Water rights will make oil look like a cake-walk in a few years.// Those that live in northern states already have the right clothing to layer up like a deli sandwich. Other tips to save on gas that's heating your boiler: cold wash your clothes plus they will last longer; line dry sweaters, wool socks, lingerie instead of the dryer; use electric appliances like slow cookers, small broilers, etc. instead of the oven; use a space heater in the rooms you use most- esp. if you have weird sleeping patterns; keep temps at 58-low 60's- it's healthier; use a humidifier or leave the door ajar/open when taking a shower; your fireplace could be sucking out all your heat which is not romantic. Take winter on like a contest and win!
On Oct 13, 5:10 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hard winter ahead > US heating and power costs to rise, utility cutoffs to follow > By Tom Eley > 13 October 2008 > Use this version to print | Send this link by email | Email the author > > Heating costs for the coming winter in the US are expected to increase > significantly, threatening working class families already facing > precarious economic conditions. With ongoing layoffs, stagnating > wages, declines in savings and home values and increasing consumer > prices, many households will be hard-pressed to keep their families > warm. > > According to a recent study by the Department of Energy’s, Energy > Information Administration (EIA), home heating costs will rise sharply > this winter—an average of 15 percent per household, to $1,137, based > on a heating season lasting from October 1 to March 1. Homes using > natural gas and heating oil will see the largest hikes, with bills > increasing by 18 and 22 percent, respectively. The cost of heat > generated by electricity is expected to increase by 10 percent. > > The reduction in refinery inventory caused by hurricanes Rita and Ike, > which hit the Gulf Coast oil and natural gas industry in September, > will result in heating cost increases. These costs will not be offset > by the recent decline in the price of oil, which has gone below $90 > per barrel from a peak in July of nearly $150, the study concludes. > > Howard Gruenspecht, acting chief of the EIA, said that heating prices > could go down should the recession continue to intensify. However, he > added that “people are already buying fuel oil ... it’s not like > people are going to delay their first purchase until February to take > advantage of what might be lower prices.” > > Complicating the situation, climatologists anticipate that large > portions of the US will experience a cold winter, with the lower 48 > states expected to be 2.4 percent colder than the previous winter— > although still somewhat warmer than the 30-year average measured from > 1971 to 2001. In the Northeast, where households must be heated for > six months, a particularly bitter winter is expected. > > In anticipation of rising heating costs, Congress has allocated more > funds to help the poorest households pay these energy expenses. The > Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) will have $5.1 > billion to assist 7.8 million families with, on average, 50 percent of > their heating costs. This is up from 5.8 million families who received > assistance on an average of 36 percent of their bill during the > previous winter. > > This level of monetary assistance will prove to be thoroughly > inadequate. When compared to the hundreds of billions of dollars the > federal government doled out to the largest financial institutions in > October alone, it is a pittance. > > Mark Wolfe, director of the National Energy Assistance Directors > Association, a grouping of state-level energy assistance programs, > warned, “We’ve seen rising shutoffs around the country. More and more > people are struggling to pay their energy bills. It’s not only the > poor, but the middle class family that will be struggling. That’s > really a new situation.” > > Generally, only the poor can qualify for government heating > assistance. In Montana, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, a family of > four must earn less than $31,800, or 150 percent of the federal > poverty level and an individual must earn less than $15,600 annually. > In New York and Minnesota these standards are somewhat higher. > > The ability of working class households to afford higher heating costs > has been eroded by inflation, declining savings, stagnating wages, and > layoffs. Recent statistics demonstrate a significant increase in > utility cutoffs to date. A recently published Associated Press survey > revealed that utility shutoffs due to delinquent payments have > increased sharply. They are up 17 percent in New York and 22 percent > in Michigan. Through August, Southern California Edison, with 4.5 > million customers, suspended electric service to 240,000 households—10 > percent more than the previous year. > > In some states and cities, suspending heat in the winter is illegal. > However, where laws do not prevent shutdowns, many households face the > prospect of losing both heat and power in the winter months. Thirty- > five percent of all US households, and a majority of homes in the > South, rely on electricity for heat. > > Typically there are no laws to prevent the cessation of fuel oil > service to homes, which is often delivered by truck. Though only 7 > percent of American households rely on oil for heat, the number is > much higher in the colder Northeast, where it is the primary heat > source for 31 percent of all households. A majority of US households, > 52 percent, use natural gas for heat. > > The recent tightening of credit markets will only exacerbate the > situation, with fewer utilities willing to allow customers to carry > debt. Yet this is what large numbers of working class families are > forced to do—choosing to buy food, pay for auto repairs or necessary > medical treatment before paying utility bills. Don Carlson, county > commissioner of Itasca County in Northern Minnesota, warned, “It’s a > huge problem. People are going into winter without having paid last > year’s bills. We need help.” > > Charities that provide heating assistance have significantly reduced > funds due to the economic crisis. Gerald A. Norlander, director of the > Public Utility Law Project, was quoted in the New York Times > cautioning against expecting such organizations to be able to assist. > “Catholic Charities, the Red Cross and other charities are not able to > meet the need,” he said. “Utility ‘fuel fund’ charities use customer > donations matched by the utility, but they are a drop in the bucket, > often exhausted, and some have very restrictive eligibility > conditions, limiting aid to the elderly and disabled.” > > Anger is building up against the greed and callousness of the utility > corporations. An article in the Providence Journal described a scene > of rage at a recent public meeting of the Rhode Island Public > Utilities Commission. Rhode Island is served by the electricity > corporation, National Grid. > > The meeting “turned into a showcase for the anger and frustration that > will only get worse if measures aren’t put in place to avoid utility > shutoffs,” the newspaper wrote. “It provided what was for some the > most hostile environment they have ever seen at a public meeting. One > woman warned that people with guns would be coming through the door if > something isn’t done. One man yelled ‘greed,’ loudly, several times. > There was talk of a ‘tipping point.’ ‘Throw the people some crumbs,’ > said a member of the audience.” > > Power and other utility cutoffs regularly lead to death, injury, and > the destruction of homes. Cutoffs also pose a significant threat to > public health and sanitation. On October 8, this year, a family of > three in Middletown, New York, suffered severe burns when their > kerosene lantern exploded as they filled it with fuel. Pedro, Maria > and George Pedro were using the lantern for light, their power having > been turned off that day because they could not afford to pay their > bills. Pedro and Maria, both elderly, are likely to die from the > extensive burns they incurred. > > The US working class is not alone in facing sharply rising fuel costs. > In Britain, two charities recently sued the Labour Government in High > Court for its failure to help meet the heating needs of millions of > Britons who live in “fuel poverty”—households that spend more than 10 > percent of their total income on winter heating and thus “cannot > afford sufficient” heat. The number of British households living in > fuel poverty has increased by more than 1 million in one year, to the > astounding total of over 5 million—almost one in four households. > > Hilary Benn, the environmental secretary in the Labour government, > said that everything “reasonably practicable” would be done to assist > families in need. What is “reasonably practicable” has a different > meaning when it comes to bailing out the British financial industry. > Since the year 2000, the Labour government has spent only £20 billion > on heating assistance. Last Wednesday, it announced it would hand over > up to £500 to the banks. > > Private control and distribution of basic human necessities—such as > water and fuel—is an irrational and barbaric practice, which under > capitalism benefits only the large shareholders and CEOs of the > corporations that control these essential commodities. Emergency > measures must be put in place to remove privately owned utilities from > the hands of the major corporations, and turn them into public > utilities under the democratic control of the workers and consumers > whose lives depend upon them. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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