How much did the US spend on Imported Oil in 2014?

My previous blog posts about the US spending on imported oil are finally making a difference. At least a lot of people seem to be asking how much the US spends on importing oil.  Earlier this year, one of the leading United States Presidential Candidates stated that the US spent about $300 billion on importing […]

Turn down your water heater to save energy

Many water homes have their water heaters turned up too high. Many health codes used to call for hotter temperatures for home water, to ensure that dishes and clothes got clean enough. However, science has taught us that in most cases, it is the act of rubbing the items, the agitation, that causes things to […]

How much did the US spend importing oil in 2013?

More recent update: How much did the US spend on imported Oil in 2014? A couple years ago, I tried to find out how much money the US economy spent on importing oil, but could not find that fact listed anywhere. All of the information I needed to calculate it was out there, so I […]

Understanding 50% Jump in Our Natural Gas Usage

As I reviewed our energy consumption for 2013, I noticed a shocking thing: our natural gas usage for December jumped by over 50% this year.  As a family that tries very hard to live green, save energy and has made numerous energy efficiency improvements, this was not the sign we wanted to see. Our usage […]

How much did the US spend on imported oil in 2012?

More recent update: How much did the US spend on imported Oil in 2014? My calculation of what the US spent on importing oil in 2011 has become one of our most popular posts of all times. I have impatiently waited the release of the number of barrels imported for Dec 2012 to finish up […]

The Solution to Climate Change is…

What’s the problem? Climate Change is caused by man made CO2 emissions Who can solve the climate change problem? The consumers (you and me) by the choices we make everyday How Can We Solve Climate Change? With Pennies Per Pound How can paying a few pennies per pound of CO2 emissions make a difference? Everything […]

Reaching for Net-Zero

With all the sunny days in April, we reached a milestone with our Solar PV Awning.  We moved being net-consumers of electricity to being net-producers for the year (first four months). Chart generated by SunWatch Meter from SunBug Solar LLC In April our solar awning produced a whopping 733 kWh of electricity, only July 2011 […]

Another Shocker – Agreeing with FoxNews

I can’t believe I agree with FoxNews With my recent rant about Newt Gingrich’s $2.50/gal energy plan, I only agreed with part of his overall goals, i.e., that of American made energy, not his method or his conclusion.  Now I find myself completely agreeing with another unlikely source, FoxNews, about how to change the price […]

How much did the US spend on imported oil in 2011?

More recent updates: How much oil did the US import in 2013? How much did the US spend on imported oil in 2012? I have often wanted to know how much we spend on foreign oil each year, but have found it harder than I would expect to look up.  So as a good engineer […]

What’s Wrong with Newt Gingrich’s $2.50 per Gallon Gas Plan

I’m shocked to hear myself say this, but Newt Gingrich made several good points in his “$2.50 per Gallon Gasoline, Energy Independence and Jobs.” address recently. He wants to “Unleash the American people.”  He wants to have “the American people develop so much new energy that we [are], in fact, no longer reliant on Saudi […]