CT Programmer

Wind's Our Future, but Natural Gas Is Now

I am bullish on NG. However, I see the more logical path (assuming no heavy govt subsidies to steer it) toward electric vehicles fueled by NG power plants. As you said, the technology for NG vehicles and filling stations is there --- many cities have switched bus fleets to NG --- but the infrastructure is the thing that has the huge build-out cost. Imagine replacing every corner gas station (liquid) to an NG station (gas). Even with LNG, its a huge obstacle. But you've got electrical plugs and electrical lines everywhere. You just plug in in your garage. Imagine this: putting in plug-in electric meters in a parking lot where people can charge their car while at work. You have the electricity right there already (the lampposts).

But regardless of the direction NG goes --- directly in the car or to the power plant to charge your car --- I am still bullish on gas. It is the logical choice to wean us off foreign oil. Wind and solar, that's all great. It will get there in a decade or two. But it will still account for only a modest proportion of our total energy needs for the foreseeable future.

I think Obama should pick T. Boone as his VP!

Implementing Pickens' Plan for Public Energy Policy

What ever happened to the promise of 40, 50, 60 mpg cars? Right after the oil crisis in the 70's, Japan's cars started selling like hotcakes in America mostly because of fuel efficiency. And they kept getting better and more efficient, until we had a glut of oil and 99 cent gas, then the trend started reversing and you started seeing bigger and heavier vehicles with less and less mpg. All of what you said will happen --- the switch to non-oil-based engines --- not because of any government plan but because of economics. It will get more and more expensive to use oil as it becomes scarce, and therefore the alternatives will become cheaper. The question is whether government helps in that transition and makes it orderly, or whether they fight against it in a mad dash to save antiquated systems. I like your tax idea, but you didn't take it far enough. America needs to dump the income tax and move to an entirely sales tax based system. That is the essence of a fair system. You pay based on what you consume. The rich consume more, so will pay more taxes. The poor consume less so will pay less. No more loopholes. Taxing consumption and not income will provide social incentives to work harder and save more.

Is the Commodity Bull Market Over?

I bought CHK back in February at $45 when Jim Jubak on MSN started talking about Bush's stupid energy policy. Back in October 2007, before the you know what all hit the fan, you could have gotten it in the high 30's if you'd had the insight. Gas will be what keeps us going in the interim between high-priced oil and mainstream "alternative" energy. I remember when people were screaming about gasoline hitting $2, like it was outrageous, and the entire economy was going to suffer, truckers would go out of business, etc.. Same at $3. Here we are approaching $4. Does anyone else see a trend here? Oil will keep going up. Period. This isn't OPEC or any given country manipulating the market. Oil is scarce, and getting scarcer. Gas is the next wave of affordable energy. As soon as there are cross-country gas pipelines (most of them are just regional now), gas will be the cheaper source. It' so cheap in Utah that natural gas vehicles drive at the equivalent of 60 cent per gallon gasoline. I'm on an oil furnace for my home right now, but as soon as it goes I'm replacing it with gas.