Energy demand is down sharply – and could stay that way

[lostnotforgotten]

People worldwide are driving less, flying less and using less electricity — but for how long?
By JIM FUQUAY

[e-mail]

Less gasoline. Less jet fuel. Less crude oil. Less natural gas. Less electricity.

At the end of 2008, Americans were getting downright stingy with their energy use. Between wildly volatile energy prices and a deepening recession, Americans are curtailing their renowned reputation for energy consumption in what some believe could be a long-term trend.

The economists’ term for it is "demand destruction." This year’s poster child is driving, as the number of miles driven is showing the biggest drop since the federal government started keeping the statistic.

Between November 2007 and October 2008, Americans drove more than 100 billion fewer miles, a drop of more than 3 percent. The decline was greatest late in the year, with September falling 7 percent and October 4.5 percent.

The result? Gasoline consumption plunged 8.5 percent in September and was down 4 percent in mid-December, the latest figure available from the federal Energy Information Administration.

Snip ...

http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/1119306.html

[glowing]

1. Everyone has learned how to reduce miles and make stops along a path

that makes sense. Now, its a habit even if gas has price has dropped. I find I have the same habits I've had over the last few years ingrained in me now. AND many people are losing jobs; so less trips and less commuting.

[eilen]

2. I drove instead of flying this holiday

I generally hate flying-- actually, using hate using airports and dealing with airlines. The treatment to paying customers is demeaning and everyone is paranoid and angry; quite a bit of negative energy in airports as airliner service had reached new lows this past year. I saw on tv some people stranded by cancelled flights -- years ago when the airline cancelled a flight, they put you up in a nearby hotel. That's how I spent my one night in Chicago, at the Hilton across the street from the airport.


So I don't know, did I use more fuel or less?

[geckosfeet]

3. I am using my fireplace as a primary heat source this winter. Electric is a backup.

Electric bills are WAY down but I do have to buy wood etc. and deal with the hassle of splitting, storing, and starting a fire every morning.

[8 track mind]

4. There is going to be

some good coming out of this. The higher energy prices forced people to conserve and it brought up the fact that oil is a finite resource. It has people thinking seriously of alternative forms of energy and/or energy independence. My dad, who never really gave much of a thought to alternative energy, just recently had a solar powered water pump installed. He's also considering a solar water heater and wind generator. As for me, i started riding my motorcycles more, even on long trips. i also got my alcohol fuel producers permit from the BATF and i converted my old chevy van into flex fuel vehicle.

Again this has people thinking seriously about energy independence and conservation. i truly hope we can keep the momentum going.

[4dsc]

5. Energy independence is a farse

And a very bad hoax being played out on many US citizens.. There is no way in hell a country as large as the USA ever becomes energy independent... Not even close..

[geckosfeet]

9. Yeah. It's a farce too!

Lets just say fuck it and stay on this train to hell.

[4dsc]

10. Reality bites doesn't it...

If you cannot be a realist on this subject then you are truly lost..

[geckosfeet]

11. Oh. Thanks for the pearls of wisdom.

[tama]

18. Reality bites

You are correct that US cannot be energy independent.
But you fail to mention that US - or any other country - cannot be dependent on non-sustainable energy.

Conclusion - US fails, and so will also other modern countries.

[bertman]

12. 4dsc, that statement is correct only if you look at energy usage in the short-term future.

Long term, with the development and adoption of alternative energy solutions such as geothermal, solar, wind, tidal, natural gas and, equally as important, new approaches to HOW we use energy and how we can conserve, it will be possible to be energy independent.

How long is "long term"? That depends on the commitment we are willing to make to that goal.

[4dsc]

17. I am speaking to the long term

So called alternative will never amount of more than a mear fraction of the total energy usage in the USA!!

If you don't understand the total energy needs of the US, then you don't understand how and why so called alternatives will never amount to much.. But to keep it simple, how do you replace 20 MILLION BARRELS OF OIL PER DAY that we use in here in the good ole USA?? If you answer that question honestly, you'll understand where I'm coming from..

[northernlights]

20. bullshit

Thin film solar went commercial this year. It was cost effective last year before the huge runup in oil; and even more cost effective solar technology will to follow. Just about every rooftop in the US could be generating electricity at least part time.

Cost effective, efficient & safe hydrolysis, powered 100% solar, will be here within 10 years.

We have multiple large wind corridors in the US (for Pickens to exploit) and smaller ones distributed throughout. Right here in Maine we have 3 wind corridors, long sunny solar days (even midwinter with short, low sun my solar outdoor lights have stayed bright until dawn).

Canada has been researching tidal power in the Bay of Bundy -- don't know how that's going, but both coasts have potential for that.

We should be using what's left of our oil to build tomorrow's technologies.

[greenman3610]

6. This is a national trend, noted in the Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122722654497346099.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo

An unexpected drop in U.S. electricity consumption has utility companies worried that the trend isn't a byproduct of the economic downturn, and could reflect a permanent shift in consumption that will require sweeping change in their industry.
---
To be sure, electricity use fluctuates with the economy and population trends. But what has executives stumped is that recent shifts appear larger than others seen previously, and they can't easily be explained by weather fluctuations. They have also penetrated the most stable group of consumers -- households.

Dick Kelly, chief executive of Xcel Energy Inc., Minneapolis, says his company, which has utilities in Colorado and Minnesota, saw home-energy use drop 3% in the period from August through September, "the first time in 40 years I've seen a decline in sales" to homes. He doesn't think foreclosures are responsible for the trend.

Duke Energy Corp.'s third-quarter electricity sales were down 5.9% in the Midwest from the year earlier, including a 9% drop among residential customers. At its utilities operating in the Carolinas, sales were down 4.3% for the three-month period ending Sept. 30 from a year earlier.

[Cronopio]

7. Gee, nosebleed prices motivates consumers to *not* buy your product?

Or less of it? Whoda thunkit?

[acmavm]

8. The high price of energy was a scam.

[lostnotforgotten]

13. Another Peak Oil Denier Speaks - What Sayeth You O' Oil Market Sear?

eom

[acmavm]

14. Who denied the 'peak oil' mantra? I agree. Tower of Power said it best.

There's Only So Much Oil in the Ground. BACK IN 1970s!

BUT, we ain't there yet. And we still have time to invest in developing alternative fuel sources. We've had time for a long time. WE used to have the money, Wall Street has that.

But again, we ain't there YET. But the scammers will prevent enough money being spent on putting them out of work. This nation's most powerful families are oil families and energy company families. They've made sure that our economy has propped them up and their suppliers (Saudi Arabia come directly to mind) at the expense of the rest of us. And they will continue to make sure our tax dollars are spent drilling for oil, not looking for a safe substitute.

[lostnotforgotten]

15. Agreed - However, The Run-Up In Oil Prices This Last Summer Was Classic Supply And Demand

eom

[acmavm]

16. No supply because oil company refineries weren't producing. Another

engineered 'shortage'. And they cashed in on it like the thieves they are. Record profits every fucking quarter.

Sheesh.

[Fearless]

19. Nothing, unfortunately, is permenant

As soon as we forget, it will come back. I cite the rise in SUV sales.