High Oil Prices Fuel Winter Heat Fears

[Herman Munster]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gfcb60VL5EddI2ARy2u9jKsPP85AD8SRLAMO1

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Nowhere in America, it seems, are people more apprehensive about the prospect of a $3-a-gallon winter than in Maine.

Motorists nationwide may grumble about gasoline prices now hovering around $3 for a gallon of regular, but home heating oil that soared this month to $3.09 a gallon — breaking the $3 barrier for the first time — is the focus of concern in Maine.

The reasons for Maine's vulnerability are clear:

It tops the list of states most dependent on oil heat, with 80 percent of homes relying on No. 2 oil or kerosene. It's one of the nation's coldest states, with the northern city of Caribou often singled out by the National Weather Service as having the lowest temperature among the Lower 48. In terms of per capita incomes, Maine is generally ranked as the poorest state in the Northeast. And lots of older homes lack adequate insulation, making them harder to heat.

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, literally eating, and of course driving," said John Kerry, director of the state Office of Energy Independence and Security.

For families struggling from paycheck to paycheck, the cost of filling a 275-gallon tank can easily blow a hole in the budget.

[Purveyor]

1. When we had a new oil-fired furnace installed 5 years ago, I opted to not plumb in the wood-fired

inline boiler.

It still sets right next to the furnace and this weeks project is to have that beast fired up by weeks end.

Ton's of wood to cut and 2 chainsaws to get it done on our 10 acres. Besides, time to clean up the fallen trees that have accumulated over the years.