Category Archives: fossil fuels

Kyoto Did Not Level The Playing Field, But Obama’s New Climate Policies May Do That

Posted on July 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

President Obama’s outlined his new climate policies in a recent speech.   My take away from the speech is that it is a way to increase Federal revenue by taxing carbon use.  And it is mainly done through new regulations developed by his EPA.  Congress just a well go home because they never see the need to challenge the usurping of their powers.    The consequence of these policies will be significantly higher electricity prices, and the poorest among us will be the primary victims of this action.  Once again, in the name of the environment,  he will forego focusing on bringing about  the nation’s recovery.   Interestingly, one posting suggests that this will level the playing field between the US and Europe.  That was the basis for the European’s support of the Kyoto Treaty, but it did not work for them because the US chose not to enter into the Treaty.  A posting on notrickszone.com by Peter Gosselin titled “Obama Is Merely Leveling The Energy Playing Field With Europe – Declares An End To Cheap American Energy is interesting to get his view from Europe.  He writes:

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, cap and trade, carbon tax, Coal, Domestic Energy, Electricity from Coal, fossil fuels, Fracking/Shale Gas, Government Regulations, Renewable Energy

Price Cutting Gives A Sales Boost To The Volt And The Nissan Leaf

Posted on July 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

GM’s Volt June sales rebounded to 2,698 in June from the reported May sales of 1,607 resulting in year-to-date sales of 9,839. The increase is being attributed to the incentive programs that have lowered the Volt’s price.  It is estimated that there is a one hundred day inventory of Volts at the dealerships.  GM says that it will continue to offer the incentive programs for at least the month of July; no doubt to get the inventory down before the introduction of the 2014 model.

Nissan’s Leaf June sales of 2,225 were slightly better than the May sales of 2,138.  No doubt last months lowering of the price has helped the Leaf.  The year-to-date sales for Leaf are 9,855.

Honda’s Fit EV sales were 208 in June.  Fit EVs sales for the first five months  only  totaled 83.  Honda offered a very attractive lease program last month on the Fit EVs which seems to have been major factor behind  increased sales.  Nissan says they still have a sizeable inventory of Fit EVs.  The Fit EV is available from 200 dealers.  One per month per dealer average, it looks like.

Ford is not having much luck selling their Focus EV with year-to-date sales of 880.  However, the Ford Hybrid has sold 8,177 units in the first 5 months of the year.

cbdakota

h/t Detroit News’ Business + Autos Section.

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Posted in CO2, Domestic Energy, Electric Vehicles, fossil fuels, Green Jobs, Personal Automobiles, US Auto Manufacturers

May 2013 EV Sales Update and Price-Cutting Is The New Normal

Posted on June 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

Yes, I am really late in posting this info.  None-the-less, here is the data.

Nissan Leaf had a big May selling 2,138 vehicles. Their second best month all time behind March’s 2,236 Leafs sold.  Year to date sales are 7,614.

Volt May sales were 1,607 with year to date sales of 7,157 putting Volt in second place behind the Leaf.

It is reported that Chevy dealers have more than 9,000 Volts in inventory.  With the 2014 soon to be in the show rooms, the dealers need to sell the 2013 model inventory.

Price-cutting going on across the board

Fewer sales than needed and California’s requirement that all major makers must offer a minimum number of “zero emission vehicles” are pushing the manufacturers to cut prices.

Nissan reduced the price of the Leaf by 18%, or $6,000, when it launched a new, stripped-down model at the beginning of the year.

The Detroit Bureau.com says:

A California buyer can now purchase a Chevrolet Volt for as little as $28,495.  The base price for the plug-in is $39,995 but all buyers qualify for $4,000 off on a 2013 model and $5,000 off for a 2012 Volt. They also can get an extra $1,000 if they are currently leasing a non-GM vehicle. Meanwhile, the federal government provides a $7,500 tax credit while the state kicks in another $1,500.

Chevrolet also is now reducing lease pricing for the Volt to $269 a month for 36 months, with a $2,399 downpayment. 

Recently, a posting maintained that GM had to sell the Volt for about $75,000 to break even.  How long can they keep the Volt line going at this rate?

Detroit Bureau also reports that the Honda Fit EV’s will reduce the lease pricing from $389 to $259 a month, and customers will no longer face mileage limitations.

Clearly the price-cutting reflects the lack of enthusiasm by the US population for these vehicles.   The manufacturers of the vehicles are likely to be operating at a loss on each car.  The government (and thus the average tax payer) is spending a lot of money on an idea that is not showing signs of capturing the public’s imagination.

cbdakota

 

 

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Posted in Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Environment, EPA, fossil fuels, Government Regulations, Personal Automobiles, US Auto Manufacturers, US Manufacturing Companies

Steep Depreciation Rates For EVs A Serious Problem

Posted on June 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

According to the National Automobile Dealers Association the used plug-in electric vehicles depreciate at a 30% rate that is the highest depreciation of any vehicle segment in the American automotive market. For other vehicles, according to Carsdirect.com: “New cars depreciate about 20% the moment you drive them off the lot.”   Then the depreciation is about 15% per year for the second and third year and less in subsequent years.

TheDetroitBureau.com says:

“The steep rate of depreciation for used plug-in electric vehicles can be attributed to limited range, manufacturer incentives and federal tax credits intended to offset the higher prices of new plug-in electric vehicles,” said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst for the NADA Used Car Guide.

If the forecasted decline continues, it could be a serious problem for both manufacturers struggling to boost demand for their latest plug-in hybrids and pure battery-electric vehicles, as well as federal and state government officials who have been using financial incentives to help promote the technologies.

 Another ominous sign for the EV business.

cbdakota

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, Batteries, CAFE Standards, Electric Vehicles, fossil fuels, Government Regulations, Personal Automobiles, Renewable Energy, US Manufacturing Companies

Climate Models Epic Fail

Posted on June 11, 2013 | 2 comments

Dr. Roy Spencer posted ‘EPIC FAIL: 73 Climate Models vs. Observations for Tropical Tropospheric Temperature” on his website.  The posting used,  “Courtesy of John Christy, a comparison between 73 CMIP5 models (archived at the KNMI Climate Explorer website) and observations for the tropical bulk tropospheric temperature (aka “MT”) since 1979.” That chart is shown below:     (Click chart for better view.)

christy1stchartCMIP5-73-models-vs-obs-20N-20S-MT

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Posted in AGW, Climate Alarmism, Climate Models, CO2, Environment, fossil fuels, Global Temperatures, IPCC, UAH Satellite Temps, United Nations

Will The OPEC Cartel Break Up?

Posted on June 7, 2013 | 1 comment

Because the OPEC cartel provides about 40% of the world’s crude oil, it has been able to control the crude oil price.  Its members meet and set the amount of crude they will produce for sale opposite the forecast world demand.  They can reduce or increase production to raise or lower prices. Other major crude producers outside of OPEC have been able to sell all their crude oil but acting independently are unable to displace OPEC’s role as the selling price arbiter.   As you would expect, OPEC wants the price to be high but recognizes that if they set it too high, demand will drop and competitors will be encouraged to prospect for more crude.   Within OPEC, the members have their own issues that make setting the production levels and thus the price, not easy.  However, Saudi Arabia, currently the world’s largest producer of  crude oil,  is said to be the primary voice in this process.  When the OPEC members meet, as they did on May 31st, to set the production level/price, one big factor was how much of their government’s budget is derived from the oil revenues.  And what is the price of crude oil that makes that budget whole? The graph below, from the American Interest’s posting “OPEC Sweats: How Low Can Oil Prices Go?” illustrates the price needed to balance their government’s budget:

2013_fiscal_breakeven_point-e1370293236725

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Posted in Energy Development, Environment, EPA, fossil fuels, Fracking/Shale Gas, Middle East Resources, Off Shore Resources, Oil and Gas Exploration, OPEC, Peak Oil

The Obama Administration Targets Congressional Skeptics

Posted on May 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

President Obama is not content with just targeting the news reporters, whistle blowers  and conservative groups such as the Tea Parties, he is now singling out Congressional skeptic by name in hopes he can get them voted out of office.

He is practicing Chicago Politics at the national level.  Chicago politics operates on the basis of denigrating your opponent.  This style of politics lacks logic, good ideas, etc.  so they result to insult and innuendo.

The President’s website lists those Senators and Representatives that do not agree with his plans to artificially reduce availability of fossil fuels and to force taxes on those people and businesses that use them.

If you click here, you will be sent to the President’s website and see a list of Congressional people he wants removed.  Each of the named individuals is credited with a quote they have made which is to give reason to why they should be removed.  I think it likely will have the opposite effect if the usual uninformed liberal voters actually read the quotes. The low information voters may never before have seen the logic expressed in these quotes.

The liberals often revel in their retelling of President Nixon’s “enemies list.”  I believe that the current president’s “enemies list”  makes Nixon’s pale by comparison.

cbdakota

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Posted in AGW, cap and trade, carbon tax, Climate Alarmism, ClimateGate, CO2, Domestic Energy, Energy Development, Environment, fossil fuels, Global Temperatures, Government Regulations, IPCC

EV Charging Station Co. Better Place Files For Bankruptcy.

Posted on May 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

Better Place joins the ranks of electric vehicle (EV) business to declare for bankruptcy.  Better Place had planned to develop a prototype EV battery-swap operation in Israel.  A network of stations were installed that would allow the EV owner to replace the battery with a new one in about the “same amount of time it takes to fill a gasoline tank on a regular car”. The idea was to remove range anxiety.  Israel was thought to be an ideal place because driving distances are relatively short.

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Posted in AGW, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Environment, fossil fuels, Government Regulations, Middle East Resources, Personal Automobiles

CONGRATULATIONS!! Some Rich Californian Thanks You For Helping Pay For His New Tesla

Posted on May 27, 2013 | 2 comments

Now the Tesla is a sweet looking car with some impressive stats.  Perhaps not as good as advertised, see this posting, but still right up there with the best.
teslamodelcimages
 And while you may not be able to afford one—early models went for over $109,000 and the new S model goes for about $70,000—some people, wealthy ones anyway, are buying them.  Tesla sold an estimated 9,650 S models by the end of April this year. Things are going so well that Tesla made a profit in the first quarter.

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Posted in AGW, Batteries, carbon tax, CO2, Electric Vehicles, Energy Development, fossil fuels, Government Regulations, Government Revenues, Personal Automobiles, Renewable Energy, US Auto Manufacturers, US Manufacturing Companies

Sea Surface Temperatures Will Reduce Global Temperatures For Years To Come

Posted on May 14, 2013 | 2 comments

Joe Bastardi produced a chart which shows actual global temperature anomalies and atmospheric CO2 from the 1960s to the present time.  P. Gosselin extended the chart for the next 17 years (to 2030)  with predicted global temperature anomalies versus atmospheric CO2 .  Gosselin is showing what he believes to be the probable divergence—-further demonstrating that CO2 will not be controlling global temperature.   Gosselin’s premise is that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are currently and will continue to be,  the primary forcing agents for global temperatures. His adaptation of Bastardi’s chart is below: (Click on Chart to increase size.)

goselinchart1000What-the-warmists-are-afraid-ofThe baseline shows the cool (blue) and warm (red) cycling of the AMO and PDO. Gosselin explains what he did to extend  Bastardi’s(Climate4You) chart:

“I asked myself what is it going to look like in 10 or 15 years with the negative AMO and PDO (let’s leave out the solar activity slumber for now) continuing. So I took the Climate4You chart, cut and extended it out to the year 2030. We know CO2 is going to keep rising. Next I simply extended the negative phase of the AMO and PDO global temp out to 2030 so that it’s behaves similarly to the last negative phase for the 1950s, 60s and 70s.”

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Posted in AGW, Climate Alarmism, Climate Models, ClimateGate, CO2, CRU Temps, fossil fuels, Global Temperatures, IPCC, Ocean heat content