Moving Week Re-Runs

For the next week, I will be surrounded by boxes and movers, as we pack up our Connecticut home/office and migrate to northern Virginia. During this period Energy Outlook will go on vacation hiatus, barring an event demanding immediate commentary. As I've done in the past, I'm furnishing some links below to previous postings that still seem relevant, particularly for newer readers who may not have seen them before. I'm also posting links to a couple of recent op-eds I found interesting but haven't time to comment on at length. New postings should resume the week of 6/26.

Please also note that my email address has changed.

Recent Op-Eds:

A remarkably (dangerously?) optimistic view of where the balance of oil power lies in the confrontation over Iran's nuclear program:
Over a Barrel, WSJ, 6/2/06

A novel alternative to higher gasoline taxes from a noted economist. This sounds excessively complicated, but it may contain useful elements:
Tradeable Gasoline Rights, WSJ, 6/5/06

Does America need a third party to address comprehensive energy and environmental policies?
Seeds for a Geo-Green Party, Tom Friedman, NYT, 6/16/06 (Times Select may be required to access.)

"Classic Postings" from Energy Outlook:

China is more than a competitor for energy, jobs and markets. It's a large, complex country, the future course of which remains highly uncertain:
The Other Face of China

The media tends to focus on the supply of raw petroleum, but for the last several years the absence of spare refining capacity, particularly in the US, has had as much influence on the prices we pay at the pump. Despite strong commitments in the wake of last year's hurricanes to redress this, little has changed. US refining growth will be largely incremental, while new international capacity will focus predominately on Asia, not us:
Shining a Light in the Corner
Offshore Refineries

Our future demand for oil and gas will depend heavily on some fundamental choices concerning how we will provide motive power for transportation:
Protons vs. Electrons
Electrons vs. Molecules