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Colville, Washington |
Saturday, March 20, 2010 |
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Local News
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 |
WSU Colville Reservation-Ferry County Extension will host a Regional Bio-Energy workshop at the CCT Energy Department Headquarters at the old Armory in Okanogan on April 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (call 634-2304 to register).
This event will bring experts together to update participants on potential for creating energy alternatives and educate the community on national, statewide, and local region situations and possibilities, as well as answering questions.
Presenters from Washington State University, University of Idaho, Colville Confederated Tribes, USDA Land and Water Agency, and energy industry leaders will provide the latest information on bio-fuel and bio-energy efforts from researchers and industry experts. Topics include: Selling Carbon Credits, Dave Baumgartner, Washington State University; Boards and Bioenergy: A back to the Future Solution for Modern Problems in Biomass Utilization, Jay O’Laughlin, Ph.D.; University of Idaho; Canola Production, Dennis Roe and Frank Young PhD. USDA; Overview of Local Biodiesel Production, Phil Linden, WSU Colville Reservation-Ferry County Extension; and Colville Confederated Tribes Energy Update, Ernie Clark, CCT Energy Department Director.
With continued volatility in the energy markets and the challenges posed by the current economy, communities are going to be looking for solutions for their energy needs and economic diversity to strengthen local markets.
“Eastern Washington could play a pivotal role in the state’s liquid fuel alternatives; forest and farms will be relied upon to offset increasingly unstable fuel markets,” explained Phil Linden of Colville Reservation Extension. “An acre of canola can produce up to 150 gallons of bio-diesel, and one ton of slash has the energy equivalent to a barrel of oil. Learn from the experts what can be done to secure our communities’ energy future.”
This event will begin at 9 a.m. sharp on April 23 (doors open at 8:30 am for sign-in)
CCT Energy Headquarters is located at 71 Rodeo Trail Rd., Okanogan.
Lunch will be provided for those who register before April 20. There is no charge for this event and all are welcome. Call the Colville Reservation Extension office at 509-634-2304 for more information or to register. |
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 |
It’s spring—the cost of a fill-up is going up
BY CHRIS COWBROUGH
S-E Editor
It’s March and that means the price you’re paying at the pump these days is on the rise. The economy is still weak, but that doesn’t seem to mean that the prices at the pump are reflective of that.
If you want to drive, you’re going to have to pay whatever the market will bear—and can get away with.
There are seasonal influences that are strong as a mostly benign Northwest winter gives way to spring—and more driving. Much of the price spike in recent weeks at the pumps can be attributed to those seasonal influences.
Gasoline averages nationally are expected to reach at least $3 this spring. In the Colville valley, where prices are notoriously some of the highest in the Northwest and certainly higher than the national average, a price of regular unleaded is already well over that $3 a gallon benchmark.
Headed for $3.25 a gallon at a rapid rate
As of last Thursday, a gallon of regular unleaded in Colville was at $3.14 a gallon and headed up at a rate of about five cents a gallon every two to three days.
Rising oil prices are also a factor in higher gasoline prices.
“There is no legitimate fundamental reason for higher prices, but it is March, so we have to expect to see them,” Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover said of oil prices in his report and to the Associated Press. “Reasons have a way of materializing at this time of the year.”
The higher prices come at a time when most Americans’ incomes are stagnant. A family with one car is spending about four percent of its income on fuel currently, according to the Oil Price Information Service.
At $3 a gallon, a typical motorist using 50 gallons of gasoline will pay about $150 a month for fuel.
Wholesale prices for the April gasoline contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange are about 10 to 12 cents higher than the March contract. Much of the increase has to do with refiners switching to more expensive summer blends of gasoline that are designed to meet tougher pollution standards that are in effect between April and September.
Nationally, the price of a gallon of gasoline averaged $2.775 as of last Thursday. One month ago, that average was $2.633. One year ago at this time, regular gasoline was priced at $1.921 a gallon.
And the winner is—New Jersey
The cheapest place to fill up that gas tank last week was still New Jersey ($2.607 a gallon). Tulsa, Oklahoma offered the lowest prices for a gallon of unleaded--$2.513 last Thursday.
In Washington, Spokane continues to afford motorists something of a break at the pump, at least in comparison with prices at the pump around the state.
As of last Thursday, WashingtonGasPrices.com indicated that the Cenex on Euclid and Market in Spokane offered the lowest price for a gallon of unleaded ($2.69). The Costco stores in Spokane were at $2.72 last Thursday.
As usual, prices at the pump in the Colville valley were among the state’s highest.
The highest listed price by WashingtonGasPrices.com last Thursday was a Chevron station in Blaine ($3.39 a gallon). Next on the dubious “Top 10” was a Shell station in Sedro- Woolley ($3.25). Another Shell station in Tumwater was selling a gallon of unleaded for $3.19.
It’s only going to get worse.
Prices nationwide have risen 9.2 cents in the past month and now are 80.6 cents higher than levels of a year ago.
U.S. imports of crude oil increased 1.7 percent to 9.24 million barrels a day in the week ended Feb. 26, the highest level since September, according to a recent Energy Department report.
An 18 percent rise in oil prices over the past month that pushed crude near a 2010 high of $83.95 per barrel also is boosting gas prices.
“Crude oil’s rise helped push us into the recession in 2007, so we have to be careful of this and be watchful that it won’t get out of control,” commented John Kilduff of Round Earth Capital.
Stay tuned
Industry officials say things could be different this year. The U.S. continues to be well supplied with gasoline and oil, so there is no prospect of a supply shortage driving up prices. In addition, continued high unemployment and uncertainty about the so-called economic recovery continues to keep demand at the pump about where it was a year ago.
With local prices some of the highest in the Northwest, many drivers will be changing their driving habits, if they haven’t already.
Can you say “bicycle” and “Vespa?”
On the bright side, gas is still off the $4 a gallon high of July 2008—so far. |
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