EPA response to the Gulf / BP oil spill:
See http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/ I know that the Administrator was down these in the last couple of days, and that there’s a huge gearing up on this issue.
Category: energy
Tree of Damocles:
As per LonOtter’s comments elsewhere. The recent set of bad storms in the Chicago area did a lot of damage in regard to tree breakage; my boss called up on Friday – she was working at home and said that her internet / phone was out, and there was roof damage on her new roof. [...]
Background on Energy: gas and coal
Due to the demand for coal dropping due to the worldwide recession, Ukrainian coal mines are shutting down or not paying their workers, with a large glut of unsold coal. After the Russian company Gazprom decided to play politics with its natural gas supply to the rest of Europe, the Europeans have been connecting up [...]
The Oil price jumps again:
No, it’s not because of the demand, it’s because hedge funds and market speculators who drove it to $4-5 a gallon gas are going back into the market because they think that commodity is going to make money again.
This time, it’s lithum mines:
Sundance: What’s your idea this time? Butch: Bolivia. Sundance: What’s Bolivia? Butch: Bolivia. That’s a country, stupid! In Central or South America, one or the other. Sundance: Why don’t we just go to Mexico instead? Butch: ‘Cause all they got in Mexico is swine flu and there’s too much of that here. Look, if we’d [...]
*whew*
The whole energy-efficient mortgage stuff is done and in the hands of the lenders. I expect to hear from them early next week. Some last minute changes had to be done with the proposal because at the last, certain things didn’t have enough bang-for-the-buck and had to replaced with others. The fallout: storm/screen doors for [...]
Some movement:
After several days of thrashing, I managed to get things moving in a big way on our house refinance; the new contractors got their stuff to the guys at the energy-audit firm, and the energy-audit firm expects to have the final report available to ship to the lenders tomorrow (Friday). *glyph of great relief* This [...]
Modifications and analysis:
Susan went back to the doctor today; she just can’t shake this virus, and while she was feeling better for a few days because she was taking whopping dose of steroids, those are petering off, and she’s really feeling the brunt of the bronchitis and so on. Tired and miserable, and a serious bollix by [...]
I’m really losing my temper on this:
More major delays in the damn Energy-Efficient stuff – just as I thought I had everything lined up and nearly ready to go. The 3rd insulation guy has NOT been responding to my requests to send me a non-messed-up proposal, and even a couple of calls, one to his damn cellphone, isn’t getting anywhere. Lots [...]
Appraisal:
More endless details on the refinance stuff; we had a string of contractors come in to give us estimates, and I was highly unimpressed. The insulation guy didn’t want to fool with anything non-insulation, and then gave us a ridiculously high estimate; this is the I-don’t-want-to-do-it-so-I’ll-price-myself-too-high situation. Another guy with a cheaper sort of insulation [...]
I like this from Obama:
He also made it clear that he won’t let his desire for bipartisanship undermine important initiatives. “I’m an eternal optimist,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I’m a sap.” But beyond his specific policies (and whether one supports them or not), Mr. Obama is emerging as the very model of the type of person one would [...]
The Audit:
The energy audit specifics say tht we spend just under $1000 a year on heating and $131 on cooling, and that the air sealing stuff and insulation that they recommend would save about $475 a year; not insignificant amounts. I don’t trust those cooling numbers, and I have to present to the lender some sort [...]
BzzzzAp!
The Energy Audit people went through the house yesterday starting at 11 am, and froze the life out of us for a couple of hours with their ventilating tricks. We will be seeing the final report in a week or so. I was surprised to find that our main problem isn’t the windows; seems to [...]
Fed up on gas:
The EU is beginning to realize that being so dependant on Russian natural gas is a really bad idea, and are willing to chip in seriously on an alternate NON-Russian pipeline and sourcing from former Soviet states in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Good on them!
Household:
We’re busy with all sort of appointments this week to find an outfit that will bid on some new windows for the house; the place was built in 1960 when energy was cheaper or something, and the Energy Efficient part of the refinancing basically is adding on up to $8000 for house fixes that are [...]