Did you eat yams for Thanksgiving? Did they give you gas? Are you now expecting a fart joke in this week’s article? Do I now have a captive audience?
Before the ink could dry on the article I wrote last week, I covered most of the windows in my house with window insulator kits. Even though the windows appeared to have no air leaking in, the plastic was bulging and pulsing from the strong wind gusts that were blowing across our rural countryside.
I could not write another word about energy usage without knowing I had taken action myself to save on my propane bill. With 3 hours of work and $25 in supplies, I hope to save $250 in propane this winter. There is another huge benefit besides helping my wallet and the environment. I find that sealing my windows to keep the cold, dry air from entering the house which makes the furnace run less in combination with turning the heat down raises the indoor humidity greatly. No more dry eye, less dry cough and no more dry itchy skin. It is a win-win.
However, I did already receive an email from a reader that says there is no way the heat is getting turned down in his house because “heat is cheaper than a divorce.” I have heard similar comments before. This makes me wonder, how much money would be too much for a gas bill before some people start to conserve?
A quick internet search revealed this information about natural gas. About 1/3 of it is used for electrical generation, another 1/3rd in industrial uses like fertilizer and steel production, refineries and chemical plants and such. About 20% is used for heating in residential, commercial and public buildings. It is only a matter of time until many of the products produced have the increased cost of production from higher inputs like natural gas passed on to the consumer. Farmers are feeling it now.
For farmers that grow many crops, natural gas is very important. It is the major feedstock for the production of nitrogen fertilizer. I trust that the readers recall how I wrote about the production of ammonia/nitrogen fertilizer earlier this year with the Haber-Bosch process. The price of anhydrous ammonia has already tripled since last spring. There are reports of disrupted imports, production shortfalls and much larger price increases due to the cost of materials, mainly natural gas. Some even suggest that farmers may not even be able secure the products needed for next years crops in a timely manner.
Many consumers are a captive market for the gas they use in their houses; they really have no alternative but to pay an increased cost or reduce usage. Most of us are in the same situation with the gas for our vehicles. Farmers are in the same position with their fertilizer; we really do not have any other options. There are possibly some other options, and I plan to write a satirical article about them soon, but they are not truly viable.
Did you suffer a bout with flatulence after the big turkey meal? Was there any gas released? Maybe collecting gas from humans as a renewable fuel source could be the next big thing. For the record, I did not eat yams; I guess I am not doing my part. You can blame me if we have a gas shortage later this winter.
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