The U.S. military is getting serious about energy change
Maggie Koerth-Baker at 9:02 AM Tuesday, Mar 8, 2011
One thing the military is getting right these days: Making the connection between fossil fuel dependence and insecurity. I did a lot of research in the past year on efforts throughout the Department of Defense as a whole, and especially within the Navy and Air Force, to improve energy efficiency on military bases in the United States. For instance, Jacksonville Naval Air Station, in Jacksonville, Florida, has put young officers in charge of changing the culture of energy use from within their own units. They've convinced their fellow soldiers to make small changes, like turning off lights that aren't being used or sharing a single coffeemaker among several people. More importantly, they've got soldiers thinking in broad ways about energy, waste, and future security—What else could be done with the money spent on unnecessary energy use? What happens in a fuel-related crisis if this base can't be more self-sufficient?
These changes in culture and ways of thinking are making a difference. Last summer, officers at Jacksonville Naval Air Station told me that, thanks to several different energy efficiency campaigns and improvements, they've watch activity on the base increase over the last three years while energy use on the base has fallen.
There are some interesting and important changes afoot in the way the military handles energy. And not just at home. David Biello of Scientific American has a really fascinating story about the Department of Defense getting involved with ARPA-e—a Department of Energy program for developing cutting-edge energy technology. Among the collaborations: Energy storage systems for the front lines of war.
That's why the U.S. Defense (DoD) and Energy (DoE) departments are partnering on initiatives to further develop and test energy-storage technologies first developed by ARPA-e. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced two such development and deployment partnerships on March 2 for power electronics modules and batteries capable of storing megawatts of power--both to be funded by a requested $25 million each from DoD and ARPA-e in the fiscal year 2012 budget.
"Twenty-five million dollars is the cost of one H-1 helicopter," Mabus said. "The change that $25 million from DoD and ARPA-e can generate, can multiply that one helicopter hundreds and thousands of times."
Mabus was referring to saving both lives--for every 24 fuel convoys in Afghanistan and Iraq, one soldier or Marine is killed or wounded, according to a U.S. Army study--and money. The DoD fuel bill came to some $14 billion in 2010. "For every dollar the price of a barrel of oil goes up, the Navy spends $31 million more for fuel," Mabus noted. "Our dependence on fossil fuels creates strategic, operational and tactical vulnerabilities for our forces."
The Navy has taken a lead in attempting to change that, setting a goal of deriving half its energy needs from non-fossil fuel sources by 2020 as well as making half of its bases energy self-sufficient.
Scientific American: U.S. Military links energy research to lives and dollars saved
Once again investors came out in full force to buy the fucking dip on Friday after learning that Qaddafi's men opened fire
on protesters in Tripoli in Moammar's shoot first, shoot later
negotiations policy, GDP was revised down to "QE3 is coming," gold rose
to over $1,400 an ounce once again making Flavor Flav's teeth the most expensive commodity in the world, and the US government threatens to shut down while individual states bust unions (and if it is this Union's bust, then Money McBags approves) and teachers across the country get pinkslipped (while others slip pink). So once again cognitive dissonance reigns like Peter the Great in 18th century Russia or like Ms. San Antonio (only without eating so many tacos).
With Saudi Arabia promising to pump out enough oil to support both lost Libyan production and an even better Oil Rumble,
and with consumer sentiment rising in everything but how the consumer
sentiment number is calculated (Money McBags will guess lovingly and
with a fuckload of goal seeking and hard coding), investors ignored
every other bit of common sense, toggled away from Kate Upton's twitter pics, and jumped back in to the market faster than Charlie Sheen jumps back in to a bottle of vodka (or Capri Anderson's rectum).
Anyway, Money McBags thought he would try a gimmick for Friday's
wrap-up because all writers need to find new tricks (especially ones
like Money McBags as he writes as if he is trying to put his round peg
through Karissa Shannon's
spare hole). So in honor of Sunday's Oscars, Money McBags thought he
would equate each news item of the day to a best picture nominee simply
because he needs a challenge.
Inception goes to consumer sentiment hitting its highest level in 3 years
because clearly consumers must be dreaming of something other than the
declining buying power of the dollar and the shitawful ponzeconomy™ if
they really feel confident about anything other than their savings being
fucked (and see, that's funny because most of them have no savings).
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan/Vivid Video survey on
consumer sentiment came in at 77.5 which was up from 74.2 in January
and the highest since January 2008 which was right when the last guy on
the Street knew that bank balance sheets were more fictitious than a Dr. Boris Sachakov hemorrhoid removal,
so um, look out below. The number was above the median forecast of
75.3, above the early February reading of 75.1, and above Money McBags'
sentiment of "you have to be kidding me" because the only times Money
McBags has been less confident in the consumer was during the Beanie
Baby phase and when Garth Brooks went platinum. Consumers reported
"significant" labor market improvements, judged their personal
finances more favorably than at any other time in the past three years,
and insisted that redneck is a religion.
True Grit goes to GDP which keeps trying to tough it out despite being more fucked than David Wu's political career. GDP for Q4 was revised down to 2.8% annual growth,
below 3.2% guesses, and well below the 5% needed to lower the 9%
unemployment rate without just clerically adjusting the labor force
participation rate down again (Money McBags' "Fuck Off" strategy), but
hey, just buy the fucking dip. The slower growth was driven by deeper
spending cuts by state and local governments who continue to suffer
from lower tax revenues and reality.
Toy Story 3 goes to the Ben Bernanke who is treating M2 as if it is Monopoly money as the money supply not only grows faster than Cameron Diaz on the awesomeness scale but is more correlated to the rise in the S&P
than tinnitus is correlated to attending a Black Eyed Peas concert.
But hey, Money McBags guesses we will learn the hard way that Zimbabwe isn't just for lovers (lovers of AIDS that is).
The Kids Are Alright goes to the state of Wisconsin whose teachers have missed work to protest cuts to their health care benefits and collective bargaining rights as a union which has caused senate Democrats to flee the state
to avoid voting as it is always best to run from bullies. Teacher
protests give kids more time to stay at home, fire up the playstation,
and plan the next rainbow party, which is alright with Money McBags.
The King's Speech goes to Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi who got up in the center of Tripoli on Friday and threatened to make his country a living hell
and kill those who oppose him. When protesters heard this, they
rejoiced, claiming a living hell would be three steps up from Libya's
current living situation which is so bad it has been compared to having
to french kiss Kathy Griffin's sphincter.
Winter's Bone goes to Winter Pierzina
as who wouldn't want to giver her a bone? And, yes, that has nothing
to do with the economy or the market, but it is very important to
confirm.
The Fighter goes to all of the protesters in the Middle
East and Northern Africa who are tired of some asshole despotic ruler
continually oppressing them and are now striving to become that asshole
ruler to be able to oppress the factions they hate. How these Middle
East protests have not spooked the market more is a question for which
Money McBags is seeking an answer (though he is pretty sure the answer
isn't pussy furry).
Black Swan goes to AIG who in a black swan event shit
on the global economy a few short years ago as their derivatives book of
credit default swaps (which had a one in bazillion chance of blowing up
according to the douchenozzles who were writing that shit and whose
bonuses relied on writing it, but nothing to see there) found itself in
the Gaussian curve's fat tail
and blew the fuck up as insuring something without actually putting
aside the money in case that thing you are insuring gets fucked is as
dumb of a business as ZAGG or a Wilford Brimley
tongue kissing booth. But it gets even better because in an even
bigger black swan event, this fucking company is still in business
somehow (because apparently criminal actions don't get punished in the
US if you have a good lawyer and are on the government's payroll) and on Friday they put up a big Q but sold off
as investors raised concerns over AIG's huge property insurance
business, its aircraft leasing unit, and how the fuck they can actually
trust a company that came within a Verne Troyer
nut hair of blowing up the world. Money McBags isn't saying AIG is a
shitty company, he's saying they are a fucking shitty company.
127 Hours goes to every company that had earnings or
analyst ratings changes on Friday because in 127 hours (or 3 to be more
precise) no one will remember and the stocks will trade on new
speculation (and by new speculation, Money McBags means the Fed's
continued capital injection). In earnings on Friday, Salesforce.com
apparently sold the fuck out of some forces beating earnings guesses and raising full year guidance as cloud computing remains hotter than Tulip sales in the Netherlands in the 1600s or two lip sales in Eliot Spitzer's hotel rooms in the 2000s. In other earnings news, ADSK saw profits rise
23% on a 16% increase in revenues and the company is now up 45% for the
year as more people use their autocad software to design the cardboard
boxes in to which they have moved.
In other company news, FSLR was down 6%
despite higher profits as the solar panel maker burned investors by
forecasting weaker sales this year and warned it would cut prices to
compensate for the end of solar subsidies in Europe. That said, a
flurry of analysts raised their price targets on the stock because
lowered sales forecasts didn't effect their hardcoded models. Finally
WFC climbed after Goldman raised its rating on the stock to "buy" from
"neutral" after the analyst was told he hadn't published anything on
WFC in a while and needed to drum up some trading flow.
If you want to read which small cap company Money McBags gave The Social Network to, click over to the award winning When Genius Prevailed where Money McBags has fundamental analysis, more dick jokes, and plenty of Lucy Pinder. And if you're really bored, Money McBags is known to frequent the twitter from time to time.
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