tuesday, October 21, 2003
news
the university daily kansa
7A
RISING: Gas companies explain reasons why, how higher gas prices occur
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the University of Kansas. "Supply is increasing as well, but not as high as demand."
Carr said natural gas usage is split three ways among industrial uses, residential uses and electricity production.
Natural gas has become popular among electric utilities and is second only to coal in U.S. electricity production. Carr said utilities switched to natural gas because it contained less carbon to pollute the atmosphere than coal did.
While natural gas has become more popular for electricity, industrial uses are decreasing as the price rises, Carr said. Natural gas is a key ingredient in plastics and fertilizer and those industries are trying to adjust to increased prices.
Carr said high natural gas prices were one reason the Lawrence Farmland Plant shut down. Fertilizer is cheaper to
import from South American countries where natural gas is less expensive. High prices have also led some in the plastics industry to use liquid petroleum like European producers do.
Tapping into foreign natural gas resources, such as South America, could be a key to shoring up supplies in the United States, a spokesman from the Department of Energy said. Department policy prevented the spokesman from giving his name.
"They have natural gas and want to sell it to us, we just have to learn how to get it," he said.
Carr said natural gas is "flared," or burned off, as a waste product in most oil-producing countries. One field identified in Qatar has enough natural gas to meet U.S. needs for 30 years, he said.
"The word has tons of gas." Carr said. "The problem is getting it to the U.S."
That is a problem the Department of Energy is working on. In an evaluation of the natural gas
situation in the United States, the National Petroleum Council recommended putting more research into liquid natural gas.
Natural gas is chilled to negative 260 degrees Fahrenheit and put under high pressure, primarily for space reasons. Then it can be transported across oceans in containers on ships. The Energy Department spokesman said the United States was fully capable of using natural gas in this form, but transportation was a problem.
Importing natural gas requires special methods because of the volatile nature of the compressed fuel. The United States recently established a port for that purpose in Maryland, but still did not have enough useable ports to make mass importation feasible.
The Department of Energy will host an international forum on liquid natural gas later this year so countries can discuss together the best ways of shipping and handling liquid natural gas.
Carr said the industry was also
Market forces will prevent producers from fully exploiting domestic reserves, the Department of Energy spokesman said.
looking for more supplies of natural gas within the United States.
Natural gas is sold like any other commodity in the stock market. When natural gas prices began to rise in the late-1990s, producers increased production by so much,the price plummeted and the bottom fell out of the market about two years ago.The resulting underproduction has led to rising prices once again.
After the shortages of last year, the industry is trying to find a balance that will keep prices stable and avoid over or under-supplying gas to the market, the spokesman said.
Low storage levels were also a significant factor in last year's high prices, said Lori Webster, communications manager for Kansas Gas Service. She said storage was at a historic low last spring. It has since risen to more
normal levels, but is still lower than it was five years ago.
When storage levels are exceptionally low, prices are more subject to fluctuation because there isn't enough supply unless more is produced.
When producers gather natural gas, they don't put all of it on the market at the same time. By stockpiling some reserves, the market can better adjust when demand surges. But in times of high demand those stockpiles can disappear rapidly.
Suppliers also use storage to control prices. Minter said Aquila purchased about 70 percent of its expected gas use in advance on a fixed price to protect consumers from market fluctuations. If the price goes down, the customers can still benefit from the other 30 percent bought on the market, but they will not have to bear the entire burden if prices increase.
prize incentive The University of Kansas uses a similar system when purchasing natural gas. Last summer, the University purchased 50 percent of the gas used to run boilers on central campus at $5.47 per MCF, said Cindy Strecker, utility manager for Facilities Operations. Later that summer, they purchased another 30 percent at $5.19 per MCF. The rest will be purchased throughout the year at market price.
"That's the number that can go real high, depending on the market," Strecker said of the price. "It could be low if there's a warm winter."
Weather is the key determinant to how high prices will get, Minter said. Cold weather sends demand higher than supply can keep up with.
"It's different than oil because you can't talk about conservation measures such as better gas mileage or skipping your summer vacation," he said. "This is a heat-your-home, run-your-business kind of energy, so it becomes more imperative."
—Edited by Abby Sidesinger
Nation Kobe Bryant to face trial on sexual assault charge
EAGLE, Colo. — NBA star Kobe Bryant must stand trial on a charge of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old resort worker, a judge ruled yesterday, clearing the way for a celebrity trial the likes of which hasn't been seen since O.J. Simpson.
Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett said prosecutors presented enough evidence Bryant might have committed the crime June 30. The Los Angeles Lakers guard could face a life sentence if convicted.
LION: Professor tries to photograph animal
His next appearance, in district court, is set for Nov. 10.
Bryant, 25, has said the sex was consensual. His attorneys suggested the woman's injuries came during sex with other men in the days before her encounter with Bryant at a posh resort in nearby Edwards.
The Associated Press
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confirmed, all stand by their stories.
Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, senior vice provost, said what she believed to be a mountain lion ran in front of her car as she was driving down Crestline towards 15th Street on West Campus about a year and a half ago.
"People thought I was crazy,
but I know what I saw," she said.
McCluskey-Fawcett said it looked like a traditional female lion. She said it was "way too big to be a domesticated cat and had a long tail," which is consistent with the descriptions from other sightings.
As sightings increased, Mark Jakubauskas, assistant research professor for the Kansas Biological Survey department, set up a motion-triggered camera in a wooded area of West Campus.
While it was still dark on the morning of Oct. 1, the camera snapped a picture of what looked
to be a mountain lion.
"The size, color, shape and tail length of the animal are all characteristics that fit mountain lions." Jakubauskas said.
The photograph was sent to experts in Kansas, Missouri and Kentucky for further inspection and is still under debate because there isn't a clear head-shot of the animal.
Jakubauskaus said he recently set up another motion-triggered camera in "the vicinity of where there have been a number of sightings," but wouldn't say where.
Mountain lions are prevalent in surrounding states such as Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa, Jakubauskas said. In the past 10 months, two mountain lions have been struck and killed in Missouri, one on I-35 in Kansas City.
If mountain lions are confirmed as close as Kansas City, Jakubauska said they could easily be in the Lawrence area as well.
woods on West Campus," he said. "The lions are elusive animals and this area is very fitting to them."
Mountain lions were once indigenous in Missouri, but were killed off as the state became more populated in the early 1900s.
populated in the region. Jakubauskas said the current lion or lions in question could have wandered down from the Rocky Mountains following river basins, or from Missouri or Arkansas following the Missouri River, and may just be trying to establish a new home range.
"People should realize that there are over 200 acres of
As more sightings are reported every week, Jakubauskas waits for the one shot that will settle things once and for all:
"Mountain lions are in every state around Kansas," he said. "It's just really strange that we can't get a confirmed sighting here."
Then again, every good story needs some level of myth to it.
FALL BREAK: Students to enjoy time off from school
Edited by Joey Berlin
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slower during the break, he said, the nightlife didn't suffer much.
Some students will use the time away from school to travel.
"All the downtown bars are still packed," he said.
Ally Cernich, Leawood senior,
plans to go to Las Vegas for the
break. She said she was looking
forward to the warm weather and
stress-free weekend.
"We're going to do some gambling and lying around the pool," she said.
Other students will be leaving town for less exotic locations, taking advantage of the break by spending time with family and friends from home. Jessica Martinger, Hays freshman, is going home for the long weekend.
"I'm going to drive home as
"I'm going to drive home as fast as I can.I haven't been back since I left for school."
Hays freshman
fast as I can," Martinger said. "I haven't been back since I left for school."
She said she was looking forward to returning home. The comforts of home, she said, would make the trip worthwhile.
"And my mom will cook for me," she said.
The University Daily Kansan presents
Martinger said fall break came at the perfect time.
"It allows students to take a little break, especially right after midterms," she said.
PICK THE TEAMS TO WIN. If you beat The Kansan sportswriters, you get GREAT PRIZES such as T-shirts and jo gift certificates!
Edited by Katie Bean
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