“You going to watch the State of the Union?” I asked a friend Tuesday. “I’m going to listen on the radio. I want to hear it, but I don’t want to have to look at him.” Understandable, but by only listening, my friend missed the key to the speech. Viewers might have missed it, too … Read More
Author: Mark Floegel
Whither Peak Oil?
Originally posted at http://www.markfloegel.org If you’re a long time reader of these commentaries, you may have noticed the recurrence of a limited repertoire of subjects – the Iraq war, global warming, the evisceration of civil liberties in the U.S. and peak oil. As detrimental as I believe the administration of George W. Bush has been … Read More
Biggest Polluter
Sunday’s local newspaper reported that gasoline sales in Vermont were 13 percent below prediction in February of this year and almost 15 percent low for May. I have no theories on the May swoon, aside from the toll continued high prices are having on us all, but I’m reasonably sure the February dip was due … Read More
As High As The Sky
Three months ago, I predicted airlines would feel the first pinch of peak oil. They’re pinched and passengers are screaming. My ears are full of complaints from friends who’ve been traveling in the past month. I’ve got to fly in 10 days; I’m not looking forward to it. The price of oil is creeping toward … Read More
Talking Real Money
In the produce section at the grocery store the other day, I was pleased to see cherries are in season. I wasn’t pleased to see they cost nine dollars a pound. These were not organic cherries but conventional, pesticide-sprayed fruit. What makes them expensive is that they were trucked in from Michigan or Washington State … Read More
The Other Shoe
As I write, another teeming downpour pounds northwest Vermont. Over seven inches of rain fell in May, more that twice the average and a new record. A record summer for mosquitoes is predicted, even if the rain abates. A mild winter and heavy spring rain will bring the Green Mountains all sorts of bug and … Read More
First They Came for the Airlines…
George W. Bush, who proclaimed America’s “oil addiction,” in his January State of the Union address, exhibited a classic symptom of addiction Tuesday: denial. As the price of a gallon of gas heads for (and beyond) three dollars, Mr. Bush proposed a truly meaningless agenda, asking oil companies to invest some of their outrageous profits … Read More
Set of Priorities
A quarter century ago, when I began purchasing cigarettes and gasoline in significant quantities, a pack of smokes and a gallon of gas went for about the same price – 65 or 70 cents. Last week, a gallon gas was selling for about $2.65 in Vermont and while I was filling up, I noticed a … Read More
Over the Top in Northern Vermont
It’s winter in Vermont, although it’s 40 degrees in Burlington, there’s no snow on the ground and my neighbor, Tom, is moping about the house. He has a new collapsible ice shanty, auger and tip-ups sitting in his basement unused, because the ice on Lake Champlain (what there is of it) is not thick enough … Read More
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