In a series of posts (most recent here), I’ve noted that oil and natural gas prices have become unhinged from each other. Oil (denominated in $ per barrel) used to trade at 6 to 12 times the price of natural gas (denominated in $ per MMBtu). But lately that ratio has been north of 20, [...]
Archive for the ‘Energy’ Category
Can Natural Gas Replace Oil for Diesel?
Posted in Energy, Environment, tagged Energy, Natural Gas, Oil on December 24, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Will Budget Concerns Ever Influence Carbon Policy?
Posted in Energy, Environment, Politics, tagged Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Politics, Taxes on October 10, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Climate change legislation died an ignominious death in the Senate earlier this year. If you’d like to understand why, check out Ryan Lizza’s autopsy of the effort in the latest New Yorker. Lizza documents how the “tripartisan” trio of John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham came up short in their effort to craft a [...]
The New Normal in Oil and Natural Gas Prices
Posted in Energy, Environment, tagged Energy, Natural Gas, Oil on September 7, 2010 | 16 Comments »
In previous posts (most recent here), I noted that oil and natural gas prices have disconnected from their usual historical relationship. For many years, oil prices (as measured in $ per barrel) tended to be 6 to 12 times natural gas prices (as measured in $ per MMBtu). That ratio blew out to more than 20 [...]
The End of Cap and Trade?
Posted in Energy, Environment, Microeconomics, Regulation, tagged Climate Change, Energy, Environment on July 12, 2010 | 2 Comments »
No, not for carbon. For sulfur dioxide. As noted by Mark Peters at the Wall Street Journal: The original U.S. cap-and-trade market, which succeeded in slashing the power-plant emissions that cause acid rain, is in disarray following the issuance of new federal pollution rules. The collapse in the pioneering market where power producers trade permits [...]
Afghanistan and the Resource Curse
Posted in Energy, Environment, International, tagged Afghanistan, Resource Curse on June 14, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the United States has identified “vast mineral riches in Afghanistan“: The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government [...]
Energy Use and Waste in the United States
Posted in Data, Energy, tagged Data, Energy on May 1, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The latest Technology Review has a great information graphic showing the sources and uses of energy in the United States. The most important take-away? That almost 45% of energy input is lost as waste heat. And, of course, that almost 85% of energy inputs come from oil, natural gas, and coal.
Rethinking Oil and Natural Gas Prices
Posted in Energy, Environment, tagged Energy, Natural Gas, Oil on April 9, 2010 | 7 Comments »
My recent post about oil and natural gas prices elicited some very constructive responses from readers (thanks in particular to PJ, MF, and FW, in addition to public commenters on the post). As a result, I’ve rethought my discussion of the relationship between oil and natural gas prices. I was also inspired to look at [...]
Oil and Natural Gas Prices Disconnect Again
Posted in Energy, Environment, tagged Energy, Natural Gas, Oil on April 1, 2010 | 13 Comments »
Update (4/9/10): Please see my follow-up post as well. Last summer I noted that oil and natural gas prices had diverged to an unprecedented degree. I bravely predicted that this divergence would reverse (unbravely, I didn’t predict when). As the chart below shows, I was right: the price relationship did move sharply toward normal levels. [...]
The President Caves on Climate Policy
Posted in Budget, Energy, Environment, tagged Budget, Climate Change, Deficit on February 2, 2010 | 11 Comments »
At a time of unsustainable deficits, deficit neutrality is a remarkably lame vision for climate policy. Last year, President Obama proposed to raise $500 billion over ten years through a cap-and-trade system that would limit carbon emissions. This year his climate policy raises nothing. The president still backs cap-and-trade, but he has caved into congressional [...]
Climate Change and the Deficit
Posted in Budget, Energy, Environment, tagged Budget, Climate Change, Deficit on December 2, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Over at the National Journal’s Economy blog, John Maggs asks some budget experts for recommendations of how President Obama can bring the budget deficit down by 2016. Here’s an excerpt from my contribution: President Obama should combine his concern about climate change with his concern about the budget. … President Obama should demand … that [...]
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