Grumpy Editor

Thirsty Nevadans take only 3 percent of Colorado River

Periodically, especially during dry years, such as 2013, thirsty-for-stirring-things-up media put the spotlight on how less Colorado River water looms for the Southwest --- especially the growing Las Vegas area --- and certain steps will have to be taken to limit usage, observes Grumpy Editor. 

But what is not emphasized is that the whole state of Nevada, not just Las Vegas, sips only 3 percent of the Colorado River water released from Lake Mead while a foreign country, Mexico, siphons five times more from the same source. 

The water also is shared by six other states:  Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.  Mexico was included via a treaty way back in the 1940s. 

So it’s not unusual to read predictions such as “without dramatic and wide-ranging action, population growth and climate change will overwhelm the Colorado River within 50 years.” 

It’s natural for dry periods to alternate with wet seasons.  

With the latter, when there are large spring-summer runoffs from heavy snowfalls in western mountains, very little “water pinch” rhetoric emanates from media. 

If water supply is of such concern, then perhaps the decades-old treaty with Mexico should be renegotiated to reflect population changes in the U.S.

 

Keystone XL pipeline hits another federal bump 

Grumpy Editor notes the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, long in the works, now is sidelined by the Interior Department that is concerned on effects mainly on wildlife. 

The pipeline would extend 1,700 miles from Canada’s oil sands to Texas Gulf Coast refineries and create thousands of jobs while cutting U.S. reliance on imported oil. 

As pointed out by Los Angeles Times writer Neela Banerjee last week, a 12-page April 29 Interior Department letter, but posted mid-August, “grimly catalogs many ways Keystone XL could harm wildlife: ‘species displacement, increased predation rates and predator travel lanes, increased nest parasitism, vehicle collisions with wildlife…invasive plant species, increased wildfire risk, lower wildlife density, increase in collisions with power lines and electrocutions on power poles … and increase in poaching.’” 

(Sounds almost like what happens daily along Los Angeles freeways.) 

The Interior Department comments contradict the State Department’s March draft environmental assessment, which concluded the project would have only a temporary, indirect impact, noted Banerjee. 

The Times writer also mentioned: “The State Department could issue its final environmental impact statement at any time. The Obama administration must then determine whether the pipeline serves the national interest, based not just on the State Department's analysis, but those of other federal agencies, too, such as the EPA and the Interior Department.”

 

In case you missed these… 

Publishing items:  Other publications must be drooling at the WSJ. monthly magazine for September, which is packed with ritzy ads.  With 160 pages, readers don’t get to the list of editorial contents until page 37…Koch Industries Inc. over the weekend ended speculation on buying the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune or other Tribune Co. newspapers.  Brothers Charles and David Koch say they are no longer interested.  This must have brought relief to some L.A. Times staffers who earlier vowed to quit if the billionaire brothers took over.  Name mentioned now is Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman, who has expressed interest in the L.A. Times with its closeness to the entertainment business…A large group of Egyptian protesters, opposing the Muslim Brotherhood, gathered in front of the Washington Post Thursday, temporarily shutting down the main lobby.

With Army soldier Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in prison Thursday for leaking 700,000 classified military and diplomatic documents over seven months in 2010, Grumpy Editor finds it strange that not one newsperson asked how a 22-year-old private first class (with one stripe on sleeves), could be placed in the sensitive position of intelligence analyst.  Manning last week announced he replaced his first name with Chelsea and intends to live as a female…Walt Disney Co. plans to lay off about 175 people in its Disney/ABC Television Group…A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds 79 percent of adults believe most Americans watch too much television…Easy-to-take Vin Scully, 85, who returns to the Los Angeles Dodgers broadcast booth in 2014 for his 65^th season with the team, terms the long-term relationship “a love affair that continues”…Former House speaker and Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich will be one of the hosts on CNN’s revived half-hour political debate show, Crossfire, which restarts on Sept. 16. 

While most media have become silent on IRS and Benghazi scandals, on Thursday they jumped to write or air material on the 40-year-old Watergate event based on additional Richard Nixon tapes.

In reporting Chevron fire, media aid in gas price boost

While dark smoke was still billowing from a fire at Chevron Corp.’s Richmond, Calif., oil refinery, media --- especially broadcast --- were warning that gasoline prices “soon” would surge to above $4 a gallon on the West Coast, notes Grumpy Editor.

The blaze at Chevron’s facility, near San Francisco, erupted Monday night and was extinguished early Tuesday. 

But near-hysterical media immediately warned about zooming prices at the pump. 

News reports put Chevron’s Richmond facility output accounting for 16 percent of the region’s daily gasoline consumption.  (However, scope of “region” was not pinpointed.) 

Quick research by Grumpy Editor found that Chevron’s Richmond facility ranks third by capacity in the state and is one of four refineries in the Bay area, among 21 in California. 

BP West Coast Products, Carson, tops the California oil refinery list, followed by another Chevron refinery in El Segundo, both near Los Angeles. 

See a graphic on the many California refineries here. 

The Los Angeles Times today noted “the expected run-up in gasoline prices” at the Chevron refinery “may not come as quickly as expected, but it's coming.”

It pointed out the refinery was now partially operating.

The blaze produced one of the more interesting quotes from a public official. 

Associated Press reported Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin --- a Green Party member --- declared the fire was “unacceptable.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama raises eyebrows in repeating U.S. oil ‘scarcity’

Grumpy Editor notes that President Barack Obama, in calling on Congress to give federal regulators more authority to crack down against price manipulators, said it again yesterday at the White House:

“I've said repeatedly, the problem is we use more than 20 percent of the world's oil and we only have 2 percent of the world's proven oil reserves.”

Media remain mum while running with that line for months.

“In classic fashion, (the president) is using a technicality to skirt the facts and keep the myth of energy scarcity alive,” points out the Institute for Energy Research, a Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets.

“The reality is that the U.S. has enough recoverable oil for the next 200 years, despite only having 2 percent of the world’s current proven oil reserves,” emphasizes IER.

“Proven oil reserves are not all of our oil resources --- not even close,” continues IER.  “Proved reserves represent a tiny portion of our total oil resources. Proven (or proved) oil reserves are reserves that have already been discovered, typically through actual exploration or drilling, and which can be recovered economically. That estimate does not include oil that we know about, yet are unable to access because of regulatory barriers.

“For example, the billions of barrels of oil in ANWR are not included in our proved oil reserves.”

The U.S. has 1,442 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil but only about 20 billion barrels are considered proven oil reserves, says IER.

It adds, “That is partly because the federal government is denying access to hundreds of millions of acres oil-rich federal lands: the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, the Naval Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, at least 45 percent of the Gulf of Mexico, the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, and oil shale on federal lands in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, to name a few.” 

 

Photos showing pain at the pump are pain elsewhere, too

Rather than repeated tired images of drivers filling up at the pumps and shots of gas station prices, print and broadcast editors should try something different to illustrate the soaring cost of gasoline --- run photos of U.S. locations were oil drilling or pipelines would alleviate the high cost and dependency from foreign lands, advises Grumpy Editor.

The aim is to remind Washington to zero in on energy independence in a country rich in oil as analysts predict gasoline prices soon could reach $5 a gallon.

U.S. field production of crude oil peaked in 1970 and has since drifted downward to the early 1950s level.

Lost in the shuffle of election news that dominated print and broadcast media late last week are comments from Jack Gerard, president and chief executive, American Petroleum Institute.

President Barack Obama “is misleading Americans about his energy strategy” in an effort to ease pain at the pump, proclaims Gerard.

“Since taking office he has declared 85 percent of our offshore areas off limits, decreased oil and gas leases in the Rockies by 70 percent, rejected the Keystone XL pipeline and has 10 federal agencies planning more regulation of hydraulic fracturing, which is key to oil and natural gas development,” reminds Gerard.

“The president’s Jekyll and Hyde approach to energy security is hurting consumers,” he adds.

“We urge the president to work with our industry to generate more supply to the market and create new American jobs."

Meanwhile, another result of higher prices at the pump --- inflation.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday (when the Dow Jones Industrials later fell 53.05 points to 12952.07) tells the House Financial Services Committe that "gasoline prices have moved up ... (which is) a development that is likely to push up inflation temporarily while reducing consumers' purchasing power."

 

Obama pushes ‘green’ UPS trucks, then relies on gasoline

While national print/broadcast media traveling with the president somehow fail to observe such things, alert Kyle Gillis, an investigative reporter for Nevada Policy Research Institute counted “22 fossil-fuel powered vehicles” --- with video to back him up --- in a presidential motorcade headed for McCarran International Airport following Barack Obama’s 20-minute speech in Las Vegas on Jan. 26, observes Grumpy Editor. 

Obama, standing in front of a United Parcel Service truck (not the usual brown, by the way) at the company’s Las Vegas hub, spoke on use of liquefied natural gas to power such vehicles. 

In his brief visit to Las Vegas, Obama praised UPS for "leading by example" in converting long-haul trucks to use liquefied natural gas rather than diesel fuel.

Obama said 14 U.S. companies have converted one million vehicles to alternative fuel during his administration, resulting in less U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

"Let's get more of these natural gas vehicles on the road," declared Obama, before heading for the presidential limousine (a gas guzzler at eight miles per gallon) to transport him to the waiting Boeing 747 Air Force One.

Think tank NPRI’s Gillis, who observed the “fossil-fuel powered” parade --- which included national media in vehicles --- earlier worked at the Media Research Center's Business & Media Institute in Washington, D.C., where he covered financial reform, auto bailouts, housing reform, taxes and the stimulus. 

See the parade of 22 fossil-fuel powered vehicles here.

 

California Gov. Jerry Brown looks at sun to power state

Grumpy Editor feels the short answer to California Gov. Jerry Brown’s massive $26.5 billion budget shortfall in the oil-rich Golden State is simply to push for:  more drill, baby, drill.

More oil production would yield more income --- including taxes to Sacramento --- from more sales, more jobs and more construction, boosting the state’s economy via an industry that has been sidelined lately.  (Annual California field and offshore crude oil production has been in a steady decline since 1985.)

Seems editorial writers on most newspapers in the state haven’t figured that out.  A boost, via more oil, in the economy also would lead to more advertising from businesses, thus lifting bottom lines for worried publishers.

After all, oil remains essential to power vehicles --- from Hollywood entertainers’ extended limousines to mighty Army tanks --- plus ships and aircraft.  Wind and solar power won’t quite work in those categories.

Yet, Brown while marking his 100^th day in office as a governor (again) and his 73^rd birthday this week, signed legislation requiring California utilities to obtain one-third of their power from renewable sources.

The power firms have until 2020 to produce 33 percent of their electricity from solar panels, windmills and other renewable sources.

Such renewable origins for electricity generation will come at a higher price.  Since power companies will have to bill customers at loftier rates, it would lead to less money in Californians’ pockets for other uses ranging from travel to buying homes.

“There are people who think we can drill our way to happiness and prosperity,” the Democrat --- who garnered the “Gov. Moonbeam” title in the 1970s while serving two-terms --- declared Tuesday at a solar panel plant near San Jose.

“Instead of just taking oil from thousand of miles away, we’re taking the sun and converting it,” added Brown.

Until recent years, the California economy mushroomed from growing production of oil, an active motion picture industry, housing construction and agriculture products highlighted by citrus output.

 

‘Inflation’ doesn’t exist in Washington dictionaries

While Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen was informing the Economic Club of New York on Monday that U.S. monetary policy “continues to be appropriate” and recent price rises in oil, grain and other commodities are “unlikely to have persistent effects on consumer inflation,” the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) declared escalating global inflation “is the biggest challenge to businesses struggling to recover from the economic downturn,” observes Grumpy Editor.

That is a key finding from a survey by ACCA of more than 2,300 accountants last month.

Then yesterday, fears of rising oil prices putting handcuffs on global growth led commodities lower as the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 117.53 points to 12263.58.

Most of Washington, it seems, looks the other way when inflation is mentioned.

One hopes that some statistical savvy attendee at a White House press briefing will ask if uttering the dreaded “I” word is banned in the nation’s capital.

"The huge rise in inflation has been the most worrying development to emerge from our latest survey,” says Manos Schizas, senior policy adviser at London-based ACCA with 140,000 global members.

“More than half of respondents reported problems with rising operating costs, which will hinder their ability to look for new opportunities at the time when businesses desperately need to fill the order books,” he points out.

"The number of finance professionals worried about inflation will also be a concern to governments that have put in place a range of measures to control rising prices.”

 

Blame Libya for gasoline pain at pump? Not so fast

With the price of oil reaching $106 a barrel yesterday, most media and the White House point the finger at Libya as the culprit in sending the price of gasoline to $4 a gallon and beyond, but Grumpy Editor finds that the North African nation is only a very minor player in contributing to the U.S. crude oil supply --- information that is rarely inserted in current stories relating to oil and gasoline.

One publication mentioning the minor role of Libyan oil imports is The Wall Street Journal.  Today’s top front-page story on Libyan oil mentions, “The U.S. is a small customer of Libya.”  But that’s in the 17^th paragraph of the 22-paragraph article.

Gasoline prices are up a hefty 34 cents a gallon, on average, in just 13 days, reports AAA.

Among nations receiving Libya’s crude exports, the U.S. gets a minuscule 0.5 percent (that’s half of one percent for those confused by decimal points).  That puts the U.S. at the bottom of the list of key nations on the receiving end of Libyan oil.

Put another way, the U.S. receives only 51,000 barrels a day via Libya.

That compares to Ireland, topping the list in importing 23 percent of its crude from Libya.  It is followed by Italy with 22 percent and Austria with 21 percent.

Europe receives more than 85 percent of Libya’s oil.

Of course, U.S. dependency on foreign oil imports can be reduced greatly by more domestic production.

But despite the steady upward climb of oil prices --- contributing to inflation on many fronts --- barriers remain for more domestic production that would result in less dependency on foreign imports.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last Friday told CNSNews:  “We don’t believe that you need to drill everywhere and we don’t believe that the ‘drill, baby, drill’ program is the way that’s going to get us to the energy independence that we need for America.”

(One has to re-read that quote to understand Washington thinking.)

Salazar said the president and the Interior Department point to the need for an energy program that includes a number of different sources, especially citing renewable energy.

Also on Friday, a Rasmussen Reports survey finds 55 percent of likely U.S. voters (up from 48 percent three months ago) now oppose President Barack Obama’s seven-year ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in part of the Gulf of Mexico and along the East Coast.  

 

Noble Energy gets deep-water Gulf oil drilling permit

Perhaps the turmoil in the Middle East and Libya, triggering rising oil prices and more consumers’ pain at the pump, has pressured Washington to green light the first Gulf of Mexico deep-water oil drilling permit since the massive BP spill last spring, notes Grumpy Editor.

 The permit from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, announced yesterday, went to Noble Energy Inc., Houston, allowing continued work on a well about 70 miles southeast of Venice, La.

The New York Stock Exchange-listed company holds a significant position in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. 

The action came after U.S. gasoline prices jumped an average 17 cents last week.

Now the question is: will expanded drilling spread elsewhere?

The U.S. currently imports more than 60 percent of its crude oil, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

Another area that would greatly reduce reliance on imports is Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf.

That region could produce almost 10 billion barrels of oil and 15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas through 2057, according to a report by Northern Economics, a consulting firm, and the University of Alaska-Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research.

It would make Alaska the world’s eighth largest oil production area, ranking it ahead of Libya (one of the nations in current turmoil), Norway, Nigeria and Russia.

The Alaska offshore drilling also would create about 55,000 jobs, the report added.

But current Washington energy policy has put handcuffs on moving ahead aggressively with drilling in the U.S. 

The slow-moving process of issuing drilling permits "continues to stifle domestic production and puts thousands of jobs at risk in the Gulf and around the country," the American Petroleum Institute said.

 

Consumer confidence overshadowed by market stumble

Overlooked in widespread negative business news --- which sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 178.46 points yesterday to close at 12,212.79, lowest since Feb. 7 --- was the Conference Board announcing its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 70.4 this month from a revised 64.8 in January, notes Grumpy Editor.

Chances are that bright spot will be hard to find in your newspaper today.

Unrest, especially in the Middle East and Libya, along with worry over oil supplies that sent prices higher, triggered investors to sell stocks.

The Conference Board’s February finding was well above the 66.0 expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Growing optimism about the short-term future is driving confidence, said Lynn Franco, director at the private research group.

Of course, some of that confidence got knocked down yesterday.

Looking ahead, however, Franco added:

“Consumers are more positive about the economy and their income prospects, but feel somewhat mixed about employment conditions.”