The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged gas prices

Keepin’ It Real: Obama Energy Promises

By | 11.12.08 | 3:49 pm

President-elect Obama has said that energy will be a top priority for his administration in its first 100 days — hinting that it will come second only to the economy.

In the past year, the Obama campaign has made a lot of promises on energy, related to jobs, climate More…

Which Candidate Does Exxon Have a Bigger Crush On?

By | 10.30.08 | 3:08 pm

Shock, surprise! Exxon Mobil Corp. reported record-breaking quarterly profits today. The oil company earned $14.83 billion in its fiscal third quarter, more than any company in U.S. history.

Hearing the news, Sen. John McCain accused Sen. Barack Obama of being in the pockets of Big Oil, a charge More…

Mixed Reactions to Cheaper Gas

By | 10.29.08 | 7:28 pm

As I reported last week, it’s still unclear what consumers may do now that oil and gasoline prices have plummeted. A bit of news from TradingMarkets.com shows that consumers’ mixed reactions to lower gas prices are making things especially difficult for the auto industry.

Price Shocker — Gas Getting Cheaper

By | 10.24.08 | 3:05 pm

After a summer of grimacing at the pump — with gas prices reaching an average of $4 a gallon — consumers are finally getting some relief. Just a few months ago, the cost of crude oil was as high as $140 a barrel. Now it More…

OPEC Cuts Oil Production

By | 10.24.08 | 11:00 am

Since oil prices plummeted to below $70 a barrel, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has been talking about cutting oil production to respond to a demand that just keeps dropping. Today, OPEC is doing it. It announced a plan to cut oil output by 1.5 million barrels.

Renewable Energy’s Uncertain Economic Future

By | 10.20.08 | 4:35 pm

With the price of oil dropping to around $74 a barrel — and gasoline prices, on average, falling below $3 a gallon — the alternative-energy industry may have something to lose. The drop in oil prices stems from the global credit crisis and the recession fears it has spawned.

The More…

A Lifeline for Renewable Energy at Stake

By | 10.02.08 | 2:25 pm

Dennis Markatos-Soriano has been worried. And so are, probably, the hundreds of thousands of other workers in the renewable-energy sector.

Markatos-Soriano, an employee of Carolina Solar Energy, and his fellow clean-energy workers could lose their jobs if the existing federal tax credits for wind and solar energy companies are allowed More…

Expiring Renewable Energy Tax Credits Get Last Chance

By | 10.01.08 | 3:16 pm

A bill to renew federal tax credits for solar and wind energy has been stuck in Congress all year. That’s made business owners and employees in the industry uneasy.

But the credits may not be dead. Senate leaders decided to attach the renewable energy bill that prolongs the credits onto More…

Ban On Offshore Drilling Expires Today

By | 09.30.08 | 3:45 pm

The 27-year-old moratorium on offshore drilling expires today. According to polls, Americans overwhelmingly favor drilling for oil offshore to help lower gasoline prices.

As I keep saying in my reporting on the subject, government data indicate that offshore drilling won’t affect gas prices. Dept. of Energy projections show that such More…

Congress To Take Up Expanded Offshore Drilling Bill

By | 09.04.08 | 4:25 pm

Returning Tuesday from a five-week break, the Senate Democrats plan to consider a controversial bipartisan energy bill that would expand offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and, perhaps, elsewhere, The Associated Press reported yesterday.

The proposal, which remains in draft form, would lift the drilling ban on More…