Climate and energy

This is catch-up week on the blog.

KS federal legislative delegation on energy policy (Harris News). They all agree we need a comprehensive one. They agree it should involve getting off foreign oil, some form of expanded domestic oil production/ exploration, and moving toward a clean energy economy based on renewables.

That said. There is still no renewal on the Production Tax Credit. In fact, Senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts have consistently voted against the provision in Washington, while still talking it up to pro-wind audiences back home.

So. Is it all talk? Is there any walk? You, the voters, get to decide.

Hutch trying to makes streets safer for bikers (Hutch News). Gas prices go up and people turn to cheaper transportation. Like bikes (and motorcycles). If you are one of them, CHECK OUT THE SAFETY RULES at the end of this article.

Possible change in Kansas speed limit from 65-70 (Harris). The Kansas Energy Council is recommending this change, as well as increasing the fines for speeding by 50 percent and possibly discussing reducing the 10-mile exemption on highways to 5 miles per hour. Quotables:

“I guess I’m going to vote for this just as a way of advancing the public discussion,” said Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, the council’s co-chairman. “Gas has never been $4 a gallon. We’re in a different environment.”

However, state Sen. Janis Lee, D-Kensington, said the change stood no chance of making it through the Kansas Legislature.

“There’s no way, shape or form this is going to pass,” said Lee, a member of the panel.

Also interesting:

Reducing driving speed from 70 mph to 65 mph is expected to increase fuel economy by 7 to 23 percent while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions and other heat-trapping gases, according to the council.

Secretary of Transportation Deb Miller said the average speed on Kansas highways posted with 70 mph limits is 78 mph. The average speed on rural roads posted with 65 mph limits is 75 mph, she said.

Anecdotal: While driving back from Colorado this weekend, there were plenty of people going 65 mph (I assume for mileage reasons). Many of them had KS license plates from the western counties.

Then there were all the people still going 80 plus. That sort of speed range on the highway is a little scary. I simply mention it.

Natural gas heating prices could rise 20% this winter, get started winterizing NOW (Wichita Eagle). Propane costs are already 10-20% above normal. Quotables:

But unless you have money to replace the furnace and apply insulation, the best bet is to “make sure your ducts are cleaned, caulk and apply weather-stripping around doors and windows,” said David Springe, consumer counsel for the Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board in Topeka, a state agency charged with representing consumers in utility cases.

Springe said he keeps the thermostat in his home at 59 degrees on winter nights, and 64 degrees during the day. “Consumers can to some degree control what they use,” he said. “But they can’t control the price. Neither can the utility companies.”

Dick Dennis, owner of Dennis Insulation in Derby, said that although the majority of his business is insulating new homes, he’s been getting more phone calls from owners of existing homes.

“The majority of our calls come when homeowners receive those bills of the season when it is like five degrees around zero or in the triple digits and they want us to put guys in their attics,” Dennis said.

An insulation upgrade should pay for itself within seven years, he said. The owner of a 1,000 square foot home could expect to pay between $390 to $600 for an upgrade to attic insulation, Dennis said.

— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org