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158 comments on DrumBeat: August 18, 2006

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westexas on August 18, 2006 - 9:42am Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/081806dnbusforeclosure.317270a.html
Foreclosures soar in North Texas

More losing houses because of poor planning, rising expenses

12:11 AM CDT on Friday, August 18, 2006

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
Excerpt:

"There are a lot of people out there who live on the edge," Mr. Roddy said. "If our economy had stayed about the same as when they bought the property, things would probably be going OK for them.

"But add the tremendous increases in the cost of living, driving, cooling and credit cards, and it all turns bad," he said. "And of course, there have been bumps in interest rates which have dramatically impacted payments on adjustable-rate loans."

But most of the foreclosure distress comes from a familiar problem - not enough money at the end of the month.

"Wages are stagnant," said Gail Cunningham, with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas. "And energy costs and other expenses are going through the roof.

"One hiccup can put someone over the edge," Ms. Cunningham said. "We are seeing people with electric bills that are higher than their mortgage."

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odograph on August 18, 2006 - 9:46am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
"One hiccup can put someone over the edge," Ms. Cunningham said. "We are seeing people with electric bills that are higher than their mortgage."

That virus that makes people fat must make them stupid as well.

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fleam on August 19, 2006 - 3:25am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Hey it ain't Newport Beach, their mortgage may be only a few hundred a month if they've been there a while.
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odograph on August 19, 2006 - 8:55am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I guess I had this mental image of someone on the financial edge, blindly running the whole-house air conditioning up to hundreds of dollars a month, and then wondering what happened to all the money.  The article hit the words "poor planning" a few times, which reinforced that.

My small condo's electricity runs about $18/mo, with the computer on too much.  That might be the other source of my boggle.

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westexas on August 18, 2006 - 9:47am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
My e-mail to the Dallas Morning News regarding this story:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Following is a copy of a e-mail to the group of people that helped organize the Simmons/Kunstler Symposium last year on "The unfolding energy crisis and its impact on development patterns."  We brought two nationally known figures on energy and New Urbanism to Dallas.   Among those attending were Boone Pickens and Herbert Hunt.  

In case you have forgotten, the sole DFW media coverage of the Simmons/Kunstler event was by the SMU student newspaper.  I would suggest that you keep that little factoid in mind when you are writing your energy related editorials.  If you are looking for people to blame, I suggest that you start by looking in the mirror.

Copy of e-mail (regarding foreclosures):

 Well, we at least tried to warn them last year, via the Simmons/Kunstler event.   BTW, consulting engineer Alan Drake has some fascinating case histories.  One of them is Switzerland, in the Second World War, when they responded to an almost total disruption of their oil supplies by electrifying their transportation system.  

One of Alan's articles:  http://www.energybulletin.net/14492.html

Swiss citizens, in the Second World War, used about 0.15% of per capita US oil consumption today.  Switzerland is now embarked on a plan to virtually eliminate truck transportation, via continued electrification of transportation.   FYI--a trolley car on rails, even one powered by diesel, is five to eight times more efficient than a bus on wheels.  Electrification provides about another two to three fold increase in efficiency.  

The irony is that we had marvelous electric trolley car systems almost everywhere, including Dallas, up until the post-war period.  Insofar as transportation is concerned, the future is the past.  IMO, soon the only real development game in town will be Transit Oriented Development.  

How about a conference featuring Kunstler and Alan Drake?  Something like New Urbanism and Electrification of Transportation as a Response to the Energy Crisis.  

BTW, I finally obtained a CD of the Simmons/Kunstler interview on KERA.  I'm having it transcribed right now.  I'll send it over to you when it is done.

Jeffrey Brown

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The Interloafer on August 18, 2006 - 10:02am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
That is a great letter Jeffrey. Keep the pressure on.
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VW on August 18, 2006 - 10:40am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
That is a great letter.  Thanks.
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enviro attny on August 18, 2006 - 4:32pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
"only real development game in town will be Transit Oriented Development."

TOD.  A little nod to The Oil Drum huh?

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AlanfromBigEasy on August 18, 2006 - 4:35pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
The "Other TOD", Transit Orientated Development :-)

Like the "Other White Meat" (but kosher)

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entropy on August 18, 2006 - 7:03pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
"Swiss citizens, in the Second World War, used about 0.15% of per capita US oil consumption today."

Somewhat playing devil's advocate -
If that's the case then how critical is oil?  Apparently they didn't need very much.

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AlanfromBigEasy on August 19, 2006 - 3:09pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Switzerland made the strategic decision in the 1920s to electrify their freight railroads.  It paid off during WW II.

In 1998, Switzerland voted (national referundum) to spend 31 billion Swiss francs to drastically improve their already good rail system.  #1 goal (of several) was to get freight off of heavy trucks and onto their (hydro) electric rail.  #2 goal was semi-high speed pax rail from Zurich & Bern to various points.  1 billion CH franc to make rail cars quieter, etc.

Adjusted for population & currency, this is equal to a US vote to spend US$1 trillion on our rail system.

I suspect that this 1998 strategic decision will pay off post-Peak Oil.

Switzerland prepares BEFORE it "has to".

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enviro attny on August 18, 2006 - 4:30pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
"We are seeing people with electric bills that are higher than their mortgage."

I guess turning off the air conditioning to fix that problem isn't a viable option to those people.

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Bitteroldcoot on August 18, 2006 - 4:46pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
When the temperature is 100 degrees. That doesn't seem like a good idea.

If the grid starts falling during the summers we are going to loose baby boomer in droves.  On the other hand, some mid summer grid failures may just fix the whole Social security problem.

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westexas on August 18, 2006 - 5:37pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
The WSJ has a front page story on the status of the electric infrastructure in the US.  There is some electric cable still in use that dates to about 1900.  BTW, peak electricity demand in Texas set a new record yesterday, up about 4.6% over last year.
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Ricko on August 18, 2006 - 6:01pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I owned a business that was burned down by the electric company when a splice in a alumnium cable failed. It was wrapped with tape and corrision had it down to next to nothing and a surge killed it. The interesting thing is that is not started the fire. It was started when a poorly trained tech in a hurry was measuring in the basement to find were the fault was and neglected to re tape the splice there. The cable in the street was from the late 50s. If you are going to have a building burn down have the Electric co. start the fire. It cost them a lot of money and I got a new building. I don't think aluminum underground wiring is a good way to go. The fire would not have gotten out of control if they had still been using two man crews but of course that cost money.  I have since been told  they figure it is cheaper to pay for a new building then pay for two man crews.
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158 comments on DrumBeat: August 18, 2006

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