Posted on 06/20/2008 7:58:42 AM PDT by Bulwinkle
That’s the word not from Chicken Little, but from former Maine Governor Angus King, who says he doesn’t use the term “catastrophe” lightly.
“This is a human catastrophe coming at us in the state of Maine in terms of energy supply and costs,” King said last week at a daylong seminar on harnessing tidal energy and offshore wind to confront runaway energy costs, costs he sees as a direct threat to Maine being habitable.
“This winter, the cost of fuel oil is going to more than double,” he said. “What’s being quoted now is $4.96 — $5 a gallon. That’s $1,000 to fill up your tank in the basement one time, and most people are going to have to fill up their tank six times.
“How is somebody who is making $350 or $400 a week going to pay to fill up the tank to keep warm? How are they going to pay to fill up the truck to get to work? This is, I think, the most serious crisis to ever face the state of Maine.” ...
... “This is a catastrophe,” he said. “This isn’t business as usual. This isn’t some minor little problem. This isn’t do not pass school buses or what’s the speed limit on the Interstate. This is a disaster in the state of Maine that’s coming at us.” ...
...“Eighty percent of homes in Maine are heated with oil,” he said. “The national average is 9 percent. If you do the math, 87 percent of the total energy bill of the average Maine person is dependent on oil or natural gas, and that is a particularly serious problem.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ellsworthmaine.com ...
That will surely more than provide all the energy they deserve.
I live in Maine and write a column 2-3 times a week on a local web site. I’ve been talking about a coming “catastrophe” for a few months now and the only response I get is from environmentalists who basically tell me to stop harping on the subject!!! Maine’s a weird place.....
Freezing to death is NOT a nice way to go.
“This winter, the cost of fuel oil is going to more than double,”
Thats 5K for a modest home
At least she is sounding an alarm to do something now.
If I were in that position and had oil heat (I don’t have it now) I would start to look at electric baseboard and better insulation.
Hey...
But the polar bears are happy...
Right?
;)
80% of homes are heated by oil? Wow. Maybe some incentives (tax break?) for converting to natural gas or propane are in the offing.
It’s not that bad.
You get chilly and you start to slow down.
Then, you get sleepy and a little numb.
As you go out, a wave of peaceful euphoria sweeps over you and you actually feel a little warm.
Much better than the opposite.
Not getting this. There is so damn much wood in Maine, they could rely on the technology they have used for hundreds of years: The Stove. Wow. Breakthrough.
The people on the coast tend to be affluent. They are OK. The ones in the interior are poor, but they have lots of wood to use. The governor is in some altnernate reality.
True leaders lead by EXAMPLE - doing it themselves and then showing the people how its done - NO ONE in Congress is a true leader for all I see is a bunch of whiners, hypocrites, and SUV drivers that have a ton of money in their own pockets while pointing fingers at the big oil execs who may have the same amount of money in their pockets,but atleast they give us something for their money - oil. We get nothing but empty campaign promises and botox treated faces (which we pay for on our tax dollars) and lies through their teeth! It’s time for a real revolution in this country - DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW! (www.americansolutions.com)
Electric rates in Maine are among the highest in the Nation........
I missed the part in the article where his solutions were presented.
I owned a house for 20 years that was heated by oil.The last delivery I got before I sold it (about 4 years ago) the price was $1.69/gallon.Now it’s up to almost $5/gallon? Holy Mother of God!!!!!!
Windmills generating power for electric heat would preclude the need for the oil furnace to kick on most of the time. But the liberal elites will oppose them, because they’re UGLY!
I'll bet the elite (Collins/Snow/King/) will sleep warm and snug regardless.
Maybe one of these days soon folks will wake up and realize that nuclear power plants are needed ASAP and as many as possible. In the meantime they’ll continue having these problems.
Maine Oil ...interesting cite...give prices from suppliers around the state:
Ellsworth $4.819
Those prices are not always current and tend to be 40-50 cents lower than the actual selling price.
$4.99 in my area and that site says $4.56.
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