Consumer Energy Alliance

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization created to help expand the dialogue between the energy and consuming sectors to improve understanding of energy security, more effectively develop and use both renewable and oil & gas energy resources in an environmentally conscious manner, create sound energy policy and maintain stable energy prices for consumers.

CEA February 2009 Newsletter

CEA Newsletter
Issue 23

Message from CEA President David Holt
As a new Congress and administration look to confront the historic and related challenges of an economy in peril and millions of Americans out of work, CEA continues to make the case that an “all of the above,” supply-oriented energy strategy remains the best and most immediate way to stimulate our economy, create new jobs, and generate billions in additional revenue.

Consistent with that message, I’m pleased to report that the New Year has started off well for CEA and its members. Just last week, CEA was interviewed by E&E TV, considered the pre-eminent energy trade publication in Washington, for an extended segment on the Administration’s economic stimulus plan and its potential impacts on energy prices for consumers (click here to see interview). We also recently placed a column in the Virginian-Pilot, a paper with broad circulation along the Atlantic coast, stressing the need to responsibly develop our offshore energy resources (click here to see op-ed).

These latest developments highlight the momentum CEA has gained and continues to gain in reaching out on a regional and national level to consumers, business and industry about relevant energy issues and ways on how we can secure our energy and economic future. With the new Administration in place and talk of the economic stimulus plan reaching a fevered pitch, it remains critical that we continue to push for open dialogue on energy policy and the need for a commonsense, long-term approach to resource development.

One of the best ways for us to do that is to keep educating consumers, businesses and Washington thought-leaders about energy – where it comes from, what it’s used for and how to keep it affordable. Starting this month, we will profile each of our more than 110 Affiliates every issue to show how energy impacts their individual members, in the process providing ours with a greater sense of whom we represent and what CEA is all about.

In turn, one of our Affiliates will provide a report every month on an energy topic related to its business. This month, IPAA has provided a brief report on hydraulic fracturing, a process used to extract oil and natural gas from tight rock formations. We will also begin a “Consumer Corner” feature in the next couple of months that will provide information to our members on specific energy consumer issues, including tips on ways to conserve energy and become more efficient.

Effective dialogue can only take place if we are all properly informed about the issues at hand. CEA strives to give you the information you need to take part in the debate, and we look forward to finding more and better ways to do this.

David Holt
President

Support the Five-Year Plan Draft Proposed Program to Develop Offshore Oil & Gas Resources!
A significant domestic supply of energy can be safely and efficiently found right here off of America’s shores. The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) currently administers the considerable oil and natural gas resources contained in our offshore waters and wants to hear from you about offshore oil and gas development.

Opposition to offshore energy development is mounting. We need you to let Washington know you support reasonable accesss to America’s offshore energy resources.

Send in your comments today!

Support Offshore Wind Power!
The Minerals Management Service is now accepting public comments on a final proposal to develop an offshore wind energy facility off of the Massachusetts coast.

The Cape Wind Energy Project has the potential to power more than 200,000 homes in Massachusetts.

Send in your comments today!

U.S. Oil Reserves grew 2% in 2007 according to U.S. Energy Information Administration figures
In contrast to steep decreases in domestic crude reserves from the 1970′s on that became more moderate in the last ten years, the EIA reported in late January that proved U.S. oil reserves rose in 2007 by two percent, or 345 million bbl, reaching 21.32 million bbl by the end of that year. Due to the time required to develop final reports, the figures do not include the price volatility experienced during 2008, when crude oil prices ranged from a high of $150/bbl then dropped to $40/bbl. Read article…

Future holds solar-powered cars; Toyota offers solar panel option on 2010 Prius
Though cars powered solely by solar power are still in the distant future, automobile-makers are beginning to offer solar options on vehicles. The third generation Toyota Prius, coming this spring to a dealership near you, will feature an optional roof solar panel to power the car’s ventilation system. Read article…

Hydraulic Fracturing: What it means for the future of your business?
As consumers, we can tend to take for granted how much energy we use on a daily basis. Not only does oil and natural gas provide energy at home by giving us light when we flip on a switch, hot water for the shower, power stoves to cook meals, keep us warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but it also serves as a feedstock for the fertilizer used by corn growers and others in the agriculture industry, powers engines for the air and trucking industries, and makes the insulation and vinyl that home builders use to protect and preserve the home and make it more energy efficient.

At the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), we welcome the production of all energy sources because we will need it all as America moves forward. The fact is energy is the driving force of the American economy. Oil and natural gas supply about 65 percent of America’s energy needs. Even with additional energy resources such as wind, solar and other alternatives, oil and natural gas will continue to be the main driving force of our economy for the foreseeable future.

Hydraulic fracturing is a process that has successfully been used for more than 50 years to extract oil and natural gas from tight rock formations in the earth. This innovative technology has allowed improved recovery of valuable energy resources all across the United States, and the majority of natural gas produced in the last two years can be attributed to this process.

Right now hydraulic fracturing, an essential process for oil and natural gas production, is being challenged by a few groups and some political leaders as a harmful process in attempts to end its use. These allegations are unfounded. If you take away hydraulic fracturing from the oil and natural gas industry, it is like taking the robotic machines off of the assembly line at a car manufacturing facility. It would drastically reduce supply. The bottom line is if the supply of American oil and natural gas decrease because producers can no longer employ hydraulic fracturing, negative ramifications will ripple across every sector of the economy. That ripple effect will undoubtedly reach all consumers.

For more information on hydraulic fracturing, click here to view a fact sheet. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact IPAA Vice President of Government Relations Lee Fuller at lfuller@ipaa.org or 202.857.4722.

Affiliate Spotlight: 60 Plus Association
When it comes to fighting for the rights of senior citizens and advocating policies that watch out for their interests, 60 Plus Association, a 15-year old non-partisan, free enterprise seniors’ activist organization, is there to do the job.

The group’s outlook, according to founder and Chairman Jim Martin, is less government, less taxes and adhering to the rule of supply and demand in the forefront of free marketplace dynamics.