Category Fossil fuel Energy

Oct 14 2022

Mike Lindell Joins Samaritans Purse During Recovery Efforts in Southwest Florida


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 13, 2022 | Sundance

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell travelled to Fort Myers to join with Samaritans Purse in the Hurricane Ian recovery effort.   Mr. Lindell went door to door in various neighborhoods passing out pillows and blankets along with prayers and well wishes for the community. {Direct Rumble Link}

Mr. Lindell appeared with Steve Bannon to discuss the recovery effort.  WATCH:

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“The damage is incredible—these people need our prayers and our support,” said Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham. “We’re going to need an army of volunteers. Prayerfully consider joining us to help in Jesus’ Name.”  [ Website Here ] 

To give an idea of what happened to the coastal area, there is some pretty incredible drone footage of the damage done to Fort Myers beach and Sanibel/Captiva. Below:

Fort Myers Beach.  It looks like the aftermath of a massive Tsunami:

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Captiva and Sanibel:

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Sep 23 2022

Massachusetts Energy Companies Announce 64% Increase in Electricity Rates Beginning November 1st


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on September 22, 2022 | Sundance 

National Grid and Eversource are the two major electricity providers for Massachusetts. Both companies have notified the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) that rates for electricity are about to skyrocket.

National Grid has announced a 64% increase in electricity rates effective November 1st. While Eversource is on a different schedule, they too have announced an increase in natural gas rates of 38% on November 1st and the January 1, 2023, electricity rate will be announced in the next few weeks. Eversource is anticipated to announce a similar rate increase to National Grid. WATCH:

Both major power companies rely on natural gas to create electricity.  Thanks to Joe Biden’s energy policies, which includes the massive export of natural gas in LNG form, domestic prices for natural gas have skyrocketed and will continue increasing as production is further shut down by regulation.

We are helping the EU survive their sanction driven energy crisis by sending them natural gas (LNG format), while simultaneously forcing Americans to pay more in order to maintain the EU export.   Everything about the process is FUBAR.

Massachusetts – […] National Grid said the monthly bill of a typical residential customer using 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity will increase from $179 last winter to about $293 this winter, an increase of about 64%. National Grid said the delivery portion of electric bills will basically remain flat.

“National Grid buys electricity on behalf of its customers from the wholesale power market through a regulatory approved process established 20 years ago. That process has served customers well over the years and provides flexibility for unforeseen events, like limited supplier response to solicitations. But things have fundamentally changed,” Helen Burt, the company’s chief customer officer, said in a statement. “Today, under a sustained, high market price environment, it is challenging to maintain affordable prices. Given that, we think it’s a good time to work with our regulators and other stakeholders to review the process and electricity supply dynamics in the region, with an eye toward reducing price volatility and maintaining a secure, reliable and resilient energy system for the future.”

The company also announced that its natural gas rates are expected to rise on Nov. 1. They said they have a pending proposal with the state Department of Public Utilities that would result in the monthly bill for an average Boston Gas residential heating customer using 115 therms per month of $278, an increase of $50, or 22%, compared to last winter’s rates.

Eversource, the state’s other major electric provider, said in an email that it is on a different schedule than National Grid for setting its electric rates so no increases are currently planned.

“We file electric base service rates twice per year with the DPU,” company spokesman Chris McKinnon said. “Our last change was on July 1, 2022 and our next change will be January 1, 2023, which we will be filing for in the coming months.”

Over the border in New Hampshire, Eversource announced in July that electric rates would be doubling for many residents due to higher natural gas prices fueled in part by the war in Ukraine.

Eversource did announce Wednesday that it has submitted a proposal to the Department of Public Utilities seeking to raise its natural gas rates. They said their average residential customer using 126 therms of gas a month would see an increase of about 38%, or $86 on their natural gas bill over last winter. Those rate increases would take effect Nov. 1.  (read m0re)

Sep 11 2022

U.K Energy Reaches Crisis Point, Britain Announces New Oil and Gas Leases and Lifts Moratorium on Fracking


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on September 10, 2022 

There is a particular historical irony in the timing.  On the same day King Charles III ascends the throne, previously Europe’s most isolated from consequence – yet loudest voice in chasing the catastrophic climate change energy policies, the British government is forced to reverse course on years of energy regulations and restrictions.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss announced, “a new round of oil and gas licensing will come next week with more than 100 licenses issued. A moratorium on fracking will be lifted and planning permission can be sought where there is local support,” in an urgent emergency effort to lower energy costs for British citizens.

The move comes in combination with a government plan to help citizens and businesses cope with skyrocketing prices for electricity and home heating fuel.  The climate change chickens have come home to roost throughout Europe and the British government is urgently trying to head-off the calamitous consequences.

Inside the media announcements of the Truss plan, the biggest concern expressed is how the financial and multinational banking sector (the ESG investment groups) will respond to the government position. After decades of ideological “green” outlooks flowing into the energy industry, the biggest concern expressed in the financial analysis is how a reversal by such a large economic system will reverberate.

The climate change ideology has a stranglehold on the energy sector of the economy, this move by Great Britain would be the most significant push-back in decades.  The minority green activists are apoplectic that they may lose control over the majority of opinion.  The economics of a reversal in energy policy could reverberate throughout the western alliance, particularly in Europe.  It will be interesting to see whether this shift in U.K. policy has ripple effects in the U.S.

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Britain’s move to green-light dozens of new oil and gas fields will leave investors and banks with a tough PR job as Britain struggles to shore up its energy security whilst sticking to its climate commitments.

Starting new oil and gas projects runs counter to the world’s shift away from fossil fuels in the fight against global warming and a commitment at last November’s U.N. climate talks to phase down their use.

Yet runaway inflation amid conflict in Ukraine has forced the hand of new British prime minister Liz Truss as Russian President Putin seeks to use energy as a weapon this winter.

Britain will launch a new round of oil and gas licensing next week with more than 100 licenses issued, part of a wider package of measures to tackle the energy crisis announced by Truss on Thursday.

And Britain’s not alone in reassessing its energy strategy. Germany, for example, has been forced to turn back to even dirtier thermal coal to help fuel its power plants and keep the lights on, hampering short-term efforts to rein in climate-damaging carbon emissions.

But for energy companies and the investors, bankers and insurers that finance them, new investment in fossil fuels also presents a challenge given many have made their own pledges to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century.

“This will absolutely hinder companies’ … ability to hit their climate targets,” said Pietro Bertazzi, global director of policy engagement and external affairs at non-profit environmental disclosure platform CDP. (read more)

This is the first crack in the western alliance and the ‘climate change’ agenda of the World Economic Forum as it relates to energy policy and ultimately control over human life within the alliance.

The war in Ukraine was being used as a justification to explain the consequences of European energy policy, particularly rapidly increasing costs for energy and food, but the war in Ukraine was not the cause.  The true root cause of the exploding inflation and economic mess was the Build Back Better agenda, and the series of policies dictated from within it, that each nation willingly accepted.

Sep 4 2022

President Trump MAGA Rally, Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania, 7:00pm ET Livestream Links


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on September 3, 2022 | Sundance 

A lot has happened since President Trump last held a MAGA rally.  As noted by his account on Truth Social, the president has a lot to say about recent events involving the DC political and justice system intended to target himself and the American people who support America-First.

Tonight’s rally is in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pennsylvania and President Trump’s remarks are scheduled to begin at 7:00pm ET, with pre-rally speakers ongoing.  The crowd is massive, as shown earlier by RSBN, as MAGA patriots from around the region are supporting President Trump in his epic battle against a corrupt political swamp.

RSBN Livestream Link – Trump Campaign Livestream – Alternate Livestream Link

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Sep 2 2022

US Oil Reserves Nearly Depleted


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Sep 2, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has been at its lowest level since, ironically, 1984. The reservoirs are composed of four underground sites constructed from salt domes on the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Texas. The White House began extracting oil from the emergency reserves to combat rising gas prices. Politicians simply hope that the problem can be patched up for as long as they can remain in power.

In August, the US extracted 18 million barrels of crude. The stockpile now sits at only 450 million, reaching a nearly 40-year low. Additionally, the White House under Biden has been selling off the remaining reserves to foreign refiners. China received nearly a million barrels of oil to a subsidiary of Sinopec, a company that previously received BILLIONS in investments from an equity firm operated by none other than Hunter Biden. In fact, Biden has sold off nearly a quarter of oil reserves this year alone. Is he deliberately trying to create a crisis to spark the Great Reset?

Russia is not to blame for rising gas prices, as a gallon cost a mere $2.28 in December 2020. A year later, after Biden implemented disastrous green policies, the price rose to $3.40. Biden panicked once gas hit $5 in June and began to pull from the reserves to make it seem as if he had a grip on the problem. The government has no solution for the current energy crisis. The best we can hope for is the Republicans coming to power and demanding that domestic production continue immediately.

Sep 2 2022

Germans Stockpiling Firewood


Armstrong economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Sep 2, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

We are quickly reverting back to the Dark Ages. Cooking and keeping warm with fossil fuels may become a luxury as the energy crisis spreads across the West. Reports are growing from Germany that people are stockpiling firewood before the winter season. Google search results for “brennholz” (firewood) peaked this August in Germany as their government announced they would continue supporting Ukraine indefinitely.

Half of German homes are heated by natural gas, while a quarter uses oil. Less than 6% reported using firewood, but that is set to change as even firewood is now in a shortage. Germany’s Federal Firewood Association announced earlier in the summer that wood was becoming scarce. People are now importing firewood from Poland, but people there are also buying up firewood as no one can afford these rising prices. Governments are offering no solutions, and people have reason to fear the future.

Versorgungssicherheit is a word describing the fear of a shortage. Due to this fear, many companies are rationing the number of firewood bundles people are allowed to buy. The Federal Network Agency expects gas prices to TRIPLE by early 2023. The energy crisis spreading across the West will result in growing civil unrest and could trigger a major geopolitical event across Europe as people will be faced with hardships this winter not seen in a lifetime.

Aug 31 2022

The Energy Economy


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 30, 2022 | Sundance

Let’s say you are an average household with an income around $100,000/yr who has an increase in electricity rates from $300 to $500 due to Joe Biden’s new national energy policy known as the Green New Deal.  That’s $200 more per month for this initial economic/energy “transition” moment.

That extra $200/month equates to $2,400 per year.

That $2,400 per year is static economic activity.  Meaning nothing additional was created, and nothing additional was generated.  The captured $2,400 is simply an increase in the price of a preexisting expense.

Take that expense and expand it to your community of 100 friends and family households.  The $2,400 now becomes $240,000 in cost that doesn’t generate anything.  $240,000 is removed from the community economy.  $240,000 is no longer available for purchasing other goods or services within this community of 100 households.

The economic purchasing power of the 100-household community is reduced by $240,000 per year.

Take that expense and expand it to your county of 10,000 households.  Now you are reducing the county economic activity by $24 million.  In this county of 10,000 households, $24 million in economic transactions have been wiped out.  Meals at restaurants, purchases of goods and services, or any other spending of the $24 million within the county of 10,000 households (approximately 25,000 residents) has been lost.

Now expand that expense to a larger county, quantified as a mid-size county, of 50,000 households.  The mid-sized county has lost $120 million in household economic activity, simply to sustain the status quo on electricity rates.  Nothing extra has been generated. $120 million is lost.  The activity within the county of 50,000 households shrinks by $120 million.

Expand that expense to a large county of 100,000 households, and the lost economic activity is $240 million.

Expand that expense to a small state of 1 million households (2.5 million residents), and the lost economic activity is $2.4 billion.

Expand that expense to a state with 5 million households (approximately 12 million residents) and the economic cost is $12 billion in lost economic activity unrelated to the expense of maintaining the status-quo on electricity use.   This state loses $12 billion in purchases of goods and services, just to retain current energy use.

These examples only touch on household expenses.  The community, county and state business expenses for offices, supermarkets, stores, etc. are in addition to the households quoted.

Meanwhile the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the community, county and state, remains static because the GDP is calculated on the total value of goods and services generated in dollar terms.  The appearance of a static GDP is artificial.  In real Main Street terms, $12 billion in economic activity is lost, but the price or increased value of electricity hides the drop created by the absence of goods and services purchased.

Fewer goods and services are purchased and consumed.  However, statistically the inflated price of electricity gives the illusion of a status quo economy.

Now expand that perspective to a national level and you can see our current economic condition.

Aug 25 2022

Horrific Biden Consequence, 20 Million American Households Behind on Electricity Bills, Pending Shutoff


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 24, 2022 | Sundance

Long-term CTH readers might remember in 2014 when President Obama claimed U.S. families had been paying too little for electricity for too long.  As soon as Joe Biden took office, he began implementing the Green New Deal energy policy that, (a) directly forces higher costs for energy; and (b) is now creating massive problems.

In July I noted my own electricity bill had jumped 28% in a single month.  That bill was followed by another almost identical increase this month.  A review of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July [Data Here] shows that nationally the same thing is happening.  The year-over-year electricity price has increased 15.2%. However, worse still, the July increase alone was 1.9%, which figures to an annualized rate of 22.8%.

When the growth rate of monthly increase is exceeding the year-over-year result, that means future higher prices are coming.  This is a serious problem that cannot be overstated. Already struggling with a doubling of gas prices, massive food price increases at the grocery store and the pain of all costs for goods far outpacing any rate of wage increase, this type of uncontrollable increase in price of electricity is going to hit the middle class hard.

Steve Cortes calls this the backside of the Biden created inflation hurricane.  The backside of a hurricane is the worst because it hits from the opposite direction upon already weakened infrastructure.

The hurricane metaphor is apt because any increase in energy costs will be accompanied by the simultaneous arrival of another wave of food inflation, as the massive increases in field and crop prices start to feed into the food supply chain headed to our forks next month.

Making matters that much worse, Bloomberg is now reporting that 20 million households are now behind in their utility bills, specifically electricity bills, and the moratorium on shut offs has ended.  [Paywall Article]  Steve Cortes has written about the issue on his substack [Here].

One in six U.S. households, that is tens-of-millions of Americans, are now facing having their electricity turned off due to lack of payment.  It is certainly understandable how this horrific outcome would happen. Joe Biden’s energy policies are destroying working class families with unsustainably higher prices.

20 million households is a catastrophic level of utility default.  This is a serious issue with major social implications created by the desperation of those families.  Middle- and lower-income families cannot survive this level of financial pressure.

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Rents are behind. Mortgages are behind.  Car payments are behind. And now this report on utility bills.

Steve Cortes appeared with Steve Bannon to discuss {Direct Rumble Link} – WATCH:

Aug 25 2022

Treehouse Tips


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 24, 2022 | sundance

**Bumped, 8/23/22 8:30pm ET**

My jaw came near the floor when I opened July’s electricity bill to find a notification of a 28% increase in electricity rates, effective immediately.  An increase of 28%…. just like that. This month, August, even higher with less use.

After the initial shock wore off, I started thinking about what this means to the working-class people in my community.

Already struggling with a doubling of gas prices, massive food price increases at the grocery store and the pain of all costs for goods far outpacing any rate of wage increase, this type of uncontrollable increase in price of electricity is going to hit hard.

In the past we have used CTH threads to spotlight the smart thinking and resourcefulness of Treepers from all walks of life.  A discussion thread where people can share tips, things that can actually be done, to help offset the financial pressures during severe economic times.  I think we may all benefit from starting a series of post like that again.

Let us share our wisdom and experience again.  There are many thousand who will benefit, as I have always done, from reading your smart tips and suggestions.

What ideas, tips and suggestions do you have to help people save money on ordinary life and living expenses?

These are painful economic times and the stress that is caused by financial worry is some of the most horrific family stress that people can face.  Let us come together with tips as a community to help each other.   No suggestion is too small.  What advice do you have that can help people save money on monthly expenses?

During one of our previous discussions someone gave a tip about putting a clean dry towel in the clothes dryer as a way of cutting down drying time and energy used.  I tried it and jumping ju-ju-bones it worked fantastically.  Simply putting a dry towel into the dryer when you add the wet clothes from the washer reduces laundry drying time by around 25%.  Not only does that save time, but it also saves money – and it was so simple.

So, what suggestions do you have?   Tips about anything and everything that might lower the monthly cost of ordinary life. No tip is too small. No suggestion is too odd.  Your advice can/will make a difference.

Please use the comments section to drop your advice.

Thanks again for being part of our fellowship.

Love to all.