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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: energy costs

energy costs stories: 12 news summaries

 New Google Mirrors 
 May Cut Solar Power Costs 

Would focus sun's energy to produce heat, steam

Sep 10, 09 10:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Google is working on new mirrors to make solar thermal power significantly cheaper, Reuters reports. If it works, the technology could reduce the cost of building a plant to draw power from the sun by 25% or more. “We've been looking at very unusual materials for the mirrors both... More »

MORE ABOUT:
energy • Google • electricity • solar power • energy costs • Bill Weihl

Alaska's Legislature Overrides Palin Stimulus Veto

Legislature barely hits rare 75% consensus

Aug 11, 09 7:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Alaska’s legislature voted yesterday to override Sarah Palin’s veto of $28 million in stimulus cash to defray energy costs, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Such an override requires the support of 75% of votes; the measure passed by a hair. “Instead of being the last state in... More »

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Alaska • veto • mutiny • state legislature • veto override • economic stimulus package • Sarah Palin • energy costs • financial crisis



 Winds of Change 
 Could Power 
 Energy Shift 

US gets only 1% of power from wind, but that could soon change

Feb 11, 09 10:56 AM CST
(Newser) - Wind turbines only provide 1% of power in the US, but advances by other nations might there's a push to up that number after the advances made by other nations. When storms pound Spain, wind-driven power provides up to a quarter of the nation's supply, driving down the cost of... More »

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Spain • renewable energy • wind power • energy costs • turbines • wind farm

Global Demand for Oil Expected to Plummet

Consumption will drop in consecutive years; first time in 3 decades

Dec 9, 08 6:03 PM CST
(Newser) - The price of oil continued its descent today, settling at $42.07 a barrel amid new signs of collapsing demand worldwide, the Financial Times reports. Global consumption will shrink by 50,000 barrels a day in 2008 and by a whopping 450,000 barrels a day in 2009, the Energy... More »

MORE ABOUT:
OPEC • energy costs • Big Oil • oil prices • oil demand

Wholesale Prices Rising at Fastest Pace Since 1981

High energy, motor vehicle costs pushing inflation; Fed may be forced to boost rates

Aug 19, 08 10:25 AM CDT
(AP) - Wholesale prices jumped 1.2% in July—more than twice the rate economists expected and  the fastest pace in 27 years, according to government data released today, the AP reports. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.7%, the biggest since November 2006; new home construction in July... More »

MORE ABOUT:
inflation • gas prices • consumer prices • economy • energy costs • oil prices • wholesale prices

ANALYSIS

Producers Quick to Pass Price Hikes Down Food Chain

Pricier grain, energy make everything more expensive, from cereal to meat

Aug 8, 08 1:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Soaring grain and energy costs are driving food prices skyward, and big producers are moving to pass price hikes down the food chain to consumers on everything from cereal to meat, the Wall Street Journal reports. And costs won’t likely decrease, with biofuel demand eating up more corn than... More »

MORE ABOUT:
meat • recession • General Mills • food prices • grain • agricultural economy • corn shock • energy costs • food production


 Texans Shocked by
 Spiking Power Bills 

State not quite prepared for deregulation, and higher fuel costs don't help, either

Jul 17, 08 9:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - As energy prices soar, many Texans are wishing they had added "regulation of electrical companies" to the list of things not to mess with. Authorities predicted competition would lower prices when they deregulated the industry in 1999, the Wall Street Journal reports, but inadequate infrastructure, rising fuel costs, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Texas • alternative energy • electricity • energy bill • George W. Bush • energy costs • deregulation

OPINION

Why $8 Gas Would Be Awesome

A call for a return to
the days when driving was for rich jerks

Jul 11, 08 11:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Gas, as you may have heard, has topped $4 a gallon, and Joel Stein of the LA Times loves it. "Cheap gas is unfair," he argues, tongue mostly in cheek. Heck, why not make it $8 or even $10 a gallon, as in Europe, "where they have... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gas • traffic • gas prices • fuel costs • energy costs

OPINION

Where Will Cost of Gas Drive Us?

NYT writers ruminate on what the effects of spiraling prices will be

Jun 29, 08 12:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - How does really expensive fuel affect you? The New York Times Op-Ed page asked 10 writers to ruminate on that question, and the responses are all over the map:
  • The lure of staying home could have workers demanding tax changes that benefit telecommuters, thinks Nicole Belson Goluboff.
  • Say
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
biking • public transportation • gas prices • commuting • tax breaks • suburbs • energy costs

 $7 Gas? Analyst Sees It by 2012 

Limited supply, ever-increasing demand will nearly double current prices

Apr 25, 08 4:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Oil and gas prices could double in the next four years, analysts say—with $7 per gallon possible by 2012. "It is increasingly clear that the outlook for oil supply signals a period of unprecedented scarcity," an analyst at investment bank CBIC tells MarketWatch. More »

MORE ABOUT:
energy • gas prices • oil price • oil supply • energy costs

Shutoffs Loom as Heating
Costs Spiral

With record number behind on bills, federal grants fall short

Apr 25, 08 10:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - As heating-fuel costs climb, millions of Americans are behind on electric and gas bills—and a record number will face a shutoff over the next 2 months, the New York Times reports. A federal grant program to help beleaguered consumers keep the heat on covers just 35% of a winter's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Federal aid • natural gas • heating oil • fuel costs • energy costs

 Consumer Prices Flat in Feb. 

Lack of increase means Fed has an open door to a big rate cute next week

Mar 14, 08 8:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Consumer prices were flat for February, pleasantly surprising economists who expected a 0.2% increase, reports the Wall Street Journal. This morning’s consumer price index eases concerns that inflation is accelerating as the economy slows, and it gives the Federal Reserve more reason to float a large interest rate... More »

MORE ABOUT:
inflation • Consumer Price Index • core inflation • US economy • gas prices • consumer prices • food prices • oil price • economy • energy costs

12 Stories


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