vt.Buzz ~ a political blog

Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen

1.10.2009

Fuel for thought

Matt Cota of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association tells me that his uncle, Sean Cota, will be interviewed in a "60 Minutes" segment this Sunday about fuel price speculation. Sean Cota is the proprietor of Cota & Cota fuel in Bellows Falls and has been active on the issue of fuel prices in Washington.

"60 Minutes" indicates that this is the gist of the story they'll be running: The historic swings in oil prices last year were the result of financial speculation from Wall Street and not supply and demand, several sources from the financial and oil communities tell Steve Kroft.

- Terri Hallenbeck

posted by vt.Buzz | 11:17 AM |

Comments:

I'm shocked.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 5:43 PM, January 10, 2009

Terri, a Vermont fuel dealer (was it Bourne?) was recently interviewed on the evening "Marketplace" show on NPR. I was driving home and heard it.

Oh, and jw, thanks for that helpful and informative comment above. It really adds something.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 6:04 PM, January 10, 2009

Up the voltage, he was only shocked.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 6:26 PM, January 10, 2009

Or change the method. Lethal injection seems to be the most common choice these days.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 6:30 PM, January 10, 2009

Anonymous said...

"Or change the method. Lethal injection seems to be the most common choice these days."

Is that what you nameless-nitwit kids are doin' for kicks these days, little fella?

Knock yourself out.

Always a pleasure.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 7:51 PM, January 10, 2009

Gee, don't try to tell the guys over at the VermontTiger that supply and demand did not cause the great surge in fuel prices, they will be "shocked", also.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:00 PM, January 10, 2009

I think he might have been talking about people WHO WANT TO WORK to better themselves, not about dead-beat layabouts like yourself, jw. Most people with a little get-up and go will survive a recession and do O.K. There will always be the slackers who constantly blubber about there not being a free lunch out there for them.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 6:12 AM, January 11, 2009

You are right- how many workers in the public sector have to worry about their jobs compared to the private sector?
The ones who complain the loudest about fiscal cuts are the public sector employees who are quite secure in their employment.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 7:02 AM, January 11, 2009

The high cost of fuel this past year did serious damage to our economy and society. After a brief reprieve gas prices are inching back up again. Our nation should not allow other nations to have such power over us and our economy . We have so much available to us in the way of technology and free sources of energy. WE seriously need to get on with becoming an energy independent nation. We are spending billions upon billions in bail out dollars. Why not spend some of those billions in getting alternative energy projects set up. We could create clean cheap energy, millions of badly needed new green jobs and lessen our dependence on foreign oil all in one fell swoop. We are using oil globally at the rate of 2X faster than new oil is being discovered. Oil is finite. It will run out one day in the not too distant future.I just read an eye opening book by Jeff Wilson called The Manhattan Project of 2009. It would cost the equivalent of 60 cents per gallon to drive and charge an electric car.If all gasoline cars, trucks, and SUV's instead had plug-in electric drive trains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota. Why don't we use some of the billions in bail out money to bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil? This past year the high cost of fuel so seriously damaged our economy and society that the ripple effects will be felt for years to come. www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com

# Posted by:

BeyondGreen | 10:54 AM, January 11, 2009

Your alternative energy is a great idea- in fact it has been only an idea for the past 30 years. I have no problem with alternate energy and I want to rid us of oil dependency so why is it so bad to drill for our own resources, especially when we have proven that we can drill with very little environmental impact.
Just where in the USA do you think you can install wind turbines the area of North Dakota to generate electricity? We do have activist environmentalists who would stop that dead- have you read about a few wind towers in Vermont that can't get built?
It will also take a state the size of Connecticut to furnish New York City with electricity- shall we close CT down?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:10 AM, January 11, 2009

The liberals have this fantasy of free, renewable energy replacing our dependence on foreign oil - but like the flatlanders in Sutton and Sheffield that are doing all they can to shut down wind-generated electricity, it must be done where they can't see it, say Texas or Oklahoma! Talk about your NIMBYs!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:39 AM, January 11, 2009

Funny that the right wingers see political resistance as a reason to kill any development of wind energy, but it isn't a good enough reason to reduce coal & oil energy.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:44 PM, January 11, 2009

or nuclear

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:27 AM, January 12, 2009

And how are "right wingers" that support the wind farms in Sheffield and elsewhere (as opposed to the NIMBY out of staters) killing wind energy? I don't know of any right wingers that are opposed to improving our independence of energy, as for example increased drilling for oil, but how can wind energy ever be given a chance if the NIMBY crowd constantly fights it? (i.e., see the Kennedy clan and Walter Cronkite)

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 6:00 AM, January 12, 2009

01-20-09 The beginning of an error

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:50 AM, January 12, 2009

It seems to be an error to appoint a left-wing, anti-American socialist like Carol Browner to be "climate czar" but on the other hand it probably is more of a bone being tossed to the REAL crazies that supported Obama! Hopefully she will be no more than the "token" idiot ranting about global warming while we freeze.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:03 AM, January 12, 2009

Pravada reports that scientific evidence supports that we are entering an ICE AGE.
Do you think they consulted with Carol Browner or Al Gore?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:31 AM, January 12, 2009

Pravda - always a reliable source!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:38 AM, January 12, 2009