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Yeah $3/Gallon Gas is Bad, But in Maine it's Heating Oil vs. Food For Some

news.yahoo.com — So as heating oil prices hit record levels and the sound of oil furnaces kicking in becomes more frequent, plenty of people are worrying about whether they'll be able to scrape up enough money to keep warm. "It's not just low-income people who are fearful. It's the working couple or families who are now going to have to choose between heating

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  • allaboutdatiki, on 11/13/2007, -1/+37My house has an oil-fired boiler. We just got a delivery of 150 gallons of heating oil this week ... at $3.25 per gallon. An average winter can suck down 1000 gallons. We're screwed :( ...
    • sodoh, on 11/13/2007, -3/+11Wow, doing rough conversion to Euros that would be 2.21 euros. 1 Gallon is 3.7 Litres. That works out around 59 cents (EU) a litre. That is still way cheaper then most parts of EU. Ireland for example it is 1.15 a litre.

      I think now is the time to start investing in items to keep heat in. When I was living in Boston most of the houses in the city didn't have insulation at all and just ran the radiators on full blast during the winter.

      Another option for you prehaps. If it is 3K to heat your house this winter, see how far 2K can get you for a holiday for winter.
      • AnarkeIncarnate, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3and then the pipes burst.... The issue is that $2K can take you anywhere.....for a short time. It is cold enough to run the burners here for 4 months
      • seandaly, on 11/13/2007, -0/+4Was that a serious comment?
      • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -1/+2UK is currently £1 per litre (for petrol) quick figuring £3.70 per gallon or $7.40 per gallon (at $2 per pound)
        • Beylan, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2This article is talking about heating oil, not gasoline.
    • badtiki, on 11/13/2007, -0/+9These oil prices are terrible ! Another problem is that alot of houses in New England are older and poorly insulated - Last winter I rented a house in Groton, CT which was from the cival war era (like alot of homes in CT) I ended up putting in 150 gallons every 2 weeks when it got arctic in January. I was smart this year and found a house to rent that includes all utilities.
    • monkeyrun, on 11/13/2007, -3/+2Just get an electric heater.
      • seandaly, on 11/13/2007, -0/+7Dumb idea... Might be OK in the south but up here in the northeast, it actually drops below -0F many days of the winter.
    • Pilot85, on 11/13/2007, -3/+2So...electric heaters aren't possible? Might be time to invest in something different.
    • phufufoo, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3Or you could move to Los Angeles and buy a 3 bedroom 2bath house for over 600k
    • GoBack2Europe, on 11/14/2007, -2/+2Wear a ***** jacket, *****.
    • CedEx, on 11/13/2007, -0/+0Why don't you start looking into a wood stove heater. A couple of cords of woods can keep you warm three times. Once when you chop the wood, twice when you stack the wood, and three times when you burn the wood. Plus, it gives you man muscles too.
  • MarkDykeman, on 11/13/2007, -2/+17I'm next door to Maine; I can sympathize with them
  • suxmonkey, on 11/13/2007, -4/+8I'd scrape my oil from the spills and save my money for food I guess :/
  • MASTERPL, on 11/13/2007, -3/+531 US gallon = 3.78 Liters. In Poland heating oil is $1.13 a liter which = $4.3 a Gallon. Most people in Poland earn $406-$609 a month
    The price of food, electricity, natural gas, and gasoline are also much higher. If $3.25 a gallon is tough for Americans to handle with American wages, Imagine life in Poland.
    • seandaly, on 11/14/2007, -4/+6We don't live in Poland... We live in one of the richest nations on the planet, if we can't keep our poorest people warm, then we're a pathetic bunch of assholes!
      • molezooka, on 11/14/2007, -2/+3YOU keep our poorest people warm!!! Don't include ME in your COMMUNIST rant!!!
        • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -1/+3Aaaah, another Paulbot.
        • zaphar, on 11/14/2007, -2/+4Aaaah, another Socialist goon.
          • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -1/+3You say that like it's an insult. It's not. I'd rather be a socialist who is willing to advance society than be a self-centered ***** who wants to advance nothing but "ME! ME! ME!"

    • MindTrigger, on 11/13/2007, -3/+6We don't have to imagine it. With the way our country and our economy is being raped by the corporate shill, globalist neocons, it won't be long before the US is the same way. The rich are getting richer, and they will leave the country when times get rough. The rest of us will be stuck here to live in the aftermath.
      • molezooka, on 11/13/2007, -2/+3You are pathetic. Why don't you get off your butt, get rich, and then give it all to the lazy ones still on their butts crying about how lifes not fair. BOO! HOO! Go on. DO IT!
    • yaoxin1111, on 11/13/2007, -2/+0hey, can you also give us the number of how much does housing costs there?
    • meed, on 11/13/2007, -4/+2How much of the cost of fuel in Poland is Taxes?
  • aussieNickuss, on 11/13/2007, -11/+13What is with oil as a heating fuel? Couldn't that be the most in-efficient, expensive and POLLUTIVE form of heating? Surely there are other fuels (wood, gas) or forms of heating (electric) that are cheaper and cleaner.
    • nepawoods, on 11/13/2007, -1/+10Of course there are. I've got a stove in my basement that burns either wood pellets or corn - far cheaper than propane, electric or oil (and very clean). And I have neighbors with an outdoor wood burning furnace that supplies all their heat and hot water during the winter.
    • irvman21, on 11/13/2007, -4/+7Of course there are, but don't call me Shirley.
    • orithidon, on 11/13/2007, -1/+8I don't think you're taking in the account the cost of converting over to electric, gas, or wood...pricing between $10k and $20k easy...If these people are struggling between oil and food, do you think they have that spare $10k to just throw down?
      • nepawoods, on 11/13/2007, -1/+10I put in my wood pellet/corn stove for about $2K, and spent under $1K on enough fuel to keep it running for 5 months. My house is kinda roomy, so it's only going to be an auxiliary source of heat - still using some propane. But it definitely saves me money.
        • orithidon, on 11/13/2007, -0/+0heh
          even though there is a drastic difference from $2k to $10-$20k, I'm sure these people don't have the money to throw down if they are having to question whether they should eat or keep their buns toasty :P
      • aussieNickuss, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Considering at current prices of oil, then 10k to retrofit is only 3 years worth of fuel.
    • diggcarldigg, on 11/13/2007, -1/+6Actually, oil heat has traditionally been the most efficient type of heating system. Many (most) homes in New England have heating systems that were put in 50+ years ago. Up until recently, there wasn't much debate about it - oil was the way to go. Conversion is prohibitively expensive for most homes. So yeah, if you're building a new home today, knowing what we know now about oil prices, resources, pollution, etc. - oil is probably not as popular of a choice. But in 1940, that's just what you used.
    • seandaly, on 11/13/2007, -0/+6Sure. you can come over and retrofit our house for some other form of heating.

      Gas isn't an option, we don't have the infrastructure for it here in the northeast. (I'm willing to bet that 75 - 80% of homes in NH, Maine and Vermont have ZERO access to Nat gas). We can use delivered propane, but the costs are worse than oil.
    • dlmaher, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Last I checked electric heat was pretty expensive. This is one situation that makes me glad to not be a homeowner and to live in an apartment (in Maine) with heat included. I remember last winter a friend of mine was short on cash in the fall, when there was a chance to lock in oil prices for the winter and was in a panic that this would happen, fortunately last winter was not too bad
    • stubear, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3I bought a house a couple years ago in Waltham (a suburb of Boston) that was actually the first house in Waltham to have oil heat (built in 1920). We looked into converting to natural gas heat but the conversion alone was going to be around $7,000. It went up from there depending on us keeping the central chimney (there's one on the side for the two fireplaces) or not, something we really wanted to do so it would make the kitchen remodel easier. Conversions are expensive and we're not exactly scraping to get by here either. There are much poorer families in the area that are going to have a very difficult time keeping their houses heated this winter, much less converting to another form of heating system.
    • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1My grandfather was a coalminer and my grandparents got free coal for life. The mining town they lived in had no gas as the gas companies never got round to putting the pipes in as it would cost so much and everyone used coal anyway. Later in life they had to switch to oil and still got that free.

      Strangely the gas company kept sending my gran bills for gas even though there was absolutely no gas in the town except bottled gas.
    • gromnie, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2" Surely there are other fuels (wood, gas) or forms of heating (electric) that are cheaper and cleaner."

      Let's take a look and see.

      Electric is expensive, highly inefficient and while it doesn't pollute much in your immediate surroundings, the coal-fired plants that generate most of the electricity in the world sure as Hell do, not just in the transport and creation of the energy, but in the mining of the coal as well. Electric is not the way to go if you're looking to save either money or the planet.

      Wood is en excellent fuel, and it does grow on trees. But one must have logging and logging equipment and logging side-effects to have it. And hippies and their ilk have made it all but impossible to log anymore -- after all, the poor widdle woodland critters have to have homes and logged areas are totally ugly looking, man.

      Also, burning wood pollutes quite a bit. Add to that the fact that most home insurance carriers will not insure a house with a wood burning stove or a fireplace anymore (or if they do, it costs the Big Bucks) -- again because they "pollute, kill animals, burn down houses and make hippies cry" -- and bang goes that option too.

      So, natural gas? Almost non-existent in the Northeast. Sure, you _could_ pay the umpteen thousands of dollars it would take to convert your house, have a large pressurized tank attached to its side and then have gas tanked (at oil or higher prices thanks to the economies of scale and the fact that it takes gasoline to get the gas to your house) in. But if you had that kind of money, oil wasn't going to be a problem in the first place.

      Oil has the infrastructure in the Northeast, is efficient, pollutes as much as (or less than) all the other options and was, up until this year, nearly the cheapest method.

      So, there's the real world. I do sometimes wish we could all live this fantasy you present where the things we insist "should be" that we type into our keyboards really are So.

      But we don't.
  • slayerab, on 11/13/2007, -1/+14It sounds tempting just to sleep in layers from now on....
    • MDKAOD, on 11/13/2007, -1/+5That's what we're doing. We're not putting the oil heat passed 60F and we're using localized space heaters only when a room is in use. Who knows if it's more efficient, but budget power plans make it easier than paying for massive oil bills on top of our rent. :(

      Lots of long sleeves and blankets are in our future.
  • slashbot, on 11/13/2007, -32/+8Buried as sensationalist garbage
    • zaibatsu, on 11/13/2007, -7/+6I guess you live with mommy and daddy and don't actually have to pay any bills.
      • orithidon, on 11/13/2007, -6/+4How did you draw that conclusion from his opinion of the article? At what point did slashbot mention parents or housing situation?
    • dagnabbit, on 11/14/2007, -7/+10 Here he is, the first anti-reality ***** of the thread! Welcome, slashbot! Thanks for the contribution.
    • slashbot, on 11/13/2007, -14/+5In fact I am out on my own and doing just fine with my bills.

      It is called being fiscally responsible, avoiding spending on junk, and living close to work (saving gas)
      • siszam, on 11/13/2007, -2/+9Try being a seventy year old on social security and having to choose between meds, food or heat. The world isn't made up of working age people who never had an illness or emergency. Grow up.
    • MDKAOD, on 11/13/2007, -7/+7You're and idiot.
      • MDKAOD, on 11/13/2007, -1/+5So am I apparently. In my defense though, I'm only "and idiot" due to expiring edit abilities.
    • madm0nk, on 11/13/2007, -1/+7Are you shooting for the most negative diggs on record? Everytime I see a comment by you it's -10 or less.
    • seandaly, on 11/13/2007, -4/+2I hope you get ass cancer you piece of *****!
  • zaibatsu, on 11/13/2007, -1/+10I've heard it's actually a 24 percent rise in the cost of heating oil, which will add an additional $700 to most people's heating bills in the Northeast
    • lordsandwich, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Not mine. We NYC renters are free from the burden of heating costs in our ludicrously expensive coatroom-sized apartments. Hooray us!
      • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Maybe it's part of why your rent is so blasted high?
    • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -1/+2It's "what the market will bear".

      Don't look to libertarians for any help. Unless it affects them DIRECTLY, they don't give a *****.

      Capitalism is a system of "haves" and "have nots". The 20% that "have not" can just freeze to death for all they care.
      • gromnie, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1And the Democrats all want to take all our things, especially our dollars, and distribute them to us all "equally" -- meaning of course 99% for the Benign and Most Deserving Government and the remaining 1% to be doled out to everyone else using a system that will be figured out some time after the Acquisition Phase is completed and the ByLaws Subcommittee reports back to the necessary Officials with the Correct Paperwork.

        And the Republicans all want to eat our babies. With salt. That we took from the rest of the world at gunpoint.

        And do you have any idea what the Gays are doing to the soil?!??!??

        I see what you did there.
  • dukeeeey, on 11/13/2007, -10/+3we burn wood here so we are okay ;p
    • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Gee, maybe we should ALL burn wood. Let's see what that does to the cost of lumber, and the number of trees. And the number of house fires.
  • xuanyan, on 11/13/2007, -9/+26It's 80 degrees in Phoenix today. I'm just sayin...
    • orithidon, on 11/13/2007, -7/+3Perhaps you are inadvertantly making a point...

      We hear about this on the news all the time, the Smith family or the Johnson family and how they will survive this winter...so the public outcry pumps money into helping them out instead of opting to relocate these people to other parts of the state/country that have pleanty of jobs and housing and a lack of workforce.
      I feel for these people but if you are struggling every year then maybe you should go somewhere more cost beneficial. If you house is too expensive you'll either downgrade to a smaller one, get an apartment, or move to another city that is cheaper.

      I think it makes perfect sense..
      • tuckerleary, on 11/13/2007, -2/+6cost of living plays in here, consider that one?
        there are professions in maine that don't quite play out so well in other states.
        hows the paper industry in Pheonix doing these days?
      • PATSCRU, on 11/13/2007, -1/+4orithidon, perhaps we should move all of the poor into ghettos, and make sure they have security in those ghettos so not just anyone can come in, or out. Seriously, cost factors in to choosing a place to live, but cost should not be a factor on basic human needs for survival.
        • orithidon, on 11/13/2007, -1/+0why do people relocate? to pursue a better quality of living.
          Perform a CBA against your current living situation vs. 5 other states, your results will surprise you.
    • GoneSouth, on 11/13/2007, -1/+15Yes, but how was your air conditioning bill back in august?
      • theonlywizdum, on 11/13/2007, -4/+1$0, because we already had to turn the furnace on, *****.
      • MindTrigger, on 11/13/2007, -1/+2Here in SoCal I'm paying $450 -500 per month during our long summers, and that's with a very well insulated 4 year old home, and the AC set to 78-80 degrees. I hear we are in a cheaper utility district than many others around us too. Winter is nice though. We don't run the heat much at all during the day, and only need it at night starting in late December. In my next home down here I will be able to add solar heat/power and I won't use the heater at all. The forecast for tomorrow is a retarded 89 degrees F! Winter who?
      • HigherLogic, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1$220 for an 1100-sq-ft apartment. AC during the day was around 76, at night it was 72. Higher than most I imagine, but I like it cold. The thing is, it's only hot in Arizona for a couple months out of the year. For the rest of the 9 months, it's great. No AC, no heating. My AC bill for October was $90 and we only ran it a couple times because there were some record-setting days. I haven't run it at all in November though, the windows just stay open. During Decembe/January I'll probably keep some of the windows closed.
      • orithidon, on 11/13/2007, -0/+0I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and my bill was around $110 for a 700 sq ft apartment 1st floor.
    • IEatHamburgers, on 11/13/2007, -0/+7One good drought near the water reservoir and Phoenix is toast...
      • HigherLogic, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1You do realize where our water comes from don't you?
    • residentweasel, on 11/14/2007, -0/+0Ahhhhh!!!! theres nothing like living in the Valley of the Sun.
      and by the way, my august bill was less that what I paid for oil when I lived in PA
      and we've been in a drought for the past 10 years, and Phoenix is do'in just fine
  • Clp727, on 11/13/2007, -2/+10Time for alternative fuels I'd say.
    • orithidon, on 11/13/2007, -3/+0or to get out of Dodge...
    • irvman21, on 11/13/2007, -2/+7Right, cause that's going to be cheaper.
    • seandaly, on 11/13/2007, -2/+5Sure, easy right? I'll just convert my boiler to run on dead babies or something... I'm told that we murder millions of them here in the US.
      • nihilite, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3not enough to heat our homes, unfortunately. good thinking, though.
    • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -1/+1I totally agree longterm but the choices currently are nuclear- not many people fancy that
      wind/solar/tide - currently not able to produce enough power.
      biofuels - results in more agricultural land needed which may result in less for food production for anything near 100% conversion plus more fresh water is needed moving the problem to another area.
      hydrogen/fuel cells - not efficient enough on large scales yet
      Fusion - possibly in future ITER is years away from even proving feasible let alone commercial.
      Antimatter - possibly not in our lifetime.
      next we get to the realms of science fiction
  • g2g079, on 11/13/2007, -4/+26Children make excellent fuel. They are the only natural alternative fuel which can also help you keep your cooking costs down.
  • AriaStar, on 11/13/2007, -3/+9I lives in Massachusetts for a year and found it to be cheaper to use a wood-burning furnace and lots of layers, an electric blanket, and an electric space heater. There are space heaters that turn off if tipped or are covered. They're safe now.
    • seandaly, on 11/13/2007, -0/+4Not when you have little kids running around. 2 yr olds are retarded and will stick their fingers wherever they can.
      • lordsandwich, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1> 2 yr olds are retarded

        I know you didn't mean this as a joke but it made me laugh.
      • CedEx, on 11/13/2007, -0/+0That will learn them quick won't it now?
  • tennisninja38, on 11/13/2007, -4/+3a lot of people live like that all the time, or in even worse conditions.
    • bjornski, on 11/14/2007, -1/+2Well, I guess that makes it alright then.

  • Bhima, on 11/13/2007, -6/+12I just don't get some of this thinking. Where I live we has this stuff called insulation. The walls in my home are nearly as think as my arm the ceiling and roof more so.

    If you are really bad off why not buy some to cover the worst insulated bits where you live? Sure it probably does not look like a better homes and gardens pictorials but it can save you a fortune.

    A guy who I went to high school who is not really well off bought some of the rigid foam and cut it to fit into his windows which he puts in when it gets dark or he goes to bed and removes when he either gets up or gets home from work. This more paid for itself the first cold month he had it.

    When I was in university the flat I lived in sucked in this regard... we taped plastic over every window and shoved something in every gap we could find.
    • tuckerleary, on 11/13/2007, -0/+13ya, we do have insulation here, thanks.
      its just really damn cold, and no matter how insulated your house is, you need some sort of heat to fill it with.
      in the 21st century, forgive us for not wanted to have to wear 3 sweaters in our houses.
      • Jimbob200, on 11/13/2007, -7/+2You voted in Bush, you got your vote's worth.
        • EditorResponse, on 11/13/2007, -1/+2What does Bush have to do with it. The prices are GOING to go up no matter what. There is a logical limit to the amount of oil in the ground and we are approaching PEAK OIL now. Look it up.
          • nihilite, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1we should have had a sensible energy policy a long time ago. this is not just bush's fault - though he is certainly a part of the problem. The blame lays on the shoulders of every president since the 1970s.

            We are not going to run out of oil, it will just get more difficult and expensive to obtain (deep ocean drilling, oil shale, coat to liquids, invading other countries, etc.)
        • rstarr, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Maine voted Dem and it's senators (Snowe/Collins) may be Reps but look them up, they're not one of his cronies.
    • PATSCRU, on 11/13/2007, -1/+3Not only that, but using rigid foam, rigid fiberglass, or other insulating materials indoors is extremely dangerous. You're supposed to wear facemasks when dealing with those materials, as the particles that come off them are super tiny cancer machines.
      • etmori, on 11/13/2007, -2/+1Check this out http://builditsolar.com/Projects/Conservation/bubb ... What about bubble wrap? Seems pretty obvious and cheap.
      • nepawoods, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1No, not so with rigid foam. It's basically a styrofoam material - cuts very cleanly with a sharp knife.
      • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Your thinking of asbestos. Actually the best material physically for the job it can do but not so great health wise. Newer materials are safer but not as efficient.
  • incandescent, on 11/13/2007, -5/+7$3 a gallon? You don't know how lucky you are! It's £1 a litre here in the UK - that's about $9 a gallon!
    • URnotheonly1, on 11/13/2007, -1/+3wish we would steal someone else's oil
    • erkokite, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3I don't think the UK gets as cold as Maine.
      • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2Well parts of scotland are further north than moscow. Granted we have the gulf stream making it warmer but up north where population is sparse its cold with no public transport meaning people rely on their own transport. Its not the worst place but it still spends most of the winter around zero or sub zero.
    • seandaly, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3How many homes in the UK are still on oil heat? (Not being sarcastic, I'm really curious)
    • potterboy, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1£1 = $2.09110
      • 42Vindictive, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2Its 1 pound a litre. Not your archaic measuring system.

        1 (British pound / litre) = 7.96829184 U.S. dollars / gal

        Granted, his numbers are a bit off, but its still high. Canada's is up around 6 dollars USD/GAL.
  • Typhoon2009, on 11/13/2007, -10/+1Electric heaters. They're cheap these days.
    • seandaly, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2Cheap to buy, not to use when it's minus 10 F outside.
  • sportbikepilot, on 11/13/2007, -14/+2oh boo ***** hoo. move somewhere warm and stop crying like a little bitch... (from texas where it's 5 p.m. and 76 degrees outside)
    • jthomp3120, on 11/13/2007, -0/+9I'd rather die than move to texas
    • erkokite, on 11/13/2007, -0/+6You know, some of us rather like Maine. Besides, the summers are quite nice if you can avoid the mosquitoes, whereas you guys probably can't even leave your house on a hot summer day.
    • nihilite, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2how is that AC bill treating you, texas? and whose water are you drinking?
  • scabbers, on 11/13/2007, -6/+12Those US dollar bills will at least be useful for burning this winter.
  • blugill, on 11/13/2007, -5/+12 Perhaps you should lobby the Maine congress to suspend taxes on heating oil this Winter.
  • andrgo, on 11/14/2007, -2/+10That's what we get for having a President who has been on the board of directors for different oil companies.
    What a total slap in the face. Glad I didn't vote for him.
  • leftykiller, on 11/13/2007, -5/+2See, now if Maine had Bodegas, this wouldn't be an issue.
  • b5c9, on 11/13/2007, -4/+4I live in the Netherlands probably the most expensive gas around 1 liter = 1.47 Euros. Or $2.14 per liter or around $8 a gallon. Check out world prices of gas http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/eupetrolprices/
  • HubbertWins, on 11/13/2007, -7/+19Yes, we all know that gasoline in $900 a gallon in Europe. We get it. It isn't our fault you tax it to the hilt.
    • ZenMojo, on 11/13/2007, -1/+11Coincidentally, they've got much better MPG than us and Norway's got an electric car infrastructure....
    • monkeyrun, on 11/13/2007, -3/+12Actually putting heavy tax on gas is the responsible thing to do.
    • allan17, on 11/13/2007, -1/+5*900 Euros a gallon
      • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -0/+4pff that was an hour ago its now 1200 euros per gallon and rising. Soon it'll be cheaper to burn diamonds (at least till they apply fuel tax to them).
    • rstarr, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2But due to the dollar drop, that's like .5 euros...
  • URnotheonly1, on 11/13/2007, -10/+3I should care why?
    • allan17, on 11/13/2007, -0/+5Obviously you are not someone who has to worry about going without food or heat for the winter. Go back to WoW and stop posting until you grow up.
    • erkokite, on 11/13/2007, -0/+5Nobody cares what you think either. If you don't care about a story, then don't read it.
    • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Another libertarian, huh?
  • CraigJ, on 11/13/2007, -12/+5Every year it's the same story. The media picks a few people to tell their sob stories. It's not like rising fuel prices or the onset of winter and really cold weather in Maine are surprises (are they?). The whole government assistance thing is a crock too. Since when is it the government's (read, yours mine and ours) responsibility to heat individual's homes? I have the opposite problem in Phoenix: $400 cooling bills in the summer months - where's my governmental assistance? Boo ***** hoo. buy a sweater, insulate your house and suck it up. I want to see a report next April of all the people that froze and/or starved to death in their homes in Maine this coming winter. I'll give good odds that that number will be zero.
    • willclarke, on 11/13/2007, -3/+6People freeze to death all the time during the winter here, and I live in Atlanta. I guarantee it happens in Maine.
      • CraigJ, on 11/13/2007, -1/+1Really? People freeze to death in their homes? Please provide a link to this information. I was unable to locate it.
    • theonlywizdum, on 11/13/2007, -3/+4last year the temperature got down to -20 degress F, you buy a ***** sweater *****. Use it to suffocate yourself.
      • CraigJ, on 11/13/2007, -1/+1It's 80 here today so i don't need a sweater, but thanks for thinking of me. Cheers. I grew up next to lake Michigan, and I know perfectly well what below freezing temps are like for extended periods of time. I stand by my statements. BTW, how many people froze to death, or starved to death, in their homes last year?
  • matthew.paul, on 11/13/2007, -2/+10Perhaps the houses should simply be better insulated? Most houses were built when it was so cheap to heat them they didn't have to worry about great insulation. Sure it might be a little expensive initially and maybe the government could subsidize. It would pay for its self in no time, plus the environmental factors.

    I'm studying in Sweden right now and we only have small radiators in our rooms which put out very little heat (honestly, my candles provide more heat), but everything is insulted so well the -10º winter isn't that bad.
    • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2And ripping out the walls and re-insulating a few million homes? Yeah, that'll be cheap.
      • zaphar, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2Not to mention all the "old fart" committees whining about destruction of historical buildings. If each homeowner here in NH could keep their 4000+ dollars in property taxes, they'd probably be fine.
  • RegalGSX, on 11/13/2007, -8/+0Your screen has a dead pixel .
  • ZenMojo, on 11/13/2007, -0/+6So...if we're still trading partners with Venezuela...why don't we accept their offer of free heating oil?
    • Jibberwalk, on 11/13/2007, -1/+6Baldacci has. Maine and Venezuela have a program via Citgo to give low(very low)-priced heating oil to low-income families. The problem this year, is that with oil prices climbing... it's not just low-income families getting hit anymore.
    • siszam, on 11/14/2007, -5/+4Because our greatly hated President Bush might have to admit that Chavez is a good guy.
      • schnikies79, on 11/13/2007, -1/+4Anyone who wants/has state run media and is willing to let himself be voted as president for life is not a good guy.
  • Boumbles, on 11/13/2007, -6/+1In Montreal the price per litre is floating around $1.13 right now. You (Americans) calculate how inexpensive your gas is and then complain.
    • valkries, on 11/13/2007, -1/+0I don't see why people are Burying this comment. Boumbles is right, gas, on average in Canada right now averages well over 1$ (Canadian), so like, with your terrible exchange rate 1.04$ US or more. 1 Litre of gas is equal to 3.8 US Gallons. That puts gas, which is right now at 1.11 right now in Montreal at 4.218 a GALLON or 4.41US/Gallon. So when you QQ about OMG 3$ gas, it doesnt fly. Gas has been over 3$ a Gallon in canada for like 5 years...ever since the war started...hmmmm
  • ncc74656m, on 11/13/2007, -1/+3Eeesh, this really is terrible, but it underscores both the need for energy efficiency and eventually, independence.

    It would also help if we could find a way to subsidize the upgrade to more efficient burners, and perhaps give tax credits and the like for making our homes more efficient. The funny thing is that even smart people like my parents seem to miss the benefits realized by doing things properly, such as insulation. Oh well, sometimes you just can't win.
  • bonhome, on 11/13/2007, -3/+3at wallmart they sell a plastic/aluminum emergency blanket that holds 90% of body heat and reflects that heat back to your body, then a couple more blankets and a tent and I find I can survive in temps in the teens outside. plus I don't have to pay like sixty percent of my income on housing. otherwise I would have to work too much. Bush is insane if he thinks I am going to work two jobs just to come home to a box with all his spy equipment watching me.
    • D3koy, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1Do those blankets also come in a convenient hap shape?
      • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1No but the government is now working on putting spy cameras in to them.
  • D3koy, on 11/13/2007, -3/+2Know what's cheap? Blankets....Plus you can reuse them every time it gets chilly. (or whenever you want to make a bitchin' fort)
    • gromnie, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Blankets don't keep the water pipes in your house from bursting.
  • mikeyhell, on 11/13/2007, -4/+0hmmm... 800 - 1000 gallons @ ~3.00/gallon = 2400 - 3000. I have a better idea. http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/map2.cfm? ...
    • Jibberwalk, on 11/13/2007, -0/+4Incentives are one thing... but actually being able to afford the retrofit in the first place is a whole 'nother ball game.
  • WakeRider, on 11/13/2007, -4/+5Why are the Americans burning petrol for heating anyway?? In New Zealand, we have Natural gas fired heaters, Air-conditioning / electric heat pumps, electric fan heaters, wood-burners, the oil-filled electric fin heaters etc. Also it helps having insulated housing, the Government has been heavily subsidizing heat-pumps and insulation for the elderly. No one burns petrol for heat here in the winter, considering we are paying NZ$1.67 / litre which I worked out to be US$4.69 / gallon, and Europe is paying a hell of a lot more. There are many different forms of producing the heat, and also keeping the heat in the house (e.g. insulation).

    Having an uninsulated house relying solely on a petrol-fired furnace blasting day and night is absolutely moronic when there are plenty of other cheaper options out there, you just have to do a little research. Also that is only to do with heating, you could just try wearing more clothes, using heavy blankets and electric blankets etc as well.
    • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2You may have missed the point - oil and petrol come from the same source. As does some natural gas.
    • cdmarcus, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2If it's hard for your family to pay for a winter's worth of oil, it's probably harder to convert your heating system to gas.
  • Photokon, on 11/13/2007, -3/+7Stupid foreigners talking about their gas prices when the discussion is heating oil
    • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1You may have missed the point - oil and petrol/gas come from the same source. The price increase affects both.
    • databoy, on 11/13/2007, -3/+2The only foreigners on the Planet Earth are Americans. Americans should pull their head out of their butt and find out the realities of living life. Welcome to the real world where costs of fuel are high and living conditions for the working class are survival rations. We have all been there and experienced hardship; now it is the USA's turn to feel the pain. Don't expect sympathy from the rest of the planet.
  • SHuisman, on 11/13/2007, -4/+2In the netherlands it's about $ 7.80/gallon...
  • nastronomical, on 11/13/2007, -7/+6Why are you dugging down the europeans who pay way more than what we pay for fuel? Is it a reality check that we have been living the life of cheap fuel or are you the types that want to blindly believe that we are spending more than anyone else and its Bushs fault?
    • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -1/+2And the Europeans don't have to pay insane premiums for health care, and they don't get coverage denied because they file a claim.

      It balances out.
  • Mara5, on 11/13/2007, -1/+8I'm sorry, but it makes me wonder exactly how much of a gasoline crises this country is in when CEO of oil companies can retire with an obscene amount of money. Remember about two or three years ago that CEO retired and his retirement pension was in the billions (I think). My point is that the fat cats are just getting more fat...and...they have to be in bed with many politicians to get that fat. Our wonderful President Bush is one of the guilty parties who is in bed with the oil companies.

    • nihilite, on 11/13/2007, -0/+4exxon has made over $155 billion in profits over the last years...
      • bjornski, on 11/14/2007, -1/+1EnRon Paul supports that.

        What are you proposing, regulating them?
  • bbqribs, on 11/13/2007, -1/+2Yes folks, we waste more oil for heating than we do to fuel cars. Clearly a big solution to the oil problem is to figure out a better way to insulate and heat homes instead! WTF.
    • monkeyboy7706, on 11/13/2007, -2/+2You may have missed the point - oil and petrol/gas come from the same source.

      For the third time
    • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1How many billions of dollars would it cost to retrofit and re-insulate all those homes?

      Granted, it's a good idea, but don't expect anyone to actually want to PAY for it.

      Ron Paul is NOT your savior on these issues. He supports letting the companies charge as much as "the market will bear".

      And as for retrofitting your house? The typical libertarian reply is "it's not MY problem!"
  • chalkboy, on 11/13/2007, -0/+7Don't worry about it you will not need to use as much oil this year because of Global Warming. It should balance out.
    • xike, on 11/13/2007, -1/+6Agreed. Thank god for global warming...
  • sugablonde, on 11/13/2007, -1/+2whaaa?? where is it NOT $3 a gallon?!? Seriously, I'd like to know.... (I'm in Ohio btw)
    • rnwen2750, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1VA
    • potterboy, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1I just got back from Ohio (Columbus) and the gas there is crazy expensive. Almost 20cents more.
    • schnikies79, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Indiana. I filled up for 2.97 today.
  • Kowai, on 11/13/2007, -3/+0I'd never even heard that people used oil for heating until now. Wtf? Its a shame that so many people are stuck with that technology.
    • rnwen2750, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3Have you been living under a rock?
    • lazyfisherman, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2what are the alternatives you use? please tell
    • sb66, on 11/13/2007, -1/+1.
    • sb66, on 11/13/2007, -1/+1most people use natural gas in my area
      • gromnie, on 11/13/2007, -0/+11. So move to Maine and build a new natural gas infrastructure. There isn't one there now.
        2. ???
        3. Profit!
  • rnwen2750, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2Where are the assholes who brushed off Katrina's damage, saying that they shouldn't have lived there?
  • Skooma714, on 11/13/2007, -1/+1Why not use bio-mass (wood) or just build into the ground like people in Scandinavia have been doing for centuries to keep in the heat?

    There are ways around it, I'm moving to New Hampshire someday. Sometimes the old ways are good as well.
    • WakeRider, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1As long as it is one of those modern wood pellet fires or has some sort of filtration on the chimney, because a lot of houses in Christchurch, New Zealand rely on wood-burners and it chokes the air with a smoky haze.
    • bjornski, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Because once you clear-cut the trees in your area to heat homes, you kinda have to wait a decade or two for the next batch.

      There are more intelligent ways to heat than with wood.
  • bradmac, on 11/13/2007, -3/+2I've lived in Maine my whole life and remain here for college. My family uses oil because we can afford it, but people should always consider a wood stove. My aunt and uncle run an organic farm and do most things the old fashioned way.. they don't make much, but there is never an issue with financial matters.
  • defektiv, on 11/13/2007, -0/+6being from Maine and having grown up (literally) in a shack in the woods, i can sympathize. it's really worse than that up there, though. my parents are going to have to sell their house and property, which has been in the family for so many years that the road its on is named after us. and the reason is, combined with rising fuel prices, that tourists are coming in, building summer homes and demanding social services that end up causing an increase in taxes to pay for that the locals cannot afford.

    this country and world are indeed screwed up. i just can't wait to see what the rich are going to do when they've driven out and/or killed off all the poor and middle class that do their work for them.
    • zaphar, on 11/13/2007, -0/+3The same thing is happening in Southern New Hampshire, a lot of the people from Taxachusetts that move here bring the same BS that caused them to move.
  • JonFugeEveryone, on 11/13/2007, -2/+1Oh no! They may not have climate control in their homes. What could they possibly do to survive? It'd be such a shame if they had to go outside and collect firewood to burn. With a wood stove they couldn't even set the temperature of their homes. This is going to be a major inconvenience...that I lived with for my entire childhood. I am 24. Calm down zaibatsu, they'll be fine. Please quit with the sensationalist titles already. Buried as lame.
  • blugill, on 11/13/2007, -0/+0WAIT!!!!
    Why is anyone worried about weather?
    Isn't global warming going to turn Maine into Arizona soon?
  • sobenofear, on 11/13/2007, -1/+1Here we go again. It's either THIS or food. The poor helpless _______. You should be ashamed of yourself for existing. You should die and have a horrid death and agony for the ________ having to choose between THIS and food.

    It's the same all over again. The world is cruel and unjust. The haves and have nots. If you want to bitch so much about it, do something about it. There is ALWAYS going to be the rich and the poor. Haves and Have Nots. No matter what we do there is ALWAYS going to be crap like this out there. give it a rest.
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