Sunday, August 16, 2015 -- Count The Scottish Among The Deniers

Another article on the US as the "new" swing producer, replacing Saudi Arabia as the former swing producer. Project Syndicate is reporting:

Adding to the supply-side changes was Saudi Arabia’s subsequent historic announcement that it would no longer lead OPEC in playing the role of swing producer. It would no longer lower production when prices fell sharply, and increase output in response to large price surges.

That decision was both understandable and rational. Playing the role of swing producer was coming at a growing cost to both current and future generations of Saudi citizens. Non-traditional suppliers had increased their market influence, non-OPEC producers continued to plan high output, and some OPEC members failed to adhere to their production ceilings. Given all this, Saudi Arabia could no longer be expected to incur the growing short- and long-term cost of being the stabilizing market force that it had been for decades. 

Over the next few months, the US will indeed alter its supply and demand conditions in a way that puts a floor under oil prices and enables a gradual recovery in the market. But, unlike the previous swing producer, this will result from traditional market forces, not policy decisions.

Indeed, we should expect an even sharper reduction in US energy output as persistently low prices increase the pressure on domestic producers. From the shutdown of additional rigs to the curtailment of new investment in exploiting shale resources, the US will likely experience a fall in its absolute energy production, as well as in its share of world output.

I still think we're being set up for $200 oil in 2018.

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Green Jobs?

No Way, San Jose!

AP is reporting:

Three years after California voters passed a ballot measure to raise taxes on corporations and generate clean energy jobs by funding energy-efficiency projects in schools, barely one-tenth of the promised jobs have been created, and the state has no comprehensive list to show how much work has been done or how much energy has been saved.

Money is trickling in at a slower-than-anticipated rate, and more than half of the $297 million given to schools so far has gone to consultants and energy auditors. The board created to oversee the project and submit annual progress reports to the Legislature has never met, according to a review by The Associated Press.

Voters in 2012 approved the Clean Energy Jobs Act by a large margin, closing a tax loophole for multistate corporations. The Legislature decided to send half the money to fund clean energy projects in schools, promising to generate more than 11,000 jobs each year.

Instead, only 1,700 jobs have been created in three years, raising concerns about whether the money is accomplishing what voters were promised.

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No Global Warming In Scotland

The Daily Mail is reporting the snow and ice still hasn't completely melted in Scotland this year:

A cold summer in Scotland has led to this incredible natural phenomenon - with ice and snow which still hasn't melted forming a network of icy tunnels and caves clinging to the edge of mountains.

Experts say an unusual mix of circumstances has produced a stunning world of snow tunnels and bridges towering higher than a double-decker buses in the Cairngorms National Park.

A range of factors has seen a growing number of snow patches remaining since 2007, but this summer there are more than have been seen for 20 years.

The stunning structures are created when the snow begins to melt, and as water begins to flow underneath, a tunnel of air forms, melting the snow from under it.

The results are these vast caverns, sometimes so big that people can walk underneath, and decorated with melting patterns that look like choppy waves.

I assume the Kennedys are already planning their next year's summer trip to Scotland to see the new glacier.

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A Little Light Reading During Lunch