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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (3179)	11/18/2005 11:25:50 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24225

Oil crunch to have wide impact ROB VARNON rvarnon@ctpost.com CROMWELL — The end of cheap oil could spell the end of cheap Oreos unless the nation can find ways to diversify its fuel base and conserve energy, according to speakers at an annual conference on energy prices and supplies Wed-nesday. "We're finally recognizing that energy affects every part of our business and lives," said Jennifer Janelle, a Hartford-based attorney and president of the Connecticut Power & Energy Society. "It's a commodity we've taken for granted for a long time, and if we don't do something today, there will be no more Oreos for anyone." Janelle opened "What's the Deal? VI," an energy conference sponsored by her organization and the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, by telling a story about her family. She said higher energy prices prompted Kraft Foods to raise prices more than 3 percent, prompting her husband, who was eating Oreos, to say "No more mac and cheese," to which she responded, "or Oreos, either." More than 235 people attended the conference, which included panel discussions on the state's energy market, how to save money and exhibits by companies that specialize in cutting energy consumption. Thomas Santa, president and chief executive officer of Bridgeport-based Santa Energy, was a panelist and discussed how the state and nation wound up in a situation where energy prices and tight supplies have some experts worried about winter blackouts. "The seeds were sown in 1998," Santa said. In December of that year, a barrel of oil traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange for $10, and, according to Santa, "It was too low." Because oil was so cheap, there was no incentive to invest in exploration and new refineries, Santa said. Under these conditions, conservation efforts spawned in the 1970s energy crisis went right out the window and people "invested in Hummers — things that get 7 miles to the gallon." What has occurred since shouldn't be a surprise, he said. Consumption has continued to increase and prices have gone up — compounded the past several years by increased demand from Asia and military action in the Middle East, Santa said. The only meaningful reduction in national consumption came after hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged Gulf of Mexico refineries, Santa said, displaying a U.S. Department of Energy graph showing a drop in consumption in September and October in the wake of the hurricanes and a rise in prices. But consumption has returned to the levels of November 2004, Santa said. In 1998, the year that oil dropped to $10 per barrel, Scientific American published an article predicting the end of cheap oil within 10 years, Santa said, because available supplies will dwindle in the face of increased demand. "This is something we have to take very seriously," Santa said. The other major concerns at the conference were state and regional dependence on natural gas, the aging of power plants and power lines, which must be replaced, and the continued rise in electricity demand. A key element in helping resolve these problems will be conservation, according to panelists, although they cautioned that conservation alone won't solve the problems. Connecticut has been doing quite a bit of conservation during the past few years, but there's still plenty of waste out there, according to Scott Hinson, president of New England Energy Management Inc. of Danbury. Hinson was an exhibitor at Wednesday's event. His company installs high-efficiency lighting systems that can cut energy use and save money, according to Hinson. He said he thinks that only about 40 percent of the Connecticut market place have installed more efficient lighting, which can cut some companies' energy consumption by more than 60 percent. Rob Varnon, who covers business, can be reached at 330-6216. connpost.com