3p Contributor: Jeff Siegel
Recent Articles
Maryland Moves on Offshore Wind
Every year, thousands of high school graduates in the state of Maryland race to Ocean City after graduation day. They call it Beach Week, and it’s been a tradition for decades.
When I graduated from high school, I didn’t go.
To be honest, I was never really a fan of Ocean City, so I flew to San Diego after graduation, then drove down to Mexico with a friend of mine.
I have no doubt my week-long adventure through the Baja Peninsula trumped anything I could’ve experienced in Ocean City…
But a lot has changed since then.
My days of tequila-soaked debauchery and Hunter S. Thompson illusions are over, and I actually want to go Ocean City these days.
But not to wander the boardwalk or watch the seagulls feast on junk food leftovers deposited by gaggles of gluttonous beach-goers and drunken teenagers…
No, I want to go to Ocean City because that’s going to be the site of Maryland’s first offshore wind development. And I want to watch the whole thing unfold.
Did somebody say jobs?
Putting the Clean Coal Dream to Bed
If you watched Green Bay defeat the Steelers last Sunday, chances are you also caught a glimpse of the new Chevy Volt commercial…
I certainly did. And of course, after it ran, all eyes were on me.
Friends, family, and a few people I don’t even know that well waited for me to chime in.
But what was I going to say?
This stuff isn’t new to me — or to anyone else who follows alternative energy trends. But not everybody in my living room that night follows these trends…
In fact my neighbor asked me why we don’t hear much about alternative energy these days, other than what we recently caught from the State of the Union Address.
Don’t Buy the Clean Energy Illusion
Last week, President Obama addressed the nation.
He talked about jobs, energy, education, and bipartisan necessities… All in all, it was a fantastic pep rally that answered few important questions, but got the masses all riled up anyway.
Obama supporters cheered and got a fresh jolt of cosmetic enthusiasm, though it’s likely most still don’t know why they’re so excited.
Obama critics attacked with sound bites left over from the November election, and made their rounds on the “news” on Twitter and any message board that doesn’t require you to register before posting.
Either way, of all the comments and criticisms I heard — both positive and negative — few addressed the overall picture of reality versus the illusions created during the State of the Union Address. Especially as it pertains to education and energy.
EPA Regulations in GOP Crosshairs
Last year, after successfully being vilified as “Cap-and-Tax,” Cap-and-Trade was defeated.
Not that I was particularly upset about it. . .
After all, cap-and-trade was a very complex solution to an easily rectifiable problem.
That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have worked; a similar scheme to cap sulfur dioxide back in 1990 proved successful…
Initiated by former president George H.W. Bush, the program enabled power plants to decrease emissions of sulfur dioxide by 64 percent, saving $120 billion in pollution and health costs over the past 20 years.
The Patriotic Endeavor Rush Limbaugh Won’t Support: Electric Cars
It was a short drive to my in-laws’ house for Thanksgiving this year. Roundtrip, we logged about 68 miles— not bad, considering the distances some travel every year to break bread with family and friends.
And at 50 miles per gallon in our Prius, we burned through about $3 worth of gas… Much better than my cousin, who traveled about the same distance, but drives a Honda Accord, which he tells me gets about 30 miles per gallon.
Of course, next year, my 50 mpg will pale in comparison to those who pre-ordered their Nissan LEAFs this year.
Eliminating Fossil Fuel Subsidies Trumps Cap and Trade
This past Sunday morning, I spoke at a charity brunch in Virginia.
The brunch was actually part of a benefit to raise money for a local youth organization that’s working to build an organic garden and greenhouse for low-income families.
It wasn’t a big event… No local politicians or big media names. Mostly it was just concerned citizens, quite a few church-going folks, and a handful of local businesses.
As an advocate of local, organic agriculture, I was happy to help.
My presentation focused on the economic and security benefits of local, organic agriculture. And of course, I was essentially preaching to the choir. However, during the Q&A I quickly found myself on the defensive after I was asked about my thoughts on the death of cap-and-trade.
I didn’t sugar coat it. I basically told the crowd that I’ve always seen cap-and-trade as nothing more than a very complex solution to a pretty simple problem. And I was happy to see it die on the vine.
That didn’t sit too well.
When it Comes to Alt Energy, the US Military Doesn’t Care About Opinion Polls
It was all over the news last week…
With recycled — yet catchy — titles like “The Military is Going Green” and “For the U.S. Military, it’s Easy Being Green,” the world learned that the military’s dependence on fossil fuels has become a strategic nightmare.
Of course, for those who are regular readers of these pages, this is hardly “news.”
And certainly I’ve been reporting on this very issue since first launching Green Chip Stocks back in 2005.
I can even remember speaking at an investment conference in 2006; my topic was the military’s reliance on fossil fuels.
When the Price of Oil Soars… Again
Back in 1989 or 1990 — I can’t remember when, exactly — I saw an advertisement that read:
It wasn’t the Exxon Valdez captain’s driving that caused the Alaskan oil spill. It was yours.
I always liked that because it really got at the root of the problem: consumer behavior.
Sure, we all talk a good game about ending our dependence on foreign oil. But when it’s time to step up to the plate, as a nation, we tend to strike out an awful lot…
For instance, I have plenty of environmentalist friends who could rattle off a three-hour diatribe on how carbon emissions from SUVs are damaging the planet — yet they still jump in their cars to drive the half mile to the local Whole Foods Market to get an organic burrito.
Profit Trends in Organic Food Markets
The farmers’ market was absolutely packed this past Saturday.
Of course, it was my own fault for getting up so late…
If you’re not there by 7:00 a.m., you have to maneuver through the flocks of hungover hipsters that always seem to congregate around the Thai food stand that displays deep-fried spring rolls like delicate glass ornaments.
But despite the larger crowds that morning, there was still plenty of food to go around at the stand where I pick up my weekly share of fruits and vegetables.
Peak Coal Puts a New Spin on Global Warming Predictions
Here’s a new spin on the climate change debate for ya…
Tad Patzek, chair of the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department at the University of Texas and well-known energy expert, has recently come out and said that climate change predictions should be revised.
Is it because he uncovered the great liberal conspiracy of global warming?
Is it because a new report funded by Exxon proves that climate change isn’t real?
Is it because a hacked e-mail from an IPCC researcher just brought to light proves that in 1983, Al Gore snuck into NORAD with Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy, and manipulated climate data in the military supercomputer known as WOPR, using a backdoor password to Falken’s Maze?
Actually, none of those reasons made the cut.
You see, Patzek is warning that climate change predictions need to be revised because most of today’s predictions are not accounting for the peak and decline of coal production after 2011.
Now bear with me, because this is pretty good stuff…
Breaking the Cost Barrier on Algae-based Biofuels
Algae-based biofuel.
It’s been a hot topic for a few years now. And certainly the potential for incorporating algae as a key feedstock for future biofuel production is massive.
But the sobering fact is that we’re at least a good eight to ten years from seeing any kind of real, commercially-ready product… At least at the volumes that could allow for meaningful market penetration.
So where does that leave us in the meantime?
Fortune favors the daring
Algae-based biofuels are often the target of naysayers who prefer to criticize early industry obstacles instead of looking for a way to profit from the developments and technologies that allow us to overcome those obstacles.
An Oily Voice at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?
Last month, Congress announced it was preparing to increase the barrel tax on oil. Revenues would be used for future crises like the one in the Gulf.
In response to that announcement, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce slammed the idea, saying it was hastily put together. The VP of the chamber’s energy institute said that the tax could be passed on to consumers if the oil industry manages to raise gas prices in response to the tax increase.
Clearly we would expect the Chamber to be opposed to such a tax, so certainly this was not a surprising response… Although you’ll be hard-pressed to ever hear the Chamber weigh in on all those oil subsidies that have done a tremendous job at keeping us hooked on artificially low gasoline prices.
Yes, when you pilfer for oil interests, the Chamber doesn’t seem to get too upset.
Is Offshore Oil Dead in the Water?
BP recently announced that the energy giant would pay all necessary and appropriate clean-up costs from the Gulf oil spill.
Not sure if that was a reaction to the “stern warning” from the White House, or simply something some unlucky PR schlub had to pump out to the media in an attempt to try and calm the masses…
Either way, most folks could give a rat’s ass what BP says. It’ll be all about what they do. That will be the test.
Buying American Wind
Growing up in Essex, Maryland — a very blue collar section of Baltimore County — the phrase “Buy American” was more than just a rallying cry for those who championed domestic manufacturing.
It was simply how things were done.
Even when the oil crisis of the 1970s hit, you would’ve been hard-pressed to find a single vehicle on our block that didn’t scream Detroit — regardless of how horrible the fuel economy was on most of those vehicles back then. And for the few who dared to park a smaller, more fuel efficient Japanese car on our street… well, they were nearly shunned.
This was an old U.S. industrial town, with generations upon generations of factory workers raising families and doing the kind of work that most folks couldn’t do for an hour before calling it quits. Buying American was not just something you would say; it was something you had to embrace. Because for these folks, buying American meant job security.
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