Conserving energy saves money—so why don't we do it? (image: about.com)

There are lots of things we can do to save energy, which means saving money. For example, I could unplug my cell phone charger when I’m not using it, because it continues to drain electricity when it’s plugged in. But I don’t. Why is that? NPR’s Ira Flatow talked with Dr. Hunt Allcott, an economics professor at New York University, about how behavioral economics can help answer that question. Flatow asked if maybe we were “just stupid.” Allcott said we faced “a lot of complex decisions.” Yeah, complex—I’ll go with that answer.

If you’ve made the complex decision to improve the energy efficiency of your home and you want to go beyond weatherstripping, perhaps a “deep energy retrofit” is right for you. At CNET’s Green Tech blog, Martin LaMonica talks about the pioneering efforts of some contractors who have cut energy costs by some 50 to 70 percent. Not for the faint of heart (or bank account), such renovation is extensive and can cost tens of thousands of dollars. But it will leave you with “superinsulation,” which I assume means your new insulation will be able to fight crime.

Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) plans to retire, and an editorial in the Boston Globe said he had made a “wise” decision to opt for a long retirement over what would have been a difficult campaign this November. Delahunt is perhaps best known for his role in negotiations with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to get discounted heating oil for low-income residents of Massachusetts. Potential opponents were likely to score points by emphasizing Delahunt’s connections with the anti-American Chavez, but many in Massachusetts remain grateful for his work to secure heating oil for those in need.

Every advance biofuels researchers make seems to bring science fiction closer to life. Now scientists in the United Kingdom have announced that the “Gribble worm” is especially good at converting wood into sugar, which could make the crustacean a key player in producing cellulosic ethanol, reported Joshua Kagan at Greentech Media. That would be more productive than the activity that it’s currently known for, which is eating away the hulls of ships.

Ties between Venezeulan president Hugo Chavez (left) and Rep. William Delahunt could be at the center of an upcoming congressional campaign. (image:heraldinteractive.com)

Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) told the Boston Globe that he may retire from his congressional seat, but potential challengers are still preparing to campaign against him, and have raised concerns about Delahunt’s role in programs that distribute free or discounted heating oil to low-income households in Massachusetts.

The controversy arises from Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’s role in all of this. In 2005, Delahunt negotiated a deal with Citgo, the US distribution arm of Venezuela’s state-run oil company, to supply 30,000 low-income households with deeply discounted heating oil. With those negotiations, Delahunt helped pave the way for a partnership between Citgo and Citizens Energy, a nonprofit company run by Joseph P. Kennedy II that distributes up to 100 gallons of free heating oil to families in Massachusetts and other states.

Chavez has been criticized in the US and around the world for human rights abuses and anti-democratic activities. Citizens Energy’s heating oil program has itself come under fire for doing more to advance Chavez’s political interests than help needy families in the US.

Joseph Malone, a likely Republican challenger, has said that any good done by the heating oil program “is far outweighed by the harm [Chavez] does in the international community.’’ Political consultant Paul Fitzpatrick Jr., who worked on Sen. Scott Brown’s recent campaign, criticized Delahunt for dealing with someone who “hates America.”

Nevertheless, the Citizens Energy program has its supporters, especially among those who have been its beneficiaries. Delahunt was defiant in his support of the free heating oil program, and said no Republican challenger would have to raise the issue, because he would bring up the topic himself.

Citizens Energy Chair Joseph Kennedy. (image: static.sdnn.com)

The CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program began its fifth year Friday, with a delivery of heating oil to residents in upper Manhattan. According to NY1, residents of a tenant-owned cooperative on W. 130th St. received oil from the program, which provides discounted heating oil to needy families. To kick off the 2010 program, CITGO held a celebratory event at Manhattan’s Riverside Church. In attendance was Alejandro Granado, CEO of CITGO, Bernardo Alvarez, Venezuelan ambassador to the U.S., and Joseph P. Kennedy II, chairman of the Boston-based Citizens Energy.

As HeatingOil.com has reported, the intentions of the partnership are unclear. While the controversial program does offer much-needed relief to poor American families, Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez, has been accused of using the program for political grandstanding, attempting to discredit capitalism while building his own power and prestige.

On the American side, Joseph P. Kennedy heads up Citizens Energy, a non-profit that helps deliver the heating oil that comes from the CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program. While its connection with Hugo Chavez could be a liability for Kennedy, he continually points out in his defense that CITGO was the only major oil company, U.S. or otherwise, that was willing to participate in the program.

The jury may still be out on the sincerity of the program, but it is likely inconsequential for those residents of cold-weather states and tribal regions who desperately need heating oil and now don’t need to worry about where it will come from.

President Hugo Chávez speaks in front of a portrait of the namesake of Venezuela’s recently devalued currency, the Bolívar. (image: ameriquelatine.msh-paris.fr)

To buttress the Venezuelan economy against collapse, President Hugo Chávez has announced a severe devaluation of the country’s currency, the New York Times reported on Friday. Since the global financial crisis of 2008 brought down the price of oil, Venezuela’s biggest national export, the country’s economy has suffered severely, contracting by 2.9 percent in 2009. Chavez hopes that a devalued currency will make Venezuelan exports more competitive in foreign markets while simultaneously increasing revenue from oil exports.

Chávez said he will create two different exchange rates for the nation’s currency, the bolívar. One rate, which sets 4.30 bolivars to the dollar, will be applied to most imported items, like cars and construction materials, while the other rate, at 2.6 bolivars to the dollar, will affect essential items like basic foods and hospital equipment. Presumably the government will also continue to subsidize food, medical care, and fuel costs, which should help struggling Venezuelans cope with the potential inflation brought about the devalued currency.

At the moment, the Venezuelan government has made no mention of discontinuing its controversial Citgo program, through which the country supplies free or deeply-discounted oil to poor Americans. Since the Citgo program began in 2005, Venezuela has spent more than 100 million dollars to give oil to the citizens of a country who, on average, earn ten times as much as the citizens of Venezuela, thereby drawing charges from critics that Chavez has been using Venezuela’s oil money to build international power and prestige while casting a bad light on capitalist nations.

As one might expect, the United States’ political right has criticized Chavez’s supposed generosity as a mere ploy to undermine American values with socialist sentimentality. However, supporters have argued that Chavez’s political leanings are totally irrelevant so long as he’s helping thousands of Americans heat their homes. With capitalistic acumen, Joseph P. Kennedy II, whose Massachusetts-based Citizens Energy administers the program in the states, has said of the program, “It’s not only morally righteous, it’s good business.”

BNY Mellon’s donation to Citizens Energy will help 150 households heat their homes. (image: smsold.com and energyandutilityconference.org)

CNN Money reported yesterday that BNY Mellon has donated $40,000 to Citizens Energy, a Boston area non-profit that delivers heating oil to elderly and low-income households in Massachusetts through its Oil Heat Fund. The Mellon grant is expected to provide fuel for at least 150 households through the winter.

Citizen’s Energy is perhaps best known for its controversial partnership with Citgo-Venezuela. Citgo is the American distribution outlet for Venezuela’s state-run oil company. Some say that the program is a pulpit for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’s socialist politics, as well as a vote-getting strategy for the Democratic politicians involved. However, in 2006, when 13 US senators petitioned all of the major oil companies for help supplying heating oil to low-income residents, Citgo was the only company to step forward.

In any event, the support of programs like Citizen’s Energy will be needed this winter, as applications for state heating assistance, usually supplied through Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) programs, are up across the northern states. In Vermont alone, applications for the winter are expected to exceed 27,000 households for the season, 1,000 more than last year’s record, even though the price per gallon for home heating oil has halved since then.

Aerial view of Alegnagik, a rural village in Southwest Alaska. (image: toddraden via flickr.com)

Last week CITGO, the US distribution arm of Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), announced that it would renew its controversial Heating Oil Program, which provides fuel vouchers to needy American families struggling to heat their homes. So far, the corporation plans to provide nearly 1.9 million gallons of heating oil to 17,000 Alaskan families, most of whom live in rural villages, the Alaska Dispatch reported on Thursday; whether or not there are plans to extend the program to families in other states has not yet been made clear.

The Heating Oil Program began in the winter of 2006, after thirteen US senators sent letters to major oil companies asking for heating oil aid for lower-income residents in northern states. As it happened, CITGO was the only one to respond. The company began working with Massachusetts-based Citizens Energy, headed by Joseph P. Kennedy II., which administers the program in the states and considers applications for aid. In January of 2008, Kennedy’s office disclosed that in order to qualify for oil vouchers, a family’s household income must not exceed 60 percent of the state median. Since 2006, the program has annually provided free heating oil to 200,000 low-income households in 23 states.

As one might expect of a charity headed by Hugo Chavez, the leftist leader of Venezuela, the Heating Oil Program has caused much controversy. The right has criticized Chavez’s supposed generosity as a mere ploy to undermine American values with communist sentimentality. However, supporters have argued that Chavez’s political leanings are totally irrelevant so long as he’s helping thousands of American’s heat their homes. With capitalistic acumen, Kennedy has said of the program, “It’s not only morally righteous, it’s good business.”