The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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MARCH VOL . 7 7 NO. 0 3 EDI TO R' S NO T E EDITORIAL STAF F The Oil Gray Rag Keith Reid fuel price and environmental issues basi- cally pushing its readership to natural gas. Frankly, that is hardly surprising. The tired old "Gray Lady" has a strongly progressive focus where fossil fuels are concerned, as is the case with virtually any politicized issue it covers. And items that should be balanced, hard news tend to become editorials based upon its typi- cally highly selective use of sources. The sources cited included a "former A administrator of the Energy Information Administration and now the director of the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum;" an "energy-sector investment adviser" and former "environmental engineer" whose co-op burned "dirty fuel" (they never did identify which specific energy sectors she was advising); and a disheartened heat- ing oil dealer. Out of the entire heating oil industry, it was apparently impossible to speak with any of the state or national association representatives for a more pos- itive and proactive heating oil dealer to get a more positive counter perspective. The article's authors did note factually (but ironically) that; "For decades, the prices of oil and gas moved virtually in tandem, but in recent years, vast increases in American gas supplies have made gas decisively cheaper." The ironic part being that the Times is no more a fan of natural gas and fracking than they are oil. If it isn't S NOTED IN THE NEWS SECTION, THE New York Times recently ran a hit piece on heating oil focused on a windmill or a solar panel it isn't "good" energy. The price disparity currently is brutal. It was brutal in 2008 as well—until the balloon popped and then it wasn't. But even at current prices the conversion costs, as the article noted but did not fol- low through on with any detail, make that decision one a homeowner should not consider lightly. The article also failed to mention the clear—at least to my estimation—role that speculation is playing in current oil prices, and how that is hardly assured to remain as a permanent factor in higher oil prices. According to oil analyst Peter Beutel and others, if you take the speculation fac- tor out of the equation, oil should be much cheaper and far more competitive with gas than it is today. And a range of ongo- ing efforts in that regard—while fiercely opposed—could do just that. And where natural gas itself is concerned a number of factors from curtailing excess production to exporting product to replacing coal plants (currently being devastated by Obama/EPA regulation) with gas-fired plants to Class 8 diesel engines being replaced with natural gas engines make lower natural gas prices hardly assured long term. Again, nothing new here for the Times. It is as reliable as an atomic clock on any politicized issue. The good news is that with its shrinking readership, and the demographics of that readership, the dam- age inflicted is likely far less than it would have been in years past. Editorial Office 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 847/720-5600 Editor Keith Reid 847/720-5615 kreid@m2media360.com Managing Editor Debra Reschke Schug 847/720-5618 dschug@m2media360.com Columnists Charles Bursey, Sr. John Griffin George Lanthier EXECUTIVE STAF F President/CEO and Group Publisher Marion Minor List Rentals/ Reprints – Cheryl Naughton 678/292-6054 Fax: 360/294-6054 cnaughton@m2media360.com PRODUCT ION Production Manager – Mary Jo Tomei Art Director – Andrew Stamm ADVERT ISING SALES East – Dave Campbell, Associate Publisher 413/528-2364 Fax: 413/528-8835 dcampbell@m2media360.com Central & South – Rich Alden 603/899-3010 Fax: 603/899-2343 ralden@m2media360.com West – Ken Jordan 972/540-2122 Fax: 972/540-2127 kjordan@m2media360.com MAIN OF F ICE 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 847/720-5600 • Fax: 847-720-5601 CUSTOMER SERVICE 845/856-2229 • Fax: 845/856-5822 Fuel Oil News P.O. Box 4290, Port Jervis, NJ 12771 M2MEDIA360 Membership applied for 7/1/2010 BEV-AL COMMUNICAT IONS INC. Marion Minor Gerald Winkel President/CEO Director of Finance Joanne Juda-Prainito Mary Jo Tomei 8 MARCH 2012 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com VP Audience Develolpment Production Director