag pole in his yard with a gigantic Amero-kan flag waving high...

stood back after enjoying the nice new truck..looked at the flag in his yard... and wondered..."who made the Flag brother".............

[kb3nqd]

I don't understand what high oil prices have to do with our administration.  Prices are controlled by supply and demand in a free market system. The government isn't raising the price of oil.

I would agree that our government isn't raising the price of oil but my personal opinion is that international politics have a huge impact of the price of gas.  I think it's safe to say how the President conducts our foreign affairs does have an impact and thanks to globalization the internal politics of other countries sometimes hits us in the pocket book as well.  Just my personal point of view...

[WQ9E]

part of it is certainly the vehicle choices.
I need a pickup truck every week, but not to commute.
it's 25 miles each way to work.
The truck gets 16.5MPG on this trek.
I would like to also have a small car with good mileage like a geo metro or something for commutes.
I could afford the car but not also the insurance.

Opcom,
I have a similar situation and I have an '06 diesel pickup but I use the car most of the time for commuting to work.  Driven sanely (which I am doing with the current diesel prices) the pickup averages around 20-21 mpg but certainly not as efficient as a car.  But a car won't go through the drifting and blowing snow which sometimes hits this part of IL and it certainly won't carry large building materials, etc.  Since I only use my pickup when I need it I currently have it on a limited mileage policy which stipulates 7500 miles per year or less and this drops the insurance price considerably.  The pickup gets used when I need a pickup and I will take it on a couple of trips to the mountains this summer (and of course to a couple of hamfests).  I am not quite ready to go the full economy car route yet (I am currently awaiting delivery of a 2008 CTS with "new" EPA ratings of 17/26 to replace my Olds Aurora) but I don't make unnecessary trips and have cut my monthly driving down to under 800 miles per month which is pretty good considering my rural location.  I do "telecommute" when possible since a big part of my job responsibility is research which I can do just as well at home.

Otherwise, we have a big home which was built in 1901 but it has had significant energy efficiency upgrades and I use a pair of high efficiency propane fired furnaces for zoned heating.  I will probably rely more on the forced air recirculating fireplace in coming winters as I have plenty of free wood.  Except on the very coldest and windiest days the fireplace easily keeps the house warm but there is the hassle of feeding the fire.

The biggest check on energy prices will be our slowing economy also causing China's to slow.  Hopefully we will also learn some lessons from this and become more efficient and add some good alternative fuels.  However, all of the push for ethanol seems to have some strong parallels to the previous push for BPL where lobbying outweighs science; ethanol from corn is a lousy long term solution and ethanol only really makes sense if we sell vehicles that are purpose built to run ethanol (i.e. very high compression ratios to take advantage of the high octane of alcohol) and not a compromise unit designed for petroleum/ethanol mixes.  Set rant mode to off....

Rodger WQ9E

[K3ZS]

From what I have been reading on the economic web sites, the cost of a barrel of oil due to supply and demand without dollar devaluation  would be around $75 a barrel.    The dollar devaluation is caused by government deficit spending and the resulting decrease in demand for the dollar, which lowers its value with regard to world currencies.
The federal reserve has been caught between saving the investment banks and the credit markets, and combating inflation.   It has chosen to save the banks and to lower interest rates.    This leads investors and speculators to increase their demand for hard currency, i.e. stable foreign currencies and commodities (oil, corn etc.)

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I'm not quite sure what "Fuel Oil" has to do with our radio hobby but let's not pull politics, or your political views, into the thread.

From our Rules and Regulations, Item 6:
6. No political or religious posts will be tolerated on this site, unless directly related to our hobby.  There are thousands of sites one can go for that subject matter including the TV or newspaper.  People do not come to AMfone for that.  Frankly, 70% of the posts that created flame wars that were of a political or religious nature were pulled and we don't need that here.

[k4kyv]

If you enjoy participating in political flame wars with other licensed amateurs, try this forum.  It should be more than adequate.   

But this topic is relevant to AM to a certain extent.  We have to pay for the electricity to operate our rigs.  Frankly, I am surprised someone hasn't already started a campaign to have AM outlawed because it "wastes energy" while pushing slopbucket as the "green mode".

(You will notice I didn't say that very loud.)

[W8EJO]

I don't understand what high oil prices have to do with our administration.  Prices are controlled by supply and demand in a free market system. The government isn't raising the price of oil.

I doubt if you really want the government to have control over market prices.

The only thing the government can do is reduce or eliminate the tax on oil, but experts say that is only a temporary solution at best. 

Our government plays a huge role in energy pricing mainly by artificially restricting the supply of energy by outlawing production. If there were laws outlawing the production of new cell phones (or any other product), they too would be prohibitively expensive.

New energy production (and corresponding increased supply) has been shut down by the effective moratorium on nuclear plant licensing. The last plant to come online was the Watts Barr plant in TN. - construction of which started in 1973 and its still only partially online!

New energy production has also been shut down by the outlawing of offshore drilling both at the federal & state level. New energy production has also been shut down by the outlawing of drilling in ANWAR. 

[K3ZS]

I agree with Terry W8EJO.   France has 75%  (http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf40.html) of its electricity  produced by nukes.    Germany has a government policy to promote solar energy electricity by individuals.    Many farmers are using their land for solar cell farms and sell the electricity back to the grid.    I think that rechargeable  cars, either hybrid or pure electric with an on-board generator is the wave of the future.    Also electric heat or heat-pumps will take over from fuel heat.   That will require more electric power produced by nukes which can operate cleanly and without adding CO2 to the atmosphere.   There has been a lot of technology created since the Three Mile Island problem.   If we can make air travel as safe as it is, we ought to be able to engineer safe nuclear power.

[W8EJO]

Nuclear power is the safest type of energy in the world. In the entire history of nuclear there have been 50 deaths total - all in Chyrnoble - a commie state built/run plant.

Compare that to coal, oil, or any other form of electric production and you'll see it is far and away the safest and by far and away the most efficient. Coal mining accidents kill 100's if not 1000's a year worldwide. Oil rig accidents kill many each year.

The answer to our energy problem is right in front of us. It is very frustrating. I hate to see what kind of economy we turn over to our children & grandchildren. It could be devestatingly bad unless we act fast.

At a certian point our economy will slow way down with loss of jobs & standard of living. It is already happening at the lower end of the income scales as people have less to spend on all the myriad products that make our economy hum along and the businesses that make & sell those products start cutting back.

[ka3zlr]

Well,... venting once in awhile is a good thing,  Amateurs do have to put up with what is dealt by the world...guys like to get together and hash things out...right or wrong...

I don't see any challenges to friendships or threats of violence..

hey the leadership could be telling us to ignore it...LOL...like a certain other group who shall remain nameless...LOL....

But.. I do know this much...there isn't a body on this planet that will ever wear anything out that creates it's own lubrication...

[K6JEK]

After a couple of years of just being PO'd about it, our government's inconsistent policies and the idea of sending money to our enemies every time I tank up, I did a few things on my own.   This has greatly improved my attitude:   

1) When my wife's car needed replacing we bought a Prius, a surprisingly comfortable and practical car.   We consistently get 45 - 50 MPG; 

2) I took advantage of the California and Federal subsidies and put a 5 KW PV system on the roof. My electric bill is now zero. In fact, it would be negative if they paid for putting more into the grid than you take out as they do in Germany; 

3) The old furnace needed replacing. I'm in the process of switching to a heat pump which will use up those excess watts (and then some, probably) and will take my natural gas heating bill to zero.   

4) I increased the insulation in the house quite a bit.

5) I use a Class E AM transmitter (OK this a joke. I was doing that anyway)

I had the advantage of having old stuff (cars, furnace) that needed to go. I highly recommend doing whatever you can yourself if for no other reason than reducing one's own grumpiness.

Jon

[W8EJO]

But this topic is relevant to AM to a certain extent.  We have to pay for the electricity to operate our rigs.  Frankly, I am surprised someone hasn't already started a campaign to have AM outlawed because it "wastes energy" while pushing slopbucket as the "green mode".

(You will notice I didn't say that very loud.)

Don,
 
You are more correct than you may think. The government's recent history for the last 40-50 years (without regard to political party) has been to take away freedoms. You can not drill an oil well or build a nuke plant or use an incandescent bulb or have a toilet that will actually flush. I'm sure AM is on some bureaucrats list of things that must go.

For a country that was founded on freedom, we sure seem to be going in the opposite direction as the pols bow to this or that group.

It's well past time we citizen/taxpayers make some noise.

[K1ZJH]

After a couple of years of just being PO'd about it, our government's inconsistent policies and the idea of sending money to our enemies every time I tank up, I did a few things on my own.   This has greatly improved my attitude:   
 
2) I took advantage of the California and Federal subsidies and put a 5 KW PV system on the roof. My electric bill is now zero. In fact, it would be negative if they paid for putting more into the grid than you take out as they do in Germany; 
 
Jon

Jon,

What did the PV system end up costing you after the rebates? Can you show some photos
of the installation?

Pete