Another reader misses the daily paper
I totally agree with the recent letter to the editor from Judy Harder of Kingwood (DP-10-25-20). I, too, love having my newspaper every morning with my coffee. The fact that I am elderly probably affects my thoughts. I’m sure that we have many others that feel as Judy and I feel. Please consider a daily delivery.
D. Jeanne Faini
Morgantown
COVID-19 impacts fossil fuel demand
The price of gasoline was $1.79 in Sabraton, just 10 days before Halloween this COVID year. Soon all I could see was gas for $2.15, but it made me question just what is driving the price of gasoline so low? There is talk of a ceasefire in Libya, but reduction in demand due to COVID dominates any other factors.
Froma Harrop (DP-10-29-20) says that oil and gas drilling is down two-thirds this year. She then claims if the U.S. government had approached COVID more seriously, demand might be up. But this is hard to back up based on the experiences of other countries.
France, Germany and Great Britain are partially locking down their economies in response to an expected fall surge of the coronavirus. There was a large wave in the U.S. during the summer, and this rogue wave started the talk of aerosols and indicated just how difficult it is to control the pandemic.
But New Zealand and Australia managed to control the virus. Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, emerged after an 111-day lockdown with no new cases. Time will tell what the mental and economic toll of that experience was on the residents, but it did work. People who needed to walk or jog could do so for an hour each evening, but restaurants and non-essential stores were not open. New Zealand eliminated the virus on the entire island.
In the U.S., consistent wearing of masks and informed social distancing makes more sense because of how large our country is. We are not just experiencing waves of infection, but hot spots are moving into rural areas and westward, after roaring through the South during the summer.
So, I think the situation is more complex than Ms. Harrop makes it. Fear of COVID damages the economy, but controlling COVID does, too. So, I agree that there is a long-term transition away from fossil fuels, but right now it’s more like a fistfight between oil and natural gas and renewables for the scraps of energy demand.
Steve Knudsen
Morgantown
