Holy recycling, Batman!

While St. Pete residents are stuck leaving personal pleas with their trash man for curbside recycling, Tampa is actually expanding its program.

Effective July 1, Tampa residents will be able to place phone books, paperback books, junk mail, cereal boxes, 6-pack soda boxes, office paper and cardboard in their blue curbside bins.

Of course,Tampa residents can still put magazines, newspapers, etc. in there. Check out the Tampa solid waste department's recycling division for more info.

--Catriona Stuart, Times staff writer

July beach cleanups

David Escobio, 13, hands trash to Chance Rodriguez, 13, while helping clean at Picnic Island Beach last year. [Carrie Pratt | Times]

Spending the Fourth of July at the beach is a tradition that thousands of people enjoy every year. But between the crowds, fireworks and barbecues, there is often lots of trash left behind.

This year, in conjunction with National Clean Beaches Week, the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department and the Mayor’s Beatification Program invites the public to join them for two post-Fourth beach clean-up projects at Ben T. Davis Beach and Picnic Island Beach on Saturday, July 5, from 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.

Gloves, trash bags and water will be provided.

To volunteer, call the Mayor's Beautification Program at (813) 221-8733.

--Catriona Stuart, Times staff writer

Is wind energy right for Florida?

Wind energy is gearing up across the United States. But it is meeting resistance in Florida where experts say the flat terrain does not generate sufficient consistent wind power, except in some coastal areas. Residents are also putting up a fight on aesthetic and cost-efficient grounds.

FPL Energy, the country's largest wind energy company has major wind farms in Texas but none in Florida. It has been forced to scale back its first project in St Lucie County. This leaves Florida 'Twisting in the Wind, says The Miami Herald.
(Photo by AP)

- David Adams

Gas prices force schoolbuses to park, deputies to stop patrols, other government cutbacks

The ripple effect of rising gas prices is hitting municipal governments pretty hard. Already rocked by the housing market collapse and its effect on property taxes, city and county governments across the country are now facing even bigger budgetary woes because of the impact of paying for gas too, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"The El Paso County Sheriff's Department in southeastern Colorado has ended car patrols of its 2,000-square-mile jurisdiction. One Ohio sheriff is putting his deputies into golf carts. Stillwater, Okla., has stopped mowing the grass on nearly half of its parkland. Cleveland is remapping its trash pickup routes to cut costs," the Times reports.

"In suburban Seattle, the Northshore School District has cut eight bus routes, requiring some students to walk farther to get to their stops...In St. Joseph County in Indiana, the library system is facing major cuts and has decided to park its Readmobile for most of the summer."

"I know it's a step backwards," El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa told the paper, explaining why his deputies will now only respond to calls for help instead of patrolling regularly. "But when the dollars aren't there, they aren't there."

[St. Petersburg Times photo by Brian Tietz]

--Craig Pittman

Gas prices set new record

You're probably tired of hearing this, but oil and gas prices set new record highs Monday morning.

Oil prices surged past $143 for the first time ever Monday morning and gas prices reached an all-time high, the Associated Press reports.

Nationally, a gallon of regular averaged above $4.08, according to AAA Fuel Gauge report. In Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater a gallon of regular neared $3.98.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Tampa Bay energy roundup

There's a bunch of energy news around Tampa Bay in the last few weeks. Rate increases are coming so fast and thick it's hard to keep track of what it's all for.

Let's start with this week's news. Tomorrow, Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light, as well as some smaller Florida utilities, will ask the Public Service Commission for a rate increase for fuel. (My story in Sunday's paper explained why fuel is getting so expensive.) The gist is that utilities are not allowed to profit from fuel. It's a "pass through" charge. If approved, it will hit bills on Aug. 1.

Tampa Electric isn't asking for a fuel rate increase yet, but it has asked for a base rate increase. Utilities can profit from base rates. (From a shareholder point of view, utilities had better show a profit.) Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas, both owned by Tampa-based TECO Energy, requested base rate increases that it hopes to add to bills by next May.

As if this news isn't enough of a bummer, there are more increases on the horizon. First, fuel again. Every Fall, the utilities estimate what they will pay for fuel the following year. Fuel costs are up nationwide, and Florida is no different. (If a hurricane hits the Gulf coast, fuel costs could get a lot worse.) Progress Energy has already predicted that it will ask for additional fuel rate increases that will start in January. (This is on top of the increase sought Tuesday.) Expect similar news from Tampa Electric, Florida Power & Light, and pretty much every utility that buys fuel to run its power plants (i.e., every utility.)

Hydroponic here, hydroponic everywhere

There's been a rash of hydroponic offerings sprouting up around the bay and our friends at ModernLime.com have just added another to the list:

"If you live in the Tampa bay area, I found a great local farm where you can pick your own veggies for a great price.  Urban Oasis Hydroponic Farm is in Tampa, Florida at 5416 W. Linebaugh Ave.  Although the farm is only 2 acres, there are lots of plants!  They all grow hydroponically - in special irrigation systems, not directly out of the ground.  And although the owner said he is not certified organic, the produce is not sprayed with harsh chemicals."

Recently Chris Sherman wrote about a hydroponic place out in Ruskin. A Carrollwood farm also seems to have embraced the soil-free method.

But be forewarned, though all these farms are local, not all are organic.

--Catriona Stuart, Times staff writer

Don't chuck the beads

Pokey came, Pokey saw and Pokey partied at the St. Pete Pride festival yesterday. And like the thousands of others who joined her out on Central Avenue, she went home laden with dozens of beads and other plastic tchotckes. Now what?!!

You don't want to add them to the landfill and can't recycle them, but they can be re-used. For some creative ideas, I consulted a couple of the gals from the Florida Etsy Street Team, a group of cool local crafters who make and sell everything from stained glass skulls to funky t-shirts.

• Connect them in long strands to make a 60s-style doorway bead curtain, said Coralette of The Crafty Hag.
• Jazz up a plain a plain wood birdhouse, flower pot or on a lamp shade for a kid's bedroom by gluing on a strand of beads.
• Use as garland for the Christmas tree. Just cut the necklace and glue ends together using a heavy-duty plastic or all purpose glue like E6000, said Shannon Shafer of Boogiebead.
• Hang them on a trellis or in garden to make an eye-catching decoration.

Not the crafty sort? Consider donating your beads to an organization that will re-use them.

Gas pump prices around the globe

Want to know who pays how much around the world for gasoline? Here's a graphic from The New York Times published today. Higher rates tend to insulate drivers from price spikes.

An accompanying article notes that on a percentage basis, "Europeans have had to absorb far smaller increases in gas costs than Americans in recent years. They’re used to paying double what Americans do — or more — and they live accordingly."

- David Adams

Want curbside recycling?

St. Petersburg residents: Want curbside recycling?

Let your trash man know.

That's the message Clean Water Action, a nonprofit environmental group, is sending.

Starting Monday, the group will launch a new pro-curbside recycling effort that asks residents to attach signs to their trash bins that read, "Mayor Baker: Take it to the curb! I support curbside recycling."

To learn more, check out cleanwateraction.org.

Hurricanes & global warming: Is there a connection? Or is there a bigger threat?

In Al Gore's Oscar-winning Powerpoint-turned-movie An Inconvenient Truth, hurricanes became symbols of the danger of global warming, with the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina as his Exhibit A. But the reality is more complicated.

Scientists are locked in a debate about whether global warming is spiking the size and intensity of hurricanes. Even those who agree that humans are causing global warming disagree about whether it is making hurricanes worse.

Climatologists are so desperate for clues they are boring holes along Florida's coastline, trying to discern from grains of sand how many tropical storms pounded our shores in past centuries. The one thing they all agree on: Overdevelopment of flood-prone coastal areas is a more immediate problem. Here's the rest of the story.

[Satellite image of Hurricane Katrina from NOAA]

--Curtis Krueger

State short of cash to help with electric bills

The increasing number of Floridians who can’t pay their electric bills may not be able to get the help they need because the state energy assistance program will likely run short of money.

“The bottom line is that our providers around the state are seeing a tremendous demand for services, a demand that will far outstrip the availability of funds,” said Jon Peck, spokesman for the Florida Department of Community Affairs.

At the same time, Tampa Electric reported a 27 percent jump in the number of customers facing disconnection. Progress Energy has seen cutoffs increase 15 percent since last year. Paying for power could get even harder in the coming year. Both utilities plan to increase monthly bills by 10 percent or more.

Highlights of the Miami Climate Change Summit #2 from solar to PHEVs.

Looking back at Governor Crist's Climate Change Summit this week, here are some of my favorite moments, featuring a former day-trader turned solar enthusiast, Progress Energy's plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius, a new $20 million clean energy prize offered by the Scottish government, a Spanish company that is investing $8 billion in alternative energy in the United States, a new $20 million clean energy prize, and of course, the return of Arnold, The Terminator, and much, much more .....

Government puts the brakes on new solar projects

The Bush administration can't keep pace with a surge in solar energy proposals.
That's the good news.

The bad news is that the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years.

David Adams, Times Staff Writer

Progress Energy plans more fuel rate increases

Progress Energy's fuel rate increase this summer won't be the last, according to documents filed with the Public Service Commission.

The St. Petersburg utility told the commission that it may have to raise bills in January by $5 for 1,000 kilowatt hours to cover the soaring cost of fuel. This comes on top of an increase that the commission is set to consider on Tuesday. Progress Energy has asked for an increase of an additional $12.07 per 1,000 kilowatt hours. If approved, that increase will appear on bills starting Aug. 1.

These increases don't include increases planned by the utility to cover the cost of clean air measures, power plant upgrades and its planned $30-billion nuclear project. Monthly bills are slated to rise just as an increasing number of customers are having their power cut off for not paying their bills, according to Progress Energy and Tampa Electric.

Several utilities throughout the state, including Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility, have asked for increases to cover the unexpectedly steep rise in the cost of coal, natural gas and oil. The commission will hear those cases Tuesday.

If you are having trouble paying your bills, there's help.

[St. Petersburg Times photo by William Dunkley]

-Asjylyn Loder, Times Staff Writer

Oil prices set new record

The Associated Press reprtes, "Oil futures shot above $140 Thursday after OPEC's president said oil prices could rise well above $150 a barrel this year and Libya said it may cut oil production.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $140.39 in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before retreating slightly to trade up $5.53 at $140.08. Final prices weren't available, but crude appeared headed to a record settlement."

Arnold puts down Crist and McCain over offshore drilling

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made a guest appearance today at the Florida Climate Change Summit in Miami hosted by Governor Charlie Crist.

Arnold had lots of praise for Crist's leadership in Florida on tackling climate change.

But he appeared to issue a firm rebuke to politicians (including Senator John McCain and Crist) who have suggested ending a ban on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. "Anyone who tells you this will lower our gas prices anytime soon is blowing smoke," he said.

Schwarzenegger's press spokesman Aaron McLear called me a short while ago to stress that this comment was NOT directed at Crist or McCain, and instead was targeted specifically at the impact of offshore drilling on gas prices. "He was not referring to either one of them. Neither Crist nor McCain has said offshore drilling is going to immediately reduce gas prices," McLear said.

However, the California Governor remained firmly opposed to offshore drilling, McLear added. "He doesn't believe in offshore drilling. Her certainly doesn't agree with McCain and Crist on that."

My own view: it seems pretty clear to me that when McCain and Crist raised the offshore drilling issue last week, they both had gas prices in mind. Our paper's reporting certainly reflected that.

For the record, here's are Schwarzenegger's exact words today:

"Politicians have been throwing around all kinds of ideas in response to the skyrocketing energy prices, from the rethinking of nuclear power to pushing biofuels and more renewables and ending the ban on offshore drilling, it goes on and on the list. But, anyone who tells you this will lower our gas prices anytime soon is blowing smoke."

(more speech highlights below)

- David Adams

Utilities cut off electricity as more customers fail to pay bills

As the economy worsens, an increasing number of people around Tampa Bay are having their lights cut off because they can't pay their bills.

Tampa Electric has had to cut off 27 percent more customers than it did a year ago, said spokesman Rick Morera. Progress Energy has seen cutoffs jump by 15 percent since last year, said spokesman Cherie Jacobs.

"With any situation where somebody is experiencing difficulties making their utility payments, we encourage them to contact the company and work with us," Morera said.

"Disconnecting someone's electricity is Progress Energy's last resort," Jacobs said. "We prefer to work with customers so if folks are having trouble making ends meet, they should call us."

If you're having trouble paying your power bill, there is help.

To reach Tampa Electric customer service, call (813) 223-0800. Progress Energy's customer service department can be reached at (800) 700-8744.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Bill Serne]

Florida solar ready to shine

In a converted warehouse at the Solar Source company headquarters in Largo, president and solar technology contractor Wayne Wallace is training his competition.

He calls his endeavor the Solar Source University.

And while dozens of electricians, building inspectors and contractors have signed up for classes at this 7-month-old institution to learn about all things solar, like how to market sunshine, Wallace said the more competitors in the field, the merrier. These days, there's plenty of business to go around.

"It's almost unfathomable, really," Wallace said. "We're having a hard time keeping up with orders. Our phones are ringing off the hook."

Read the full story here.

-Dominick Tao, Times Staff Writer

Highlights from Florida's 2008 Climate Change Summit

Florida Governor Charlie Crist's second Climate Change Summit this week was never going to match the novelty of last year's groundbreaking event.

Even so, Crist once again deserves enormous credit for bringing together a wide-ranging group of policy makers, businessmen, researchers and activists in another thought-provoking, two-day search for answers to the challenge of global warming. He even managed to get his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, to join in the debate, with a passionate plea to save what remains of the world's rain-forests.

Last year's summit established climate change action as a state priority. "This year it's time to make it happen," Crist said on Wednesday.

Continue reading below for some of what I consider to be the highlights of the summit so far.

Sorry, solar is not for us, says Progress Energy.

Florida Power & Light today announced a $688 million project to build three solar power stations in south and central Florida. Company president Armando Olivera told me solar was becoming increasingly cost-effective thanks to a new Energy Bill passed by the state legislature.

So I thought it only right to ask a spokesman for Progress Energy what his company's plans for solar energy were. "We have examined similar proposals," said C.J. Drake, a spokesman for Progress Energy. "It's not cost-effective for on-demand generation." (For laymen, that means energy that's available 24 hours a day.) "The power is not available when you need it," he added.

Maybe someone from Progress should sit down and have a chat with the folk from FP&L and ask them why their numbers are so different? FP&L serves 4.5 million customers as far north as Bradenton.

How can two neighboring utilities have such different views on solar energy? Is there less sun in
Tampa Bay?

- David Adams

FP&L solar announcement will make Florida No. 2 for solar

Florida Power & Light Company just announced announced new solar energy projects that include the world’s largest photovoltaic solar plant. The company plans to build 110-megawatts of solar energy as part of a seven-year plan announced earlier this year to build 300-megawatts of solar in Florida.

“Pending regulatory approval, FPL will build 110 megawatts of solar power right here in the Sunshine State, making Florida No. 2 in the nation for solar energy,” FPL Group Chairman and CEO Lewis Hay, III announced today at the 2008 Florida Summit on Global Climate Change in Miami. “This is made possible in part by the strong support and determined leadership of Governor Crist and the Florida legislature, who crafted a progressive energy bill that put a supportive policy framework in place for solar power.”

Hay called for immediate action on climate change. “Every day we delay, another 18 million tons of CO2 are released into the atmosphere, most of which will remain there for close to a century. And with every year of inaction, the carbon reductions needed to deal successfully with climate change become larger and harder to achieve."

Check back for more coverage of the climate summit from St. Petersburg Times reporter David C. Adams.

White House: Greenhouse gases?! Don't open that e-mail!

This may be the funniest story of the day: According to the New York Times, when the EPA sent the White House an e-mail that contained the agency's formal conclusion (after years of lawsuits) that greenhouse gases are in fact a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, the White House Office of Management and Budget simply REFUSED TO OPEN IT.

That way it didn't exist -- sort of the electronic equivalent of putting your fingers in your ears and singing, "La-la-la-la!" so you won't have to hear something you don't want to hear. Presumably if the EPA had tried to hand-deliver it, the Secret Service would've tackled the messenger and wrestled him to the ground.

"The document, which ended up in e-mail limbo, without official status, was the E.P.A.’s answer to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that required it to determine whether greenhouse gases represent a danger to health or the environment," the Times reported. "This week, more than six months later, the E.P.A. is set to respond to that order by releasing a watered-down version of the original proposal that offers no conclusion...

"Over the past five days, the officials said, the White House successfully put pressure on the E.P.A. to eliminate large sections of the original analysis that supported regulation, including a finding that tough regulation of motor vehicle emissions could produce $500 billion to $2 trillion in economic benefits over the next 32 years."

[Photo: Government Printing Office]

--Craig Pittman

Crist clarifies his position on offshore drilling

Addressing his Climate Summit in Miami this morning, Florida Governor Charlie Crist could not ignore the thorny issue of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Clarifying his apparent reversal last week over offshore drilling, he called for an "open discussion" of the issue "without compromising Florida's sensitive eco-sytems and her natural beauty."

He went on: "Only when we are able to do so far enough from Florida's coast, safe enough for our people, and clean enough for our beaches, should we even consider increasing our oil supply by drilling off Florida's shore. Let me repeat: far enough, safe enough and clean enough."

As someone sitting next to me said: "That's a lot of qualifications!"

- David Adams

[St. Petersburg Times photo by Scott Keeler]

- David Adams

Crist's 2nd Climate Summit: defining "our next step forward"

Florida Governor Charlie Crist opened his second climate summit in Miami this morning saying he hoped the meeting would "chart the course of the green future of the Sunshine State."
He used the occasion to sign the state's new Energy Bill #7135, calling it "Florida's most comprehensive energy economic policy in the history of our great state."
When he hosted his first summit last year, Crist said people were not entirely convinced about his plans. "After one year everyone is on board," he said. Now it was time to "define our next step forward," he added.
That meant exploring every possible way to protect Florida from the threat of global warming by tapping into its "entrepreneurial spirit." He compared the task ahead to the challenge in the 1960s set by the Kennedy administration to put a man on the moon. "Just as America continues to reach for the stars from our great state, Florida can once again launch America into the coming green tech business boom," he said.
In order to "liberate us from our current addiction to fossil fuel ... we must be innovative, we must reach higher," he added.
That meant training new talent and expertise to fill a new era of "high wage, high demand jobs" in the green tech field. "We must equip our workforce ... a trained workforce is key to developing the alternative and renewable energy sources and energy efficiency we must have in order to reduce our carbon emissions," he said.

- David Adams

Florida launches second Climate Change Summit

Florida Governor Charlie Crist hosts his second Climate Change Summit in Miami Wednesday and Thursday.

The Governor will use the occasion to sign the state's new Energy Bill passed by the legislature, which includes provisions to establish a cap and trade system to control the gases believed to cause global warming. In an overview of the summit published in today's St Petersburg Times I take a look at what has been achieved since last year's landmark summit.

Watch the summit live here.

- David Adams

Florida holds its first carbon neutral MLB baseball game.

The Florida Marlins staged the first carbon neutral baseball game in the state last night. The team says an estimated 450 metric tons of greenhouse gases from the game will be offset by funding reforestation in Southest Florida with the help of  Carbonfund.org, a non-profit provider of certified carbon offsets.

As a die-hard Marlins fan I would have enjoyed the game more had we won (especially after loading the bases with one out in the 9th!). Final score: Florida Marlins 4, Tampa Bay Rays 6.

- David Adams

Crist's $1.75 billion plan to save the Everglades. Could it involve ethanol?

It's not strictly about climate change or energy, which is what we deal with here at The Fueling Station. But you might want to read this excellent article anyway about Florida's stunning $1.75 billion plan to purchase sugar cane fields as part of Everglades restoration.
It would be the largest conservation purchase in state history, The St Petersburg Times reports.

The story is the latest chapter in the on-going evolution of our unpredictable Governor, Charlie Crist, who last week endorsed oil drilling in the Everglades. Readers should note the reference half way down the story to the head of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, Mike Sole, saying some of the land might be used to grow energy crops for ethanol.

- David Adams

"It´s not a bubble, it´s a tumor." Congress discusses oil price speculation

Those were the words of one expert who testified in hearings before Congress yesterday about the dramatic rise in oil prices. One energy analyst said the real price of oil was only $60 a barrel. Others say the culprit is a tight market for oil which has forced up prices.

In recent years, commodities markets have seen a flood of new money from institutional investors — such as hedge funds, pension funds and index funds linked to commodities. Investment from commodities-linked indices jumped from $13 billion in 2003 to $260 billion today, according to Michael Masters, the head of Master Capital Management LLC, a hedge fund.

Some blame energy trading markets that were deregulated in late 2000 at the request of Enron. MSNBC 'Countdown' host, Keith Olbermann has pointed the finger at Senator John McCain´s economic advisor, Texas Republican Phil Gramm who chaired the Senate Banking Committee that wrote the deregulation.

A congressional committee is investigating the issue. But results aren´t expected until the Fall. I wonder what the price of oil will be by then!

- David Adams

Sales of large SUVs fell 42 per cent in May.

The news doesn't get any better for pickups and SUV's. Sales of large SUVs fell 42 per cent in May, and sales of full-size pickups fell 36 per cent, according to this Bloomberg report by Doron Levin.

"Should this year's sales trend continue, GM, Ford, and Chrysler would sell 1 million fewer of these truck-based vehicles annually, forgoing as much as $10 billion in pretax profit," the article adds.

- David Adams

Insert your urban vision here

Dozens participated in a one-day exercise last year designed to discuss, analyze and develop alternative growth scenarios for the region through 2050. [Chris Zuppa | Times]

One thousand people and 15 public workshops have generated four visions for the future of Tampa Bay. Now through the end of July (and probably beyond) local residents will have the chance to comment on each scenario, said Betty Carlin, director of communications for the One Bay campaign.

Water demand, wetlands impact, electricity usage and automobile trips generated are just a few of the factors that residents can use to assess each plan. The idea is to generate a set of common principles that area residents believe are important for the region's growth. When the comment period is over, Carlin said that the campaign plans to share its results with area commissions and planning bodies.

"We want to make sure we are giving them the type of input they can use to make good choices," Carlin said.

---Catriona Stuart, Times staff writer

Talk green, walk green and stock green

Green living is about more than just consumer decisions, but let's face it: money talks.

This weekend there was a story in the Times about a new Largo eco-boutique specializing in fair trade, recycled and environmentally friendly goods. We've had stories about local LEED-registered townhomes, small businesses that put their money into carbon offsets and others who have installed solar panels.

I went poking around the internets trying to find a comprehensive consumer guide to green buying in Tampa Bay to link here. The results were dismal at best.

So I put the question to you.
What other Tampa Bay businesses talk green, walk green and stock green?
I can't be the only one who wants to know.

--Catriona Stuart, Times staff writer

McCain's Clean Car Challenge gets a $300K push; meanwhile Obama's advisers are tied to ethanol

Republican candidate John McCain is giving a speech today to issue a "Clean Car Challenge" to automakers, according to the Associated Press. If they produce a zero-emissions vehicle, a McCain administration would push to give buyers $5,000 tax credits, he promises.

Also, he says his administration would offer a $300 million prize for development of a new, more powerful battery for hybrid vehicles that surpasses current technology. The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country, "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State University in California.

Meanwhile the New York Times is reporting that his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, has close ties with the ethanol industry. One of his national campaign co-chairmen, former Sen. Tom Daschle, sits on the board of three ethanol companies. And his lead adviser on energy and environmental issues, Jason Grumet, came to the campaign from the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan initiative associated with Daschle and former Sen. Bob Dole, another advocate of ethanol.

The two candidates sharply differ on ethanol, with McCain calling for an end to government subsidies while Obama would continue them.

--Craig Pittman

[Associated Press]

Smaller is better, car makers realizing.

Demand for smaller cars is growing so fast that car makers can't keep up, according to this article from The New York Times. Just another sign of how car makers failed to read the signs many of us have been chronicling for some time. Instead, they are overloaded with big trucks and SUVs that they can't sell.

"Demand for large trucks and SUVs [is] at one of the lowest levels in decades," said Ford president and chief executive Alan Mulally.

Ford has also announced its second production cut in a month. It will build 90,000 fewer pickups and sport utility vehicles in the second half of the year, and has delayed the roll out of its new 2009 F-150 pickup to allow dealers more time to clear existing stock.

Small cars now account for one in every five vehicles sold, up from only one in eight a decade ago.

I am getting ready to trade in a leased SUV next month (Honda Element) and shopping around for my next vehicle. I am torn. I'd like to go to a sedan - Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla - perhaps. I am looking for something more fuel efficient, yet still with a bit of elevation as I live in a flood zone. My Honda Civic was flooded six years ago doing a big storm. I am looking at the new class of 'crossovers' but I don't see anything with good fuel economy. I'd like to find something that does 35 mpg. I see that VW is bringing out a new line of TDI clean diesel models with 60 mpg! But they are expensive.

Suggestions please!

- David Adams

Offshore drilling = kiss your clean beach buh-bye

Stephen Leatherman has seen every kind of beach in America, and he really likes the ones in Florida. The man known as Dr. Beach usually ranks them among the prettiest in America. This year he picked Pinellas County's own Caladesi Island as No. 1.

If oil companies start drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, that's likely to change. "We've got some of the finest, whitest sand in the world," said Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University in Miami. "Oil doesn't seem to go with that. … This could lower the value of our beaches."

Where there's offshore drilling, the beaches suffer, and so does the water. There are spills large (like the fiery Ixtoc blowout that dumped 3-billion barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 1979, pictured here) and small, as well as a plethora of pollution. Oh, and all those fish swimming around the derrick? Don't eat 'em.

Here's the full story about the consequences of offshore drilling from today's St. Petersburg Times, and here's one about Gov. Charlie Crist's about-face on the issue, and here's an excellent examination of whether all this will have any impact at all on rising gas prices.

[Photo of Ixtoc oil spill from NOAA]

--Craig Pittman

Meet Tampa's 'green officer'

Thom Snelling extols the personal benefits of going green: "Don't you want to save on your electric and gas bill? Why would you not want to do that?" [Melissa Lyttle | Times]

Thom Snelling's landscape is looking a little different these days. His Jackson Street office desk is stacked with dog-eared magazines and photocopied articles, mostly dealing with gardening, recycling and global warming. A Kermit the Frog greeting card on his shelf reads, "It's not easy being green ..."

Just a few months after Mayor Pam Iorio named Snelling Tampa's first "green officer," he's up to his eyeballs in it.

Read the rest of the interview .

Dump the pump day

Happy Dump the Pump day!

By now we all know the spiel of rational factoids that TBARTA is using to convince us to ditch our cars and hop on a proposed regional transit system: public transportation saves gas, pollutes less and saves commuters money. But what about the less tangible reasons to step out of your car in this auto-centric corner of the world? Here's a few: public transportation may make you smarter, more attractive and get you more dates.

Top five frivolous reasons to try the train:

Jeb Bush on oil drilling

Our sister blog The Buzz caught up with the former Florida governor today at an education summit in Orlando. Here's what the president's brother had to say (note foreshadowing: Yeah, he's backing McCain's position).

Read it.

Iraq oil goes to big four in exclusive deal

Nearly four decades after being kicked out of Iraq, four Western oil companies are on the verge of signing no-bid contracts to service Iraq's largest fields, according to today's New York Times.

"Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company . . . are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry," the Times reports. "The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations."

The no-bid contracts -- unusual for the industry -- gives the big four a leg up on more than 40 other companies, including companies in Russia, China and India that wanted Iraq's business too. "The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production."

Is Iraq the safest oil field to be working these days? Although they're not burning the way they were back in 2003, it's still a risky location. But with oil prices what they are today, "there is no shortage of companies coveting a contract in Iraq. It is not only one of the few countries where oil reserves are up for grabs, but also one of the few that is viewed within the industry as having considerable potential to rapidly increase production," the Times notes.

[AP photo of Marine and burning oil well at the Rumeila oil fields in Iraq,  March 23, 2003]

--Craig Pittman

McCain goes nuclear

Senator John McCain has issued a call for the construction of 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030 in order to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

That would be an increase of almost 50 per cent over the 104 nuclear reactors currently operating around the country which produce about 20 percent of the nation's annual electricity needs. More than 30 new nuclear reactors are planned throughout the nation, including four in Florida.

He also set a longer term goal of adding a further 55 plants in the future.

Click here to read the story.

- David Adams

Florida Republicans split over offshore drilling

Senator John McCain's flip-flop on offshore drilling appears to have split Republicans in Florida.

While he has received the important backing of Governor Charlie Crist and Senator Mel Martinez, but others are sticking to the 27-year-old moratorium. They include members of Congress: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Miami and Vern Buchanon of Sarasota; as well as Ray Sansom, the incoming leader of the Florida House, and Republican House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Former Governor Jeb Bush is standing by his position in favor of limited offshore drilling. (As Governor he tried to negotiate a federal-state compromise in 2006 to keep drilling 100 miles away from Florida shores. He now suggests reviving the 2006 compromise to protect Florida's coast while lifting the moratorium on domestic oil and gas drilling.)

Click here to read an in depth story from The St Petersburg Times Washington bureau about the Republican move over oil drilling.

Click here to listen to what Governor Crist had to say about offshore drilling when he visited The St Petersburg Times editorial board in 2006 to seek the paper's endorsement for Governor.

Click here for a story on where South Florida Republicans stand in The Miami Herald.

- David Adams

The offshore drilling debate on The Diane Rehm Show

For an excellent discussion about offshore drilling in the US, and the current energy crisis, listen to The Diane Rehm Show on NPR this morning.

Click here for a link to the show.

Struggling with high electric bills? There's help

It's getting hot, and electric bills are on a sizzling rise as utility customers turn down the thermostat. To top it off, the state's utilities are looking to increase rates for fuel and other services.

If you're struggling to pay your electric bill, you maybe able to get help. The Florida Public Service Commission on Thursday highlighted some of the assistance programs. Times columnist Ivan Penn details more information on how to get help.

Read about rate increases sought by Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas.

Read about fuel rate increases sought by Progress Energy Florida.

Different utilities have different programs available. Read on for more information...

Seas may be rising faster than expected

The oceans may be warming faster than anticipated, Andrew Revkin from The New York Times reported today.

Read more about it on Revkin's blog here.

Bubble or not, oil moves on latest supply news

UPDATE: The Associated Press reported late Thursday morning that oil prices fell on news that China will raise prices, possibly dampening demand for oil in the gast-growing nation.

An attack on an oil installation in Nigeria pushed oil prices up Thursday morning, while hopes for increased production from Saudi Arabia and mixed U.S. supply reports restrained rising prices, the Associated press reported earlier Thursday.

For the latest news on oil prices, check in with our Money channel.

Today's oil news from the Times

Blame speculators for $1 of every $4 you pay for a gallon of gas, said one critic in today's Times story by Kris Hundley.

In the story, Michael Greenberger, a former regulator with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency charged with overseeing the futures market, said the whole system is out of whack.

"Right now the market is overwhelmed by speculators," he said, noting that OPEC has said oil prices should be around $70 a barrel, not nearing $140. "If they're not policed, speculators will distort the market and drive the price in any direction they want to take it."

Also in today's paper, Times Washington reporter Wes Allison writes about the push to lift the ban on oil and gas drilling along the U.S. Coast. With gas at $4 a gallon, some politicians think it's time to take a second look at the nation's offshore oil. Critics of the move say it won't help prices but will hurt the environment.

The story reported, "Wednesday, Democrats touted a federal Energy Information Administration report that found that drilling in waters now off-limits "would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030."

The report also noted that oil prices are set on the world market, and that untapped U.S. reserves are too small to make much of a difference."

Read more on the topic here and here.

Column: Looking West at what might be Florida's future

A few years ago, Southern pine beetles seemed to be moving through Hernando County like a devastating, slow-motion forest fire.

The rice-sized insect was discovered in 1999 near Brooksville, feasting on its favorite food — the inner bark of overcrowded, drought-weakened loblolly pines. As dry conditions persisted over the next two years, the infestation spread to other pine species and neighboring counties.

Division of Forestry naturalists worried out loud that it would consume large swaths of the Withlacoochee State Forest and push across much of the state.

Fortunately, rains returned. Responsible landowners cut down and removed diseased trees. The scariest predictions never came to pass.

Which left me feeling I had been caught up in the hype — that I'd helped make a cyclical natural outbreak seem like a looming environmental catastrophe.

Now, though, I have seen catastrophe. I know it can happen.

Read the full column by Times columnist Dan Dewitt here.

Bush adds his voice to the debate on domestic oil drilling

President Bush has called on Congress to end a 27-year ban on drilling for oil in US coastal waters, to help lower gas prices.

This comes only days after Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Florida Governor Charlie Crist reversed their long held positions to advocate lifting a 27 year old ban on offshore drilling.

It is also an indication of how gas prices could be a major factor in the November election.

Republican strategists appear to have taken the decision that McCain reverse on drilling could be a popular move with voters, even if he is accused of flip-flopping and pandering to oil interests.

I don't know how this will play out. McCain could lose if oil prices settle back down. And Obama could make good use of this in his campaign ads. On the other hand Republicans may have found a clever way to distract voters from Iraq and McCain record of standing with Bush.

But most energy experts - and some Republicans - are unlikely to buy  McCain's thinking. As Senator Mel Martinez told me two years ago, "Drilling is never going to be a very complete solution."

Creative musician turns to biodiesel to make do

Brandon Beck, 26, is a struggling musician with the Florida Orchestra. He lives in an RV and drives 450-600 miles a week. So how does he make do?
He brews his own biodiesel using restaurant trap grease.

Read Brandon's story in The St Petersburg Times award-winning  series, 'Paycheck to Paycheck' , with story and photos by my good friend and colleague, John Pendygraft.

Brandon makes about 40 gallons a week, at a cost of about 80 cents a gallon.

"The future of this country is all about energy independence at this point. You've got to start somewhere, and you've got to do your part," he says.   

- David Adams

Gas prices hurt housing sales; sprawling suburbs may not make comeback

Rising gas prices may be the latest ailment afflicting the housing market, reports today's Los Angeles Times.

Southern California home prices plunged 27% in May from a year ago, but fell "even more precipitously in distant suburbs," the paper reported. And thanks to higher gas pr