Begich calls for Alaska energy solutions in Fairbanks
Published Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Digg
delicious
Facebook
Mixx
Reddit
Stumble It!
FAIRBANKS — Under golden-leafed birch trees in Golden Heart Plaza, Mark Begich, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, said he sent letters Monday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging them to join in a bipartisan effort to tackle both short-term relief and long-term solutions in a national energy package to give help and hope to America’s working families.
Congress must put aside partisan politics and implement a national energy package, Begich said at the Monday afternoon news conference.
“It’s critical, now more than ever, to put aside partisan bickering,” Begich said.
Noting the changing leaf colors as precursor to the long winter ahead, Begich said the skyrocketing cost of home heating fuel prices “is crippling many communities and stretching pocketbooks,” and hospitals, schools and businesses are making tough budget decisions to cover record electricity bills.
Even with the recent downturn in gas prices, Alaskans still have the highest gasoline and heating fuel prices in the country, Begich said, forcing home owners to make hard financial decisions and forcing others out of their homes.
In his letter, Begich wrote that American families need immediate bipartisan action from Congress and the president to bring short-term relief from high energy prices.
“Americans will not be able to fill their home heating fuel tanks in coming months if Congress does not take action,” he wrote.
Begich asked Senate leaders to:
• add an extra $2.5 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program;
• clamp down on oil market speculators and price gouging by producers and distributors;
• release 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve;
• double tax credits for energy-efficiency home improvements and allow employers to create pre-tax flexible spending accounts for transportation costs;
As for long-term solutions, Begich urged Senate leaders to:
• open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to responsible oil and gas development;
• accelerate the sale of leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska;
• provide incentives for oil and gas federal lease holders to develop quickly and supply the Alaska natural gas line;
• create an loan fund to retrofit public buildings for energy efficiency;
• offer low-interest loans to public utilities for transition to more efficient and renewable power generation;
• build vocational education programs that train workers to construct, operate and maintain renewable energy generation plants and transmission systems.
Three Fairbanksans backed Begich’s energy urgency message with their personal experiences.
The Rev. Murray Richmond, chaplain at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, said he “hangs out” with the sick and local clergy and is seeing hospital patients who have gone off their prescription medications because of skyrocketing living expenses. In addition, Richmond said, local churches are feeling the pinch with contributions going down and maintenance costs going up.
Elyse Guttenberg told of her family’s increased expenses — an electric bill $100 higher than the same month last year and fuel oil costing $2 more per gallon — and its attempts to reduce bills by replacing windows, shutting off the furnace and signing up for an energy audit.
“This is the conversation everybody is talking about,” she said.
Real estate broker Eileen Cummings said the real estate market, for both buyers and sellers, has been hurt by the continuing energy crisis and it is important for something to get done about it.
Buyers are paying much more attention to previous fuel consumption and alternative heat sources when looking for a home, she said.
In his travels around the state during his campaign, Begich said rural communities have been particularly hard-hit by skyrocketing fuel prices.
When the last fuel barge comes in before freezeup, it is the price Bush communities are stuck with all winter.
Shop owners are worried about shipping products in with the high cost of transportation, he said.
Begich added that rural residents in some areas are taking on the challenge with a wind farm project under way on the Kuskokwim River and experimentation with tidal energy in the Dillingham area.
Community Discussion
Newsminer.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full user's agreement.
wow - -
he wrote a letter....thanks very much - that should help heat my home this winter
Didn't he include sueing OPEC? Or taxing windfall profits, so the oil companies can raise their prices even more to compensate the loss?
I expect Harry Reid will appreciate all of the new government programs that Begich included in his letter, but he sure wont change his mind about ANWR.
Congress should get back in session, and lift the ban on off shore drilling today. I'd hate to interrupt their vacation, but this is kind of important.
Elyse Guttenberg, David's sister and Luke Hopkins (borough assembly) wife and representative to the Democrat convention and Eileen Cummings, former assembly woman. They really went to the common everyday person for comments. Nothing more than a Democrat party rally. Notice how they are playing the woman card. Could it be that Sarah Palin has taken 20 percentage of the woman voters who were undecided already. Heck they even have a Sarah Palin action figure for sale. Forgot, did they mention Nancy Pelosi has $250,000 invested in a wind mill company (see her financial disclosures).
Surprise, surprise... the fab four (Joe, g'les, BM, and woodman) got up to gripe about a Democrat.
I picture you guys in your bathrobes and slippers (with your furnaces already running at full blast and trucks idling in the driveway) shaking your fists at your monitors. "Damn Democrats, how dare they look for energy solutions....!"
Democrats look for any solution is a miracle. Got the lap top with me waiting for a moose to come along. Beautiful day to out in the woods. Hope you guys are enjoying your lattes and mochas.
It surprise me that Democrats have do shut 1 eye to look for energy when we all are looking toward ANWR for our resources and solutions and our PFD would double or triple for my heating cost and heating during the winter.
BigMike: Remember the nepotism incident of 2002? The initiative we passed in 2004 states that a senate vacancy is to remain vacant until a special election is held (within 60-90 days) and that election certified and the senate meets. This means that regardless of whether Stevens wins there will be no guarantee his successor will be Republican, and he/she certainly won't be appointed anymore.
Sorry I have to vote against anyone who is for opening up ANWR & not using local resources across the state to relieve localized communities now. Add jobs where communities are. And address prices to Alaskans on Alaskan fuel. Give Alaskans who combine money the same discount as businesses on fuel. We want to keep Alaska. Check out Alaska's DNR site. http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/
Opening up ANWR to the oil companies will be the start of the end to Alaska, of more animal, hunting, water, fishing; restrictions on us. For serval reasons.
1. Yes Gov. Palin has signed AGIA with T/C but; as of yet she has not forwarded it to the feds for their approval. Which "sets" the deal. Nor has Canada signed their stamp of ok on T/C & AGIA. Canada is "iffy" towards AGIA. Polar bears will stay protected on the endangered list.
2. If we don't have a gasline complete by 2012 tougher new laws will be in effect which grandfather's a existing NGL. If this was 2012; AGIA would not be happening as it is now.
3. Alaska is blessed with natural resources that don't require us to rape Alaska or to bring in T/C. Choose wisely natural resources that will not rape Alaska.
4. Cost & compare all resources from start to finish & maintance. Oil drilling is costly long term if maintained & updated; so it's not. Wind, waves the list goes on.
5. The stiffer laws on future cars that will not depend on fuel but on other power. All new cars are comps on wheels; the tech prevents you from working on your car in most ways.
6. No local company, no business, no community, no department can stop or control old rich oil. Look at us with Valdez, BP & the pipeline, or the recent dumping in the Yukon. You wont be able to save Alaska if they start drilling ANWR. For Alaska's future we have to say no thank you. History of every oil state is very selectively controlled.
7. This is not the 70's or 80's, Alaska has matured a bit. There's money to do it ourselves; contract out as needed. Look around our state the money is in a very limited population now & wont spread out to wide in the next 20-40 years. Where are the lowest prices in Alaska? To a select few. We have a local refinery but our lives are controlled by old oil in Texas & Ok.. We pay the highest prices because we didn't plan 20-40 years ahead.
8. We would gain if we focused on the local resources by areas versus 1 resource statewide. Areas of Alaska are perfect for wind power, or tide power, wave power, oil shale, ect. If I was in one of those lucky villages that has natural gas now; boy would I convert my cars & trucks, ect. to natural gas quick. Couple hundred each to convert to save big time on a fill up every time. Natural gas for cars or trucks is at gas stations for years in the lower 48.
9. Have you been reading about AGIA & T/C in Canadian papers? A change of power is coming in Oct.; will they support AGIA?
10 Or what Alaska has to do to meet Fed requirements? New timelines of old laws both Alaska's & the Feds? Or how much Alaska's population will go up?
11 National security for ANWR? Alaska's security for ANWR? Homeland?
Who'll pay? Us?
12 Don't give up Alaska's freedom or life sytle or future. If anything develop a "Alaskan Safari" on a trans rail or similar concept, start with buses. Alaska preserved for generations
Unfortunately, the Anchorage Mayor doesn't understand a few basic things. If he manages to beat Ted, he'll be the one told when to jump and how high by the likes of Reid and Chuck Schumer. They may throw some bones our way, but it won't be ANWAR and it won't amount to much.
TC/BP/CP pipeline can't compete with this...
http://globalresourcecorp.ir.stockpr.com...
...there's more gas in America's garbage than there is in Alaska, and it's cheaper to clean up America and make 1000's of TCF of gas than it is to buy it from a 26,30,40,50+billion dollar pipeline.
http://www.globalresourcecorp.com/Engine...
[hot stock tip]
First Gasline to Fairbanks Wins!!!
http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk209...
...First Gasline to Juneau Wins Too!!!
If Alaska wants to earn billions of carbon-credits we should build a Northslope network of gas gathering lines to recover all of the orphan-methane getting lost to the 4-winds.
Methane is 23times worse than CO2 as greenhouse-gas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B36EoEuKj...
.......flash/rumble
“Of all races in an advanced stage of civilization, the American is the least accessible to long views… Always and everywhere in a hurry to get rich, he does not give a thought to remote consequences; he sees only present advantages… He does not remember, he does not feel, he lives in a materialist dream.”
—Moiseide Ostrogorski (1902, 302-303)
ANALYSIS-U.S. LNG importers turn to export markets for help
08.22.08, 11:42 AM ET
United States - By Joe Silha
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. liquefied gas market, traditionally an import-only business, may be poised for some big changes that would allow under-utilized regasification terminals to export the super-cooled gas to more profitable overseas destinations, industry experts said.
While the nation's only liquefaction plant in Alaska has been exporting LNG for 40 years, and some natural gas is exported by pipeline to Mexico, LNG has not yet been shipped overseas from the continental United States and may heighten concerns about having enough supply to meet future demand.
http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reut......
Origin Eyes $8 Billion Joint Venture With Conoco to Fend off BG
By Fayen Wong and Tom Bergin
September 8, 2008
PERTH/LONDON (Reuters) - Australia's Origin Energy Ltd struck a joint venture deal with U.S.-based ConocoPhillips and promised an extra shareholder payout, a move that could either defeat an $11 billion bid from Britain's BG Group Plc or force a higher offer.
Origin and Conoco said in statements on Monday that Conoco would contribute up to $8 billion toward a 50-50 joint venture that will develop the massive coal-seam gas (CSG) assets and build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.
OPEC Suggests Production Will Be Left Untouched
OPEC president says organization is likely to keep crude output steady
By GEORGE JAHN Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria September 9, 2008 (AP)
OPEC oil ministers will likely decide to keep output at present levels, the group's president said Tuesday, suggesting that most members could accept prices at $100 a barrel.
OPEC nations account for two-thirds of the world's known oil reserves, and about 40 percent of the world's oil production, affording them considerable control over the global market.
9-9-08
5 CEOs of some of the biggest oil companies were on Capitol Hill today.
Post a comment
Commenting requires registration.