The price of fuel - better get the bike out

[rupert]

I know this subject has been done to death but I could not believe it today when I opened the latest bill from our local fuel supplier! I checked my old invoices and it is over three times as much as a couple of years ago. How on earth are the elderly or others in similar penniless circumstances going to cope?

[loobyloo]

They will cope by not switching their heating on... Most elderly folk are desperate not to get into debt, being brought up in a time when you didn't take credit. Therefore, they'll be cold. This isn't so bad just now but come October, it's a different story. Mind you, it was freezing yesterday.

[EDDIE]

I know this subject has been done to death but I could not believe it today when I opened the latest bill from our local fuel supplier! I checked my old invoices and it is over three times as much as a couple of years ago. How on earth are the elderly or others in similar penniless circumstances going to cope?

They reckon its going to go up 40% by the end of the year

[Tubthumper]

And apparently it's all the fault of greedy speculators, nothing to do with low supplies and high demand.
What's the difference in petrol/diesel prices between Wick and Thurso these days?
Just so we can gauge how our own personal caithness greedy speculators are getting on? Would hate them to miss out...

[Cattach]

And apparently it's all the fault of greedy speculators, nothing to do with low supplies and high demand.
What's the difference in petrol/diesel prices between Wick and Thurso these days?
Just so we can gauge how our own personal caithness greedy speculators are getting on? Would hate them to miss out...

Yes, that's the Chinese for you. Buying up all the oil to keep their rapidly expanding development and industry becoming more and more dominating in the world market. I am afraid the true problem is the ever increasing need for oil of China and India and a few other developing countries too.
The sensible countries like France, Japan and a few others are quickly expanding their nuclear industries. Now our government in London is seeing the sense of all but our ludites in Edinburgh cannot see past a windmill.

[EDDIE]

Yes, that's the Chinese for you. Buying up all the oil to keep their rapidly expanding development and industry becoming more and more dominating in the world market. I am afraid the true problem is the ever increasing need for oil of China and India and a few other developing countries too.
The sensible countries like France, Japan and a few others are quickly expanding their nuclear industries. Now our government in London is seeing the sense of all but our ludites in Edinburgh cannot see past a windmill.

Its not the chineses fault more the western countries fault when u think about it because all the companys in the western countrys are getting there products made in china because its cheaper to get it mad there than in a western country so people like us can go to asda or tescos and get the product cheap so its really self inflicted.
Nuclear industries is not really all that sensible they have no way of disposing of the nuclear waste safetly it has to be stored for years and years much smarter to use other technolgys like wind and solar and make that more affordable for the working person.

[emb123]

They reckon its going to go up 40% by the end of the year
Are we talking fuel for transport or fuel for heating ?

There is a degree of parity across the board for the pricing of all these solid fuels which we are using to stop us dying of hunger and cold.

Cheap coal was £9 a bag in September last year. It's now £13 a bag and a little birdie tells me it's going to go up again before this winter's out.

This time last year I paid 40p/Litre for heating oil. The last I heard it was around 63p/litre ??

I've forgotten what petrol was costing, and unfortunately I've no reason to know what it costs now. Must get new car!

I've not worked it out exactly (maths was never my strong subject) but that's roughly 45% already isn't it ?

I am sure there is some degree of parity of with other fuels. I believe coal is slightly cheaper than some of the other fuels and certainly a sight cheaper than economy 7. (Considering Caithness folks have to put up with so many windmills and Scotland produces so much electricity, it does seem slightly 'unfair', but that's another debate entirely)

I wouldn't be surprised if we see yet another 30% price rise in the price of fuels and something not too far short of that on the cost of food by Christmas.

Enter The Recession :(

[coalman1]

Are we talking fuel for transport or fuel for heating ?

There is a degree of parity across the board for the pricing of all these solid fuels which we are using to stop us dying of hunger and cold.

Cheap coal was £9 a bag in September last year. It's now £13 a bag and a little birdie tells me it's going to go up again before this winter's out.

This time last year I paid 40p/Litre for heating oil. The last I heard it was around 63p/litre ??

I've forgotten what petrol was costing, and unfortunately I've no reason to know what it costs now. Must get new car!

I've not worked it out exactly (maths was never my strong subject) but that's roughly 45% already isn't it ?

I am sure there is some degree of parity of with other fuels. I believe coal is slightly cheaper than some of the other fuels and certainly a sight cheaper than economy 7. (Considering Caithness folks have to put up with so many windmills and Scotland produces so much electricity, it does seem slightly 'unfair', but that's another debate entirely)

I wouldn't be surprised if we see yet another 30% price rise in the price of fuels and something not too far short of that on the cost of food by Christmas.

Enter The Recession :(


EMB123 get your prices correct the coal that was 9.00 this time last year is now 11.00

[Rheghead]

Don't be under any illusion that oil prices are unrelated to coal prices as it is possible to make a superior alternative to petrol from coal. Then the cost is higher both financially and environmentally.

www.50cycles.com

[bekisman]

Thursday, August 17, 2006
By Patrick Barta, The Wall Street Journal
SECUNDA, South Africa -- Every day, conveyor belts haul about 120,000 metric tons of coal into an industrial complex here two hours east of Johannesburg. The facility -- resembling a nuclear power plant, with concrete silos looming over nearby potato farms -- superheats the coal to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It adds steam and oxygen, cranks up the pressure, and pushes the coal through a series of chemical reactions. Then it spits out something extraordinary: 160,000 barrels of oil a day.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06229/714268-28.stm (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06229/714268-28.stm)
I understand that 'we' have 300 years worth of coal beneath our feet, wonder when some bright spark in government will wake up to this idea - instead of investing billions in windfarms, lets face it we've had these things around a while and electricity aint gone down.. of course, in the meantime, land-owners and developers have grown rich.
Bring on nuclear power - how come the French have done so well.. to hell with green peace and the wishy washy delicates, lets get some grunt in our energy production.. give it a few years and the UK will be fed by new reactors - wonder if Scotland will allow that energy to come up the line or will it treat it with distain as we sink deeper into fuel poverty..

[Rheghead]

OK, well done those French, we should all do what they are doing, ie 3/4 of their electricity is from nuke, but how much uranium do we have left?:confused

[bekisman]

Earlier thread:

"Fastbreeding would make the fuel last a lot longer" Yes you are corrrect

Don't think there will be any problem with fuel?
World Uranium Reserves..
And note, this is even for the once-through cycle, which only makes use of the U-235. If we went to breeders, the amount of uranium ore used, per unit of electricity generation, is divided by a factor of 60-70. Not only that, but since 1/60th as much ore is used, the tolerable ore price increases by yet another factor of 60. This, of course, causes another exponential increase in the economically recoverable reserves. If we go with breeders, we have enough economically recoverable uranium to meet all our power needs for tens, probably hundreds of thousands of years. It should be noted, however, that the price of ore will have to go extremely high ($500-1000/kg) before breeding would make economic sense, and this won't happen for well over a century; plenty of time to develop safe, reliable, and economic breeder technology.
—James Hopf, Nuclear Engineer
November 2004
http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/uranium.html (http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/uranium.html)

[Rheghead]

Earlier thread:

"Fastbreeding would make the fuel last a lot longer" Yes you are corrrect

Don't think there will be any problem with fuel?
World Uranium Reserves..
And note, this is even for the once-through cycle, which only makes use of the U-235. If we went to breeders, the amount of uranium ore used, per unit of electricity generation, is divided by a factor of 60-70. Not only that, but since 1/60th as much ore is used, the tolerable ore price increases by yet another factor of 60. This, of course, causes another exponential increase in the economically recoverable reserves. If we go with breeders, we have enough economically recoverable uranium to meet all our power needs for tens, probably hundreds of thousands of years. It should be noted, however, that the price of ore will have to go extremely high ($500-1000/kg) before breeding would make economic sense, and this won't happen for well over a century; plenty of time to develop safe, reliable, and economic breeder technology.
—James Hopf, Nuclear Engineer
November 2004
http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/uranium.html (http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/uranium.html)

And what would be the price of oil when fast breeding becomes economical?:roll: C'mon, think about it for a moment instead of rushing to get a half-truth quote. We want affordable energy, not propaganda...

[bekisman]

"think about it for a moment instead of rushing to get a half-truth quote."

So sorry m'lud, you of course are the expert?

[percy toboggan]

Yes, I agree...if I were not afflicted with osteo 'arthur' I'd ride a bike to work.
Would I wear a silly helmet?
Probably not....high-viz jacket?... possibly

[Rheghead]

"think about it for a moment instead of rushing to get a half-truth quote."

So sorry m'lud, you of course are the expert?

I'm trying to be, unless all the bumf that I'm reading is dud then there is no one here that has a clue.