The Steven Chu Effect, the Bakken, Joan Baez, Idle Ramblings --

Spot price of oil March 3 - 11, 2011:

West Texas Intermediate

94.91

97.51

97.19

99.70

99.70

99.70

100.7

I pulled that data because I wanted to go back and look at the "Steven Chu Effect."

Back in late February and early March, 2011, there was a lot of anxiety about the price of oil spiking to $100/bbl due to events in Libya, if I remember correctly. That was about the time the decision was made to tap the strategic petroleum reserve, which, of course, made no sense to me -- storage tanks at Cushing were as full as ever.

Now, we have melted up near $100 again ($99.22 on Friday, November 11, 2011) and there's very little media commentary. Interesting. And we're not even going into the summer driving season.

At that time I wrote (at the linked site):

Ideological policies (no drilling in Alaska, no drilling in the Gulf, delay drilling on shore, frustrate use of fossils through EPA regulations) have long term effects. It takes years to get drilling back on track.

We can now add one more thing to that ever-increasing list of decisions based on ideology: "no" on the Keystone XL.

I would revise that earlier paragraph to read:

Ideological policies (no drilling in Alaska, no drilling in the Gulf, delay drilling on shore, frustrate the use of fossil energy through EPA regulations, killing the Keystone XL, threatening to regulate fracture stimulation) have long term effects. It can take years to bring major energy projects on line and in a crisis, we don't have years to wait. 

And that's why oil will spike again if there's another perceived crisis in oil supply.  The Steven Chu effect: Plan A is to replace hydrocarbon energy with wind and solar energy. There is no Plan B.

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I would normally place this on one of my other sites, but it's nice (for me)  to listen to this while reading Bakken-related stories and comments.



Diamonds and Rust, Joan Baez

Listening to these words, brought a chill up my spine:

I'l be damned: here comes your ghost again.
But that's not unusual;
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call.

And here I sit
And on the telephone,
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago,
Heading straight for a fall.

As I remember, your eyes
Were bluer than robins' eggs.
My poetry was lousy, you said.
Where're you callin' from?
A booth in the midwest.

Ten years ago I brought you some cuff links.
You brought me something.
We both know what memories can bring:
They bring diamonds and rust.

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That sent chills up my spine. The background to the lyrics is very well known; the only private line, if there is one, is the one that comes early: "it's just that the moon is full, and you happened to call." Wow.

I am sure poetry and music this good is still being written and sung somewhere but I haven't run across it lately. At least not consistently.

The other night I watched much, but not all, of the Country Music Awards. I must have missed the good part. I did not recognize (m)any of the nominees, and certainly did not enjoy the music. It was hard for me to call much of it country. Time is passing me by.  And that's why I'm glad I have the Bakken. It brings me back to reality.

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The first time ever I mentioned the "Steven Chu effect" was in October, 2010:

West Texas Intermediate

76.87

76.87

76.87

76.76

78.11

78.52

76.97

Yup. Ideology has its consequences.

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An acoustic cover:


Diamonds and Rust, Judas Priest