Trying to get a better handle on New Mexico’s energy resources, I recently spent a bunch of time learning about coal here. The results, a broad overview story in today’s Journal business section, are an attempt to answer the underlying question of what effect permanently higher energy prices might have on coal mining in a …
Falling oil prices are good for the US economy, right? I can fill up my tank for less, and the inflation rate won’t be quite so bonkers, right? James Hamilton on the dark side: But really the key question for purposes of assessing the economic consequences of falling oil prices is, Why did oil prices …
There’s a hint of fall in the air right now. They’re roasting chiles across the street from my parents’ house, and the temperature dropped below 60 a couple of times this week (16C). I’ve been working on a piece for the paper on energy-saving steps you can take to get ready for higher natural gas …
Apparently, when the price of something goes up, consumption goes down. Who knew?
The United States has undergone a remarkable petroleum belt-tightening in the face of rising oil prices. We’re down 800,000 barrels per day over the first six months of 2008 compared to year-ago numbers, the largest drop in 26 years, according to EIA. But in global terms, oil consumption continues to rise despite the 2008 price …
Looks like those darn speculators are messing with the price of oil again: The latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed a large jump in bets by hedge funds on oil prices falling.
Kurt Zenz House lays out the reasons to both laud France’s insight 30 years ago to go nuclear, as well as be concerned: So today, France looks rather smart. It acted decisively in the 1970s to limit its dependence on fossil fuels, and now it’s better positioned than any other non-oil-exporting power to deal with …
Just playing with a chart from a Google spreadsheet. Data source: EIA
Larry Rohter had a story in the New York Times over the weekend that began to answer one of the questions I’ve had about the embedded energy costs in the things we buy: The cost of shipping a 40-foot container from Shanghai to the United States has risen to $8,000, compared with $3,000 early in …
Continue reading ‘Global Supply Chains Hit by High Energy Costs’ »
A remarkable graph from the latest International Energy Agency Oil Market Report: The purple line is total monthly vehicle miles travelled in the United States. The blue is percentage change year-over-year.