Dark Days Loom For Late-night Swingers

[Guest endure]

Why are they pussyfooting around this issue and screwing up tourist traffic which generates revenue.

They can implement some very simple measures:

1.  Increase the tax on petrol/gasoline/benzene so that the price per litre is gradually increased by 25%, 50%, 75% and then 100% - which would effectively double the price of today. Will definitely help the coffers, and make many people think before they start their car.  Don't forget what it might do to traffic.

It would also put general prices up considerably.

[BlackJack]

as we are talking about power savings i did notice in our 260 m2 condo that the aircons were running flat stick and we were still sweating - a combination of poorly designed building and xxxxxxx to much

this problem was solved by buying a few 24inch fans

the aircon and the fans work well together and save power and dollars

maybe a few ceiling fans in the office will be enough - plus turn down the stat to say 24 or 25 C

[Jimmy in Bangkok]

Unfortuanately saving energy starts with education, if the people of Thailand knew the whys and whats they would proberly go along with what ever is suggested, if they had a set of options explained to them about what they could do to there own homes, cars etc they might take the steps to conserve energy themselves, but just saying no TV and you can't have this car might very well fall on deaf ears. Just a suggestion, how about all the teachers here getting together to put a good energy saving plan lesson together for the children of Thailand, If starting at the top don't work start at the bottom and work up, kids may very well tell parents who may be interested in what there kids are learning. Just a thought.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nice idea Boatabike,

If we start NOW with educating the children (that's the ones in school) as to the right way to go it may make a large difference.It has certainly worked in Aus to a good degree with smoking, drink driving etc. Of course this is a longer term project but something would have to be better than nothing

Edited July 7, 2005 by Jimmy in Bangkok

[SinCityGr8One]

Amazing news article! Lets just keep turning off the lights, A/C's and closing down entertainment venues, everything will be alright. Yeah sure, I can just see it now. PatPong, NaNa, etc., closed on Mondays, with the operating time for the clubs changed to open at 6:00 PM, closing at 9:00 PM the rest of the week. No A/C's on, just handfans. Sorry...NO cold Beer....Just room temperature...."Hey by the way".....here's a Flashlight to find your Bar Stool. Taxi's operating with the A/C off. What next? People to use Bicycles or Skate Boards, instead of motorized vehicles. Holy Moly !!! Why the Politicians would come up with an idea which would be detrimental to everyday peoples lives and Tourism is beyond comprehension. Has anyone been following the pending sale of Unocal (USA) to CNOOC Ltd. (CHINA) ? Why Hasn't any Politician in Thailand come up with the idea, "Hey, this is in OUR best interests for Thailand to Purchase Unocal to secure production fields that are right here, for OUR Future". Quite a few Oil and Gas Fields in production. See more at www.unocal.com. Download the Unocal Thailand Fact Sheet and check the numbers. Maybe I'm just thinking too hard about possible options for the Kingdom.

[wilko]

I don't want to sound alarmist but this planet is about to reach the top, in 5 - 10 years, of the bell shape curve in relation to supply and production of fossil fuels.

Demand is constantly increasing, this speeds the depletion of our remaining reserves even faster.

Folks, this is a time for intelligent thought and discussion on changes that will be affecting all of our lives. Better yet, thought about how to use what we have left in a constructive manner. This, instead of consumerism for the sake of consumerism and the myriad of other mindless ways we spunk our natural resources for a short term fix.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net

and

http://members.home.nl/peakoil/index.html

two good pages looking at the current global energy situation.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the book mentions that we would need about 220,000 kilometers of solar panels to be able to provide enough energy for the whole world as it was in the 1950's.

to put everything in prospective....

the size of thailand is about 514,000 kilometers. the state of california is about 250,000 kilometers. the land on this planet consist of about 149,000,000 kilometers, and is about 29% of the surface of the planet earth.

seems like a lot of solar panels to make. but if need be, don't you think the human race could accomplish it?

I'm assuming you are basing your calculations on the current technology of solar panels. so, if we look at the new thin solar panels, maybe we wouldn't need 220,000 kilometers. maybe less, right?

at one time, china with a population of over 1 billion didn't use hardly any oil, and they survived. as did india.

the situation is not that bad, is it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I presume you mean Square kilometres?

Who says solar pnanel technology is static? It certainly isn't with fossil fuels.

Furthermore solar energy is not the only alternative energy technology.

[Ronnok]

I say let me bear the cost of allowing the airconditioning run, I am not sure what would be more, the cream to heal the capped behind from sweating too much or the electric bill.

[BlackJack]

I don't want to sound alarmist but this planet is about to reach the top, in 5 - 10 years, of the bell shape curve in relation to supply and production of fossil fuels.

Demand is constantly increasing, this speeds the depletion of our remaining reserves even faster.

Folks, this is a time for intelligent thought and discussion on changes that will be affecting all of our lives. Better yet, thought about how to use what we have left in a constructive manner. This, instead of consumerism for the sake of consumerism and the myriad of other mindless ways we spunk our natural resources for a short term fix.

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net

and

http://members.home.nl/peakoil/index.html

two good pages looking at the current global energy situation.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the book mentions that we would need about 220,000 kilometers of solar panels to be able to provide enough energy for the whole world as it was in the 1950's.

to put everything in prospective....

the size of thailand is about 514,000 kilometers. the state of california is about 250,000 kilometers. the land on this planet consist of about 149,000,000 kilometers, and is about 29% of the surface of the planet earth.

seems like a lot of solar panels to make. but if need be, don't you think the human race could accomplish it?

I'm assuming you are basing your calculations on the current technology of solar panels. so, if we look at the new thin solar panels, maybe we wouldn't need 220,000 kilometers. maybe less, right?

at one time, china with a population of over 1 billion didn't use hardly any oil, and they survived. as did india.

the situation is not that bad, is it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I presume you mean Square kilometres?

Who says solar pnanel technology is static? It certainly isn't with fossil fuels.

Furthermore solar energy is not the only alternative energy technology.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

solar power is far from finished

i have been researching the latest for a few months now and its looking good

in fact very good

now i am finding out whos floating these new companies so that i can get in on the IPO

money makes the world go around that clinking clanking sound

[Martin]

And vice versa---the world makes money go round.

One thing that happened in the 1970s was the "recycling of the petrodollar".

There was an area of London with big hotels and so forth, and the joke was "We used to call it the West End, but now it is the Middle East End".

But it is no joke for a country like Thailand, that is a nett importer of fuel. If we go on using fuel wastfully, the foreign currency balance of payments can only be balanced by selling assets to foreigners from the countries that are nett exporters of fuel.

Maybe one of the reasons TS is trying to get the fuel-importing bill down is because he knows that Thais won't want to be 'colonised' by the dinar, just as they resisted being colonised by the British and French.

So far, they have never had to let foreigners buy land---but the way Tesco got in and grabbed a big stake in Lotus in the 1997/98 baht-weakness time must be a salutary lesson to the Thai Government.

[bluie]

Dark days loom for late-night swingers

BANGKOK: -- Thailand is looking at more energy-saving measures to cut ballooning oil-import bills, which are slowing economic growth, officials said yesterday.

Thais may have to pay more for electricity, cut out evening trips to the golf-driving range or even stay home on Monday nights as bars and clubs are forced to close if the Cabinet approves a new raft of proposals, they said.

“We are testing the water with different ideas, to sound out which measure can be implemented,” Pornchai Rujiprapha, a senior Energy Ministry official said.

“For golf-driving ranges, as an occasional swinger I don’t think 9pm is the time to play,” Pornchai said.

Other proposals included obliging petrol stations to close at 10pm, instead of midnight and raising duties on, or banning cars with 1.8-litre engines or bigger, he said.

Pornchai said his ministry was working on estimating the amount of money the country could save from these measures, some of which have proved effective in the past.

“When we decided to close service stations from midnight to 10, oil demand went down by three to four per cent,” he said, referring to a voluntary campaign two years ago.

“So this time we expect demand to fall by at least two per cent after we close the pumps at 10,” he said.

It was not immediately clear which proposals the Cabinet might approve at its meeting next week.

Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak had opposed restricting oil imports and lowering strategic oil reserves and told reporters on Monday that such proposals had been dropped.

The government launched a voluntary campaign last month urging motorists to drive below 90kph, turn off air-conditioning during lunch breaks and switch off at least one light.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has expressed disappointment at the results and threatened tougher measures unless people fell into line.

The government has spent Bt92 billion in subsidising retail fuel prices since January 2004, most of it on diesel used by millions of farmers who make Thailand the world’s biggest rice exporter.

It ended the subsidy on petrol in October and is phasing out that on diesel.

Thailand, which imports 90 per cent of its crude oil, spent Bt1 trillion on all fuels last year, the equivalent of 15 per cent of its gross domestic product, Energy Minister Viset Choopiban said last week.

“Revenues from our annual rice sales could pay for less than two months of crude purchases,” he told a business seminar on energy consumption.

“Oil prices will continue to keep their upward trend and will rise even further when the winter comes, therefore we must save now,” he said.

Chaipranin Visudhipol, president of the Advertising Association of Thailand, expressed support for the Energy Ministry’s proposal for lights on outdoor billboards to be turned off at 9pm.

“It’s a good measure. During this period of economic difficulty, it is the duty of everybody to help save energy,” said Chaipranin, who is also managing director of advertising agency TBWA\Thailand Co Ltd.

Chaipranin said the restriction would not create any difficulties for outdoor-media businesses or their clients. The hours after 9pm are not a prime-time period for billboards and few vehicles are on the road at that time, he said.

Chatchai Wiratyosin, marketing manager of Boonrawd Brewery Co Ltd, the maker of Singha Beer, said his company, which employs outdoor billboards as a major advertising medium, had no problems with the restriction.

“It doesn’t make much difference whether you turn the lights out at 9pm or midnight. People usually see the billboards in the daytime,” he said.

--The Nation 2005-07-06

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can someone explain to me why a country with a constant supply of renewable energy EG. sunshine dosen't resurch and impliment a method of harnessing it?

[spencerdharmagrafix]

I've got a 3.0L V6, does that mean that the boys in brown will come round and take my car away???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am also on the wait list for a new Fortuna 3.0L

No TV, no going out after 9pm, no no no...............

well he has just got back from seeing his homeland, maybe he is starting to accpet the ideals of China?

I wonder why he is at his lowest in the polls at the mo

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dunno but if popularity polls and voting results follow a pattern, then he will be voted in again, just as george bush was after the whole world being shown micheal moore's 9/11 on the same day as the elections.. nobody approved of Bush, but everybody voted for him...i think the key to political success here is to keep the folk ignorant of the causes and effects that political and corporate actions will have on them...such as government loans appearing to offer help to the folk, when really it is just another way of becoming a feudal landlord of the people..taking the land away from them.. have you noticed that in Thailand most people are born posessing at least a Rai of their own land..they may be poor, but they have a place to stay and plant food..whereas we in the west are nearly all tenants and rent our homes..Have money with no home, or have Home with no money..thats the difference between Thailand and the west.

I think this kind of megalomania is unfair to the People of Thailand as nobody is asking them what they want..on the APEC all beggars and flower sellers were banned from selling on the street so that a pile of millionaires could meet and discuss how to make the numbers look good...and how were the nbeggars and flower sellers supposed to feed their children on that day? The saddest thing was that one flower seller i spoke to said she felt proud to be helping thailand for the APEC..this is the kind of thing that happens through insufficient schooling and a general unawareness of the fact that things like APEC will only help rich people and even put poor folk at a disadvantage.I say these ways of saving money are unfair to the Thai Folk.

[toci]

Dark days loom for late-night swingers

...............The government has spent Bt92 billion in subsidising retail fuel prices since January 2004, most of it on diesel used by millions of farmers who make Thailand the world’s biggest rice exporter.

It ended the subsidy on petrol in October and is phasing out that on diesel.

Thailand, which imports 90 per cent of its crude oil, spent Bt1 trillion on all fuels last year, the equivalent of 15 per cent of its gross domestic product, Energy Minister Viset Choopiban said last week.

“Revenues from our annual rice sales could pay for less than two months of crude purchases,” he told a business seminar on energy consumption..............

Why no one country in the world think about alternative energy ? Is maybe because some people make a big profit on oil ?

Thailand is very rich in resources: A lot of sun, a lot of coast line with wind, a lot of rubbish which can be converted in methane, distribution of LPG gas for autos all around the country.

Thailand has it's own gas which can be used in the benzine cars. In Bangkok all the Tuk Tuk and the taxis use the LPG gas for run their vehicle ( it cost approx half ).

The problem is to find the distributor outside Bangkok.

Why don't use crops for producing alcohol for running any king of benzine engine.

The solution is always there, it is matter only if we want to see it or we prefer to turn away.

We are sweating under the hot hot Thailand sun and then we say we do not have energy ? It is quite a contradiction !!!

[wilko]

Dark days loom for late-night swingers

...............The government has spent Bt92 billion in subsidising retail fuel prices since January 2004, most of it on diesel used by millions of farmers who make Thailand the world’s biggest rice exporter.

It ended the subsidy on petrol in October and is phasing out that on diesel.

Thailand, which imports 90 per cent of its crude oil, spent Bt1 trillion on all fuels last year, the equivalent of 15 per cent of its gross domestic product, Energy Minister Viset Choopiban said last week.

“Revenues from our annual rice sales could pay for less than two months of crude purchases,” he told a business seminar on energy consumption..............

Why no one country in the world think about alternative energy ? Is maybe because some people make a big profit on oil ?

Thailand is very rich in resources: A lot of sun, a lot of coast line with wind, a lot of rubbish which can be converted in methane, distribution of LPG gas for autos all around the country.

Thailand has it's own gas which can be used in the benzine cars. In Bangkok all the Tuk Tuk and the taxis use the LPG gas for run their vehicle ( it cost approx half ).

The problem is to find the distributor outside Bangkok.

Why don't use crops for producing alcohol for running any king of benzine engine.

The solution is always there, it is matter only if we want to see it or we prefer to turn away.

We are sweating under the hot hot Thailand sun and then we say we do not have energy ? It is quite a contradiction !!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Straight subsidies may have been cut but the use of oil based fuels in motorcars is still heavily subsidized in the form of free roads, low taxes etc. Not to mention the cost to the environment that no-one is asked to pay for.

[BlackJack]

yes we have the sun and can use solar but Thais have to spend a little now on equipment to save for the future - another contradiction as Thais dont like to think about tomorrow or save money

Solar has its drawbacks however my company is working on improving these through new technologies for the panel and in the battery

but we still have to change thinking - so let the government make everything expensive - then Thais will look for alternatives

[The_Other_Mac]

How about employing all the farmers to produce crops that can be easily made into BIODIESEL !

Biodiesel is basically just vegetable oil, in Thailand the climate is such that it wouldnt wax the engine of a car - it can also be used for electricity production.

Biodiesel does not increase co2 levels in the atmosphere because the same amount of co2 is absorbed by the plants when they grow as are released when the plant oil is burnt in the engine.

Biodiesel is more efficient than synthetic diesel, does not pollute.

Most diesel cars and trucks can run on biodiesel with minimal modifications, in a warm climate like Thailand many diesel cars would not need any modifications at all to run on biodiesel.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

http://www.d1plc.com/global/asiapac_thailand.php

[The_Other_Mac]

In my opinion, solar (PV) energy in Thailand has got a great future, and there really needs to be a few locally-based manufacturers to cut down on shipping and distribution costs (and obvious markets in ASEAN/south China). However, being made of materials like silicon / glass means that they need a lot of energy in their manufacture.... until very recently, more energy than they would likely save in their lifetime... The speed of the technology means that production equipment becomes obsolete in just a few years, so companies need a fair bit of capital.

Allegedly, solar PV industry stocks rose an average of 185% in 2004.

[The_Other_Mac]

As for "doing something sensible", the current suggestions, most of which are absurd, at least have the benefit of making Joe Soap - er, Somchai Namsakun - sit up and realise there is a pretty serious problem here. Which will really kick off in September, when all those futures contracts for winter heating oil need to be honoured, leaving not very much oil for the rest of us.

By the way, the King of Thailand drives a fuel-efficient Honda.

[Martin]

......the benefit of making Joe Soap - er, Somchai Namsakun - sit up and realise there is a pretty serious problem here..... ]

"Sit up and realise" is the nub of the matter. Then, having realised, and with a bit of thought and planning, we can all live much more frugally, but just as as happily.

Last winter, I taught at an International School where some of the Humanities teachers (English, History, Geography etc) had taken on board the idea that, in the long term, mankind must match its demands on the environment to what is sustainable. So they were using this as the material for the work that they got their students to do in their various subjects.

The basic message is that, in one century, we have sucked out half of the accessible oil, and so we are now approaching/getting into 'serious problem' time.

Oil has been so available (i.e. 'cheap' in real terms) that we have developed lifestyles that reflect that.

The next century will see lifestyle choices being made that reflect oil getting dearer and dearer in real terms.

The much-bandied "kiss your lifestyle goodbye" is an over-exaggeration---but there is a grain of truth in it.

I am quite optimistic that the coming generations will cope adequately.

It happened that I was a little boy at the beginning of WWII, and a young man by the time of the end of the Austerity Period that followed it. The older generation found it a bit hard to adapt to the necessary frugality (food rationing, no gasoline for private cars, and so on), but we kids never missed what we had never had.

So long as there is a general public awareness that "things?--- they are a'changing", people will cope.

The King, and TS, and those teachers, are doing their bit.