Pemex said crude oil exports fell to 1.776 million barrels per day from 1.831 million bpd in May, while production dropped to 3.287 million bpd from 3.329 million bpd in May.

Can't Stop Guzzling: Rising prices are supposed to curtail consumption. So why doesn't that hold true for American drivers?

Gasoline keeps getting more expensive, but Americans keep buying more of it. They bought 10% more gasoline in the first half of 2006 than in the first half of 2000 even though the price at the pump rose 75%. It isn't just essential trips, either--leisure travel remains strong. Gasoline consumption during the week of the Fourth of July holiday this summer was 2% higher than a year ago.

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/38981/

Economists from the Clinton era were once the biggest cheerleaders for free trade and pro-business policies -- but now economic uncertainties have them singing a different cheer.

Rubin now freely acknowledges what the American establishment for many years denied or dismissed as inconsequential--globalization's role in generating the thirty-year stagnation of US wages, squeezing middle-class families and below, while directing income growth mainly to the upper brackets.

Where there's a great deal of insecurity, where median real wages are, roughly speaking, stagnant...where a recent Pew poll showed 55 percent of the American people think their kids will be worse off than they are, I think there is a real danger of heightened difficulty around issues that are already difficult, like trade.... Look at the difficulty around immigration."

I think the 55% is staggering.  PO will not make this easier, so at least we're starting to wake up that things aren't always going to get better.

Of course there is political wrangling about just which taxes to raise (property or sales, with or without a hotel tax supplement).  

I think that they are optimistic about Federal Match Funding (probably OK with R control, but not with D control of the feds IMVHO).  But this is enough money to build all 4 new lines with minimal federal contributions by 2019 or so.

Today SLC has one long (19 mile from memory) Light Rail line that is a major success and a commuter rail line close to opening.

There are more Urban Rail lines (cimmuter & streetcars) past the four new (5 total) Light Rail lines above, but these will be the "core".
================
    TRAX is on track to arrive on ballot
    Vote expected today: Major hurdles remain, but it appears the county will let voters have a say
    By Derek P. Jensen
    The Salt Lake Tribune
    Salt Lake Tribune

  Want to take TRAX to Draper or West Valley City? How about jumping aboard from the Jordans, perhaps for work? Or hitching a rail ride to the airport?
  It's up to you.
  Government leaders are expected to vote today to place the proposed $895 million TRAX expansion on November's ballot, according to a straw poll of the Salt Lake County Council.
  "It's the right thing to do," Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said Monday.
   If voters agree, the Salt Lake Valley will see four new light-rail routes - to Draper, West Valley City, West Jordan-South Jordan and Salt Lake City International Airport - by 2014.
  The property-tax price for the ride: $108 more a year on a $200,000 home.
  One possible hitch: It may not be legal.
  A question looms over whether the county can issue a near-billion-dollar bond for an asset it does not own and turn it over to the Utah Transit Authority. The District Attorney's Office will issue an opinion by Aug. 1.
  Meanwhile, most council members point to polls showing the public wants to see TRAX at the ballot booth. One, conducted for UTA, put that number above 90 percent.
  "That's almost incontrovertible," Councilman Randy Horiuchi said Monday. "I'm totally on board."
  And a Salt Lake Tribune poll in June revealed 60 percent of county voters would approve the bond measure.
  Monday's survey of the council signals that all four Democrats and at least one Republican - David Wilde - plan to approve the ballot move.
  "That's terrific," UTA spokesman Justin Jones said. "We've worked very hard to put together a plan to bring TRAX throughout Salt Lake County 15 to 20 years ahead of schedule."
  Without the tax boost, transportation planners note the new TRAX lines would not be completed until 2030.
   Despite the apparent council support, the funding mechanism continues to be contentious.
  Councilman Mark Crockett worries the proposal would "max out" the county's bonding capacity and take flexibility away from school districts.
  Several council members and some state lawmakers prefer tapping sales taxes for TRAX expansion.
   Council Chairman Cort Ashton fears the property-tax plan would dissuade businesses from relocating to Utah. A finance model from the county reveals the annual tax bump on a business worth $1 million would exceed $1,200; $6,400 on a $5 million business.
  "It's a step backward in economic development," Ashton said. "We may be shooting ourselves in the foot."
  To avoid that, Councilman Joe Hatch vows to float language giving the county the ability to switch to a sales-tax source or even hotel taxes to pay off the TRAX bond if the Legislature signs off.
  House Speaker Greg Curtis has said he would like to hold a special legislative session to discuss funding - he prefers using sales tax - if the council places the TRAX bond on the ballot.
  "We're pleased that they're moving ahead," Salt Lake Chamber President Lane Beattie said. "But we're hoping that between now and November, the Legislature can come up with something that makes more sense."
  Another issue is federal matching funds.
  Hatch explains UTA would be eligible for more once voters approve the tax.
  "There is really no alternative in light of the requirements of federal funding matches that we can do this on the cheap," he said. "We have to ask for all of it upfront."
  But Hatch, like Curtis, is interested in funneling hotel taxes, which he projects to be worth $160 million over a 25-year bond.
  "That's $160 million that won't have to be raised in property tax," he said.
  If the Legislature decides to use hotel cash, perhaps in a special session, it could spell the end for a Sandy soccer stadium, which relies on that pot of public money.
  Still, before any money could be steered toward TRAX, it must be approved by the bond counsel, notes Karl Hendrickson, attorney for the County Council.
  The legal question, Ashton says, is a "pretty significant one."
       djensen@...

       Who plans to put the TRAX bond on the ballot?

       * Cort Ashton - No
       * Jim Bradley - Yes
       * Mark Crockett - No
       * Joe Hatch - Yes
       * Marv Hendrickson - Unknown
       * Randy Horiuchi - Yes
       * Michael Jensen - Undecided
       * David Wilde - Yes
       * Jenny Wilson - Yes

URL is:

http://www.sltrib.com/utahpolitics/ci_4064557

The Bush administration and its supporters have strongly and consistently denied that taking over Iraq's oil was a major (or even minor) factor in the decision to invade and occupy Iraq.

However, some analysts have suggested that the real Anglo-US strategy with respect to Iraq's oil was to install a government and constitution that would grant P.S.A.s (Production Sharing Agreements) to Anglo-US oil companies.

PSA's are normally used where the host country has insufficient funds/technology for exploration and development, or where there is great risk that the investment in exploration will pay off.

This and this are two articles that expound on PSA's in the context of Iraq.

Per those articles, companies with PSA's pay the host country as little as 1% of the "value" of the oil/gas extracted.  A while ago, CBS 60 Minutes reported that Equatorial Guinea's dictator received 12% from ExxonMobil and Marathon (WaPo article). That, however, is sufficient to keep the tyrant and his mafia in power and luxury.

Does this claim of the Anglo-US strategy have any validity?

I have written what was done with a diagram of the few solutions I try to implement here.  I will probably be able to relate my work after the next 2 weeks,  I'm one of the organizer of the International Swimming marathon in Roberval. I organize the day camp for youngsters, organize a parade and a beach party.  Yes, I'm busy.

Well you can get a sense of what I'm doing regarding peak oil at this web site.  This is a new posting for the relocalization network.  I hope it will help some of you.
Pascal Gagnon new blog

Just read the 2nd post and download the solution diagram, it's one of the best diagram of the mental representation of part of the solution regarding peak oil.  It's more a systemic approach than a silver bullet solution.  Since we all know peak oil is a systemic problem, only a system wide solution can give us some headroom.

It may not apply for you all but some of it is good.  I can do it because I know a lot of people but don't underestimate what you can do at the local level.  That's what's driving me!

Have a good day|

Pascal

0-60 in 4 seconds
250 miles on a single charge
100,000 miles battery lifetime
about 1 cent per mile at current electric rates
135 mpg equivalent
130 mph top speed

The era of the electric car may be about to arrive. The only question is how long it will last.

The United States and its partners would also lease reactor fuel to other countries, which would then return their spent fuel to be reprocessed.

California has a voluntary program where they automatically cycyle your ac off around peak demand. You get a $25 credit for signing up for this service.  Perhaps they should raise the credit or mandate this throughout the state. I wonder how many people keep their house at 70 degrees while they ar at work.

A shame, and this probably has a lot to do with global warming --- Denver used to be largely AC free, well into the 70s.  Yes, there were always a few days that were uncomfortable, but for most of the summer it was cool enough to get along without ac, especially if your house had plenty of trees and you had, say a screen porch to keep the breezes up.  Now, virtually all new houses have ac and most old houses. This is exacerbated by the prevalence of thousands of new homes and dozen of new subdivisions with the no trees out in the middle of nowhere.  Code is most places is still 4 inches of insulation in the walls.  Go figure.  Insulate first. Increase capacity only when absolutely necessary.

oy.

To help prevent blackouts, companies cut their power
Program gives monetary rewards to participants

By DAVID B. CARUSO
Associated Press

N EW YORK - As the mercury climbed and air conditioners devoured a near-record amount of electricity this week, the operators of New York City's power grid sent out an alert: More juice.

Grocery stores immediately dimmed their lights. Hospitals switched on emergency generators. At one 35-story skyscraper in Times Square, managers darkened the blazing billboards that illuminate Broadway, even during the day.

By 1 p.m. on Tuesday, those efforts had reduced the load on the system by an estimated 650 megawatts -- enough power for about 650,000 homes.

"It gave us the relief we needed in our peak hour," said Ken Klapp, a spokesman for the New York Independent System Operator, which controls the state's power grid.

The dramatic conservation effort was no spontaneous act of altruism.

Under growing programs now in place in several states, grid operators are paying select customers to conserve energy during periods of extreme stress on the system.

Some big users of electricity, like factories and college campuses, can get checks worth tens of thousands of dollars for guaranteeing power savings for a few hours on the few days a year when the grid is stretched to the limit, as it was this week during the heat wave.

Without such programs, power companies might have to cut voltage or resort to rolling blackouts to ease the load on the system.

This year, companies in the New York ISO's "demand response" program -- started in 2001 -- have committed themselves to saving up to 1,470 megawatts in a pinch.

"That's equivalent to the largest power plants in the state," Klapp said.

Demand response programs are not the average homeowner; participants need to prove they can deliver fairly substantial savings.

Specialty companies have emerged to help carry out the program. In five years, Boston-based EnerNOC has signed up about 150 clients, including grocery stores and state universities in California.

From its command centers, the company can monitor and adjust the electrical use of its customers, including dimming lights, adjusting the air conditioning and turning on emergency generators.

When the New York ISO called for a power down on Tuesday, the managers of 750 Seventh Ave. switched off the dazzling electric billboards that hang over the sidewalks on three sides of the building. In 15 minutes, with the help of other adjustments, the building had reduced its power use by 250 kilowatts, enough to run 200 to 250 homes.

And you know what? It's TRUE! Now that I've been converted to seeing this new reality, I see that all the above posts, and all the above links are crammed with sex! It's positively pornographic! (Very erotic, very stimulating!)

Thank you Matt, for opening my eyes ;-)

Objective 1 - get re-elected at next election at any cost
Objective 2 - appear green and concerned about CO2 emmissions - build renewable power sources with EROEI as close to 1 as possible
Objective 3 - maximise tax take from energy to fill black hole in the books
Objective 4 - don't at any cost upset voters - so don't increase fuel taxes
Objective 5 - maximise tax take from energy - so introduce windfall tax on the energy producers
Objective 6 - use some of tax raised above to incentivise the energy producers
Objective 7 - use even more of taxes raised above to subsidise public transportation - mainly airport expansions to transport public to holiday destinations in the sun, and roads to transport public to supermarkets to buy strawberries grown in Spain and California
Objective 8 - ensure security of energy supply - invade Iraq
Objective 9 - hide what is really going on by creating international and climate turmoil - lining up events to blame high energy prices on
Objective 10 - take credit for the clever startegy of bringing the sun and Sahara like conditions to the UK (for those of have not heard the English are being fried - in Aberdeen today it is the usual 15C)
Objective 11 - blame energy shortages on the Tories

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/angelinos_rejoice.php

www.jibjab.com

Check out all 6 of the flash movies listed under `classic jibjab' - if you only have the time to watch one go with `2-0-5' as it has the most relevance to current affairs but they are very well done. Very creative humour.

In the coming years, the world is going to be faced with declining petroleum supplies. What are the prospects for alternative energy sources to fill the gap that will result after oil production peaks? Can we emulate Brazil and farm our way to energy independence? What are the risks of having our fuel supplies compete with our food supplies? Should we turn coal and gas into liquid fuels? I will take a critical look at these questions, and many more surrounding the debate over our future energy supplies.

I have 45 minutes, and I intend to drive Peak Oil home to the audience, as well as debunk some alternative energy myths. Any ideas or suggestions for incorporating into the lecture are appreciated.

Cheers,

RR

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/07/20/D8IVQ8Q85.html
Drudge:  Israel Hints at a Full-scale Invasion

Spanish firm claims it can make oil from plankton

A Spanish company claimed on Thursday to have developed a method of breeding plankton and turning the marine plants into oil, providing a potentially inexhaustible source of clean fuel.

Vehicle tests are some time away because the company, Bio Fuel Systems, has not yet tried refining the dark green coloured crude oil phytoplankton turn into, a spokesman said.

Later it was reported that the warning about any possible tsunami actually came to be known by the Minister of Research and Technology, Kusmayanto Kadiman, through an SMS from the Japanese Meteorological Department 20 minutes before the actual tsunami hit the beach of Pangandaran, Cilacap and its neighboring areas. He even received similar warning from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. But he did not inform anyone about this information and instead only reveal about the SMS after the tragedy struck. No official warning about this tsunami. The government knew about the danger but they did not announce it.

Answering reporters' questions as to why no warning was issued on Monday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla claimed there was no need because most people had fled inland after the earthquake, fearing a tsunami. However, of dozens of people interviewed by The Associated Press in Pangandaran on Tuesday, only one person said he felt a slight tremor. None said there was a mass movement of people to higher ground before the tsunami, though some residents recognized the danger when they saw the wall of water approaching.

http://www.agoravox.com/article.php3?id_article=4987

Kusmayanto Kadiman, the minister of science and technology, said in Jakarta that Indonesia had received the bulletins 45 minutes before the tsunami hit but that officials had not announced them to avoid causing unnecessary alarm, The Associated Press reported him as saying.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/world/asia/20indo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Soon after the initial earthquake, which caused tremors both on Java and underwater, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Hawaii warned Indonesia of a possible tsunami wave. But Indonesian officials, who received detection equipment and technical assistance after the 2004 Aceh disaster, were unable to put the technology to timely use.

Surono, an official of the Meteorology and Geophysics department, said the tsunami detector was not functioning when the killer waves struck. He said one reason for the government's inadequate response was a strong belief among scientists that Java's south coast was a tsunami-free region. "Our predictions were wrong," said Surono.

Kusmayanto Kadiman, minister for science and technology, said the government did not react to the PTWC's alert because it wanted to avoid creating panic and alarm.

"Had the tsunami not occurred, what would have happened?" he asked while speaking to reporters in Jakarta.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/HG21Ae01.html

I guess we'd better get used to lame excuses.

CNN.com asked users for their ideas on the best way to fuel America and break the country's dependence on fossil fuels, especially from foreign sources. Here is a sampling of the responses...

Not bad, really.  Many of the e-mails they picked seem to have some grasp of the problem.

Like this one:

Do American policy makers and politicians realize that since 1966, we have added 100 million people to the U.S. -- all energy consumers? If the Senate amnesty bill becomes law, we can expect (to add) 60 million to over 100 million people to the U.S. -- all energy consumers -- just over the next 20 years! We must cut domestic consumption and develop alternative sources of energy. But what progress can we achieve if we cut consumption by half while we allow the U.S. population to double? There are no alternative sources of energy that can cope with unlimited population growth! Therefore, any real solution to our energy problems must be accompanied by serious measures to curb legal and illegal immigration, the driving force behind the U.S. population growth.

The ground is shifting under Ford Motor. Again. And it is unclear--seemingly even to executives--how the company is going to get its footing.

Only six months into the automaker's second restructuring plan in four years, Ford is already working to overhaul it. Sales of the company's high-profit trucks and sport utility vehicles have slid faster than Ford expected.

... Ford is "trying to figure out just what's happening in this industry," said Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford ...

But, they're still not getting it.

Ford is very excited about a pair of crossover vehicles slated to debut later this year, SUVs built on car chassis called the Ford Edge and the Lincoln MKX. The Lincoln is particularly sharp, and Fields says of the Edge, "We think we will have the definitive crossover in that segment."

http://tinyurl.com/jw6cw (Forbes)

Stuart's SA production/rig count chart, linked above, has more than one possible explanation. The facts are not in dispute - the number of rigs drilling for oil is up 144% since November, 2004 while output is down 6% over the past three months.  Here is the tale I would tell...

In April, 2004, and following a ragged decline in the Kingdom's output that began from a peak the year before, the young hands (TYH) realized that overall field declines could not be compensated by the number of rigs working in the Kingdom.  So, with some temerity, they requested a meeting with His Almost Excellency (HAE), ARAMCO's No. 2.  In due course the meeting was held in HAE's cavernous office.
    After the usual lengthy salutations, TYH produced their charts and data.  HAE carelessly waived it all away, with the following instructions: "First, we must maintain the Kingdom's credibility, and there have been some questions.  We must increase output to support His Excellency's trip to Geneva next month, where we will reassure the markets.  However, I recognize you do have some technical difficulties; you may seek advice from The Wise Old Hand" (TWOH.)  
A quiet murmur spread among TYH - TWOH was legendary; it was said he made all important decisions regarding the Kingdom's oil development from the time the infidels were kicked out a generation earlier up to his retirement in 2000. None of them had ever even seen him - he had been a hermit even before he retired.  Meeting with TWOH would be something they could tell their grandchildren about.

In due course TYH met with TWOH, crowding into his modest living room at his Spartan residence in a quiet, middle-class neighborhood in Jeddah, close to the Red Sea.  This time, salutations were brief and their charts were carefully examined.  TWOH began, "the solution is simple; add a stream from the tank farms", when he was interrupted by one of TYH.  "We must save this reserve for dire emergency, such as when Saddam invaded Kuwait!", at which TWOH thundered, "let me finish!"
Beginning again, and this time without interruption, TWOH described his plan:  "We are now facing around 10% overall annual field decline, and our 18 rigs drilling new holes can only compensate for a decline of 6%.  So, we need 36 rigs to allow a 2% yoy increase, or 54 for an 8% annual increase.  I propose we triple the number of rigs but meanwhile drain the tank farms to allow us to meet the Kingdom's commitments.  We will be able to stop draining the farms before we get to 36 rigs, and will be able to rapidly refill the farms when we get to 54.  Do the math - we just need a few more rigs."

And so it was done. Of course, draining the farms was almost instantaneous, so by June, 2004 production was at 9.5mmb/d, where it stayed.  New rigs took longer; first, the vaunted SA bureaucracy, including most of its ministries as well as the Crown Prince and his advisors, had to approve a) the request and b) the funding, get bids, have the rigs transferred, etc, but by December, 2005 the first arrived.  Indeed, by March, 2006, the number had climbed to 42.  However, at this point the farms had drained and were no longer able to add to production, and meanwhile production continued to decline in spite of the new rigs.  TYH again requested a meeting with (the new) HAE.
Salutations were briefer, less complimentary.  TYH' spokesman said, "we now have 42 rigs, but output is once again declining at over 10%/year.  We need to consult with TWOH again."  HAE replied, "sadly for us all, TWOH is in paradise.  I will advise His Excellency to issue a statement explaining that we have no buyers for some of our heavy oil.  Meanwhile, we must continue TWOH's plan.  I will authorize more rigs until production stabilizes and we can refill the farms.  We just need a few more rigs."  Quietly, in a nervous refrain, TYH echoed, "we just need a few more rigs."

Note - for this tale to fully explain the chart, SA must have had around 400mmb in their tank farms, or 45 days of their production, and the number I heard from somewhere is 100mmb.