Conservation Works

[Orange_Juice]

Even a Republican should be able to understand why gas prices are starting to fall. Americans, who use and waste more energy than anyone on the planet, started to cut back, and PRESTO! Prices fell.

Look at what Blue State California is doing:

While a few states have energy-efficiency strategies, none matches what California has done. In the past three decades, electricity consumption per capita grew 60 percent in the rest of the nation, while it stayed flat in high-tech, fast-growing California. If all Americans had the same per capita electricity demand as Californians currently do, we would cut electricity consumption 40 percent. If the entire nation had California's much cleaner electric grid, we would cut total U.S. global-warming pollution by more than a quarter without raising American electric bills. And if all of America adopted the same energy-efficiency policies that California is now putting in place, the country would never have to build another polluting power plant.

How did California do it? In part, a smart California Energy Commission has promoted strong building standards and the aggressive deployment of energy-efficient technologies and strategies -- and has done so with support of both Democratic and Republican leadership over three decades.

Many of the strategies are obvious: better insulation, energy-efficient lighting, heating and cooling. But some of the strategies were unexpected. The state found that the average residential air duct leaked 20 to 30 percent of the heated and cooled air it carried. It then required leakage rates below 6 percent, and every seventh new house is inspected. The state found that in outdoor lighting for parking lots and streets, about 15 percent of the light was directed up, illuminating nothing but the sky. The state required new outdoor lighting to cut that to below 6 percent. Flat roofs on commercial buildings must be white, which reflects the sunlight and keeps the buildings cooler, reducing air-conditioning energy demands. The state subsidized high-efficiency LED traffic lights for cities that lacked the money, ultimately converting the entire state.

Significantly, California adopted regulations so that utility company profits are not tied to how much electricity they sell. This is called "decoupling." It also allowed utilities to take a share of any

Energy efficiency, electricity, power plants | Salon News

 

[Chris]

Damn blue state weenies saving America's energy and sh*t!

 

[DiamondDave]

Nah... couldn't have anything to do with anything else... just short term conservation

couldn't be that the price of crude dropped, or that speculators keep an eye on the fact that Americans want to drill more while we look for alternative fuel technologies to ACTUALLY be viable in the big picture, etc

what enviro-nazi propaganda

Conserve more... I'm all for it... but it is not why gas has fallen about $0.10 in the past week

 

[Orange_Juice]

Nah... couldn't have anything to do with anything else... just short term conservation

couldn't be that the price of crude dropped, or that speculators keep an eye on the fact that Americans want to drill more while we look for alternative fuel technologies to ACTUALLY be viable in the big picture, etc

what enviro-nazi propaganda

Conserve more... I'm all for it... but it is not why gas has fallen about $0.10 in the past week

Consuption dropped, lowering demand, thus a lower price.

DUH!

 

[CA95380]

Even a Republican should be able to understand why gas prices are starting to fall. Americans, who use and waste more energy than anyone on the planet, started to cut back, and PRESTO! Prices fell.

Look at what Blue State California is doing:




Energy efficiency, electricity, power plants | Salon News

hmmn .... they must live in a different State of California, than I do Prices fell? When??? They sure didn't at my house!

 

[BrianH]

Consuption dropped, lowering demand, thus a lower price.

DUH!

Many on here argue that increasing the supply by drilling in Alaska and offshore would not do anything to lower the price. But according to your economic theory it should. When supply is greater than the demand, prices are low. What you are saying, is that people are not purchasing as much gas, therefore the demand has dropped, and the supply is growing. I'm not sure which to believe.

My studies in economics would teach me that drivers "cutting back" would decrease demand and increase supply (do to lack of purchases-and additions by plants). However, I also wonder why liberals would go against this same economic theory when conservatives talk about wanting to increase the supply by drilling more. It sounds like many are cherry-picking.

I'm not quite sure if American's have cut back on gas. One cut-back in consumption in one area does not generalize the entire nation. I am glad that prices are falling, however, IMO...I believe that it's simply a game to everyone involved in the oil business. They're lowering it slightly to satisfy us...not to mention, 3.68 looks fantastic compared to 4.00 a gallon. They'll continue to raise prices and then lower them to make it seem as though gas prices have fallen. I won't consider the gas prices "fallen" until they reach about .89 cents a gallon.

 

[Orange_Juice]

hmmn .... they must live in a different State of California, than I do Prices fell? When??? They sure didn't at my house!

The point is that if effeciency had not been imposed fast growing California would have seen more use, higer costs and more pollution. Conservation has kept usage flat even while economic growth has increased

 

[Orange_Juice]

My studies in economics would teach me that drivers "cutting back" would decrease demand and increase supply (do to lack of purchases-and additions by plants). However, I also wonder why liberals would go against this same economic theory when conservatives talk about wanting to increase the supply by drilling more. It sounds like many are cherry-picking.

.

The theory is sound. Your numbers, or lack of, are not though. Cutting back can save massive amounts of oil that can never be replaced. Drilling will only bring so much oil to the surface to be used. We possess 3% of the world's known reserves yet use 25% of the oil. You do the math. Where is there more room for improvement, the supply or demand side?

On top of that, with China's economy growing by 10% a year there is no way the world can even think of meeting that demand without serious conservation efforts

 

[DiamondDave]

Consuption dropped, lowering demand, thus a lower price.

DUH!

You ignorant buffoon...

Let us see where demand has decreased one deciliter... or where total consumption has decreased even that same small amount... we'll be waiting

I think bobo has finally found a playmate of similar ilk

 

[BrianH]

The theory is sound. Your numbers, or lack of, are not though. Cutting back can save massive amounts of oil that can never be replaced. Drilling will only bring so much oil to the surface to be used. We possess 3% of the world's known reserves yet use 25% of the oil. You do the math. Where is there more room for improvement, the supply or demand side?

On top of that, with China's economy growing by 10% a year there is no way the world can even think of meeting that demand without serious conservation efforts

So let me get this straight. My "lack" of numbers are not sound? That's like saying "The statement you did not state is not true." I wasn't crunching any numbers or discrediting your OP genius.

If you'd read the post...I said some liberals will claim that by increasing supply, the price will do nothing...which is a fallacy in regards to Keynesian Ecnomic Theory. They only do this, presuming, that if supply increases, demand will increase. Which is retarded, because consumers have no frickin clue what supply is, and would not therefore increase their purchasing of it based on something that is not contempated on when they decide if they'll buy gasoline or not. In the same breath, they'll say that the demand has decreased, so the price is falling. No matter which way you look at it--in the end, supply is increasing and is more than the demand. I'm not disagreeing with you, but asking why liberals or conservatives for that matter, cherry-pick information.

At the end of the day, conserving or drilling increases the supply over the demand. But, now it's ok because it fits a liberal agenda and/or talking point.

 

[Bern80]

The theory is sound. Your numbers, or lack of, are not though. Cutting back can save massive amounts of oil that can never be replaced. Drilling will only bring so much oil to the surface to be used. We possess 3% of the world's known reserves yet use 25% of the oil. You do the math. Where is there more room for improvement, the supply or demand side?

On top of that, with China's economy growing by 10% a year there is no way the world can even think of meeting that demand without serious conservation efforts

Let's see here. "Cutting back can save massive amounts of oil that can be replaced.'....with even more oil if we started drilling...

There is room for both. We haven't touched a majority of the oil we have immediate access to in our own borders.

 

[TopGunna]

Crude Oil prices have dropped to $122/barrel, which is a pretty big drop compared to its peak price.

American consumption of gasoline has decreased slightly since the prices spiked, but the price of oil is set by the global market, not just the U.S. A 1-2% decrease in U.S. consumption wouldn't trigger a 16% drop in world oil prices.

Furthermore, gas retailers aren't going to drop prices to the point that they're losing money. The reason prices are dropping is because input costs (read: crude oil) are dropping.