**Source: http://articles.kwch.com/2010-10-25/fewer-flights_24221623**
***Summary***
As the United States' Thanksgiving Holiday approaches, many are looking to travel across the country to visit family for the Thanksgiving long-weekend. Same thing goes for everyone else as Christmas slowly approaches. With our economy still in a slight recession, Airlines are cutting back costs and putting less seats up for sale. This year however, the demand for flights has gone up 6% compared to the same time last year. On the other hand, like I said earlier, the supply of seats has gone down. There is about 2% fewer seats this year than there were last year. That means there is more demand than supply, meaning you will be probably have to pay more to get what you want. However, CBS Moneywatchers, says you can still travel and avoid paying higher prices for your seats if you act now.
Every year, the American Thanksgiving occurs on the fourth Thursday of November. The day before the holiday is traditionally the busiest travel day of the year. Travel experts suggest that you buy your ticket for the morning of the holiday and make it just in time for the Thanksgiving feast. This may seem like all a rush, but statistics show that it is much cheaper because it is not considered a "peak travel day". With savings, also comes with no need to battle crowds at busy airports. However, if your destination is close by, even consider taking the bus or train. The bus and train may not seem to be very comfortable but things have since changed. Most buses and trains now come with free wi-fi, leather seats and huge snack bars. Some other ways you can save money is to not check in any bags at all and instead use the maximum number of carry-on bags that you are allowed to avoid paying baggage-handling fees. If you have frequent flier's points, consider using them for hotel deals because it may be hard to cash them for airfare during the holiday season. With so many hotels trying to fill their rooms, you are bound to find the best deal for your buck this holiday season.
**Connections**
The concept of Chapter two is supply and demand, and how "elastic" or "inelastic" a product is. In this case, there is a decrease in supply and an increase in demand. With our economy just slowly getting back up from the recession and the holiday season approaching, I think people are looking to visit family and friends that they weren't able to see for the past few years because of strapped pockets. Airlines on the other hand, who also have strapped pockets because of high costs are not willing to take many risks in this economy. The final result is, Airlines are putting out less seats for higher prices. Even though plane tickets have "elastic" prices, there could be an open debate about them being "inelastic". Most seat prices increase at peak seasons but decrease during the regular season, however most people are only able to travel during the "peak season" due to many reasons such as work. It may be the only time for them to get away so whatever the price is, people will still pay. There are also substitutes to air fare such as tour buses and trains. What I'm trying to say is, plane tickets have "elastic" prices but are "inelastic" during the holiday seasons.
**Reflection**
I came upon this article while running a google search in class and found it quite amusing because I, myself will be doing some traveling during this upcoming holiday season. Even when I bought my tickets at the end of Summer, I definitely saw what this article was getting at. I purchased 4 direct WestJet tickets to Los Angeles for about $500 a piece out of YVR. The thing that made it even worst was that my family probably won't even be able to sit together on the flight because about 80% of the flight was already full. I don't really agree with the "Moneywatchers'" though because you can do all those things and still come up empty-handed and with the same ticket price. The one part that their article was missing is international travel because they only cover the points to domestic travel. Overall, I found all the points in this article mentioned to be very useful to the domestic traveller.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Water Demand is Flashpoint in North Dakota Oil Boom
**Source: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2010/world/scarce-water-is-no-limit-yet-to-north-dakota-oil-shale-boom/ **
**Summary**
With a major oil boom looming in the Great Plains of North Dakota, there comes a need for scarce resources. Since 2007, only California, Texas and Alaska has produced more oil than North Dakota. This year alone, they are expected to produce nearly 100-million barrels of oil and 100-billion cubic feet of natural gas. With all of this oil being produced already, scientists have discovered a large piece of producible land known as the "Bakken Shale". Located 10,000 feet below the Earth's surface is the "Bakken Shale", in the heart of Saskatchewan, Montana and North Dakota. In an estimate in 2008, scientists predicted that the "Bakken Shale" contained 4.3 billion barrels of oil. Now a couple of years later, they believe it may even contain more oil than first thought. To drill and fracture the Bakken Shale, workers use a technique known as "fracking" where a drill bit is drilled into the surface and water is pumped in at 8,000 pounts per square inch to break the rock and get the oil flowing. There are hundreds of wells in North Dakota that are capable of producing 4,000 barrels of oil per day. That may sound like a lot of oil but thats also means more water. To produce 1 barrel of conventional oil, it takes an equivalent of 1 barrel of water because the oil can easily be sucked up. To produce 1 barrel of unconventional oil, "fracking" is involved where water is pumped in at high speeds to get the oil to flow. Each year, 5.5 billion barrels of water is needed to produce all the the oil in the "Bakken Shale". With such high demand for water comes a lot of environmental concerns. Lake Sakakawea is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the United States located right in North Dakota. Scientists won't allow withdrawals from the lake because they are testing the full capacity. High demand makes for illegal activity. In February, a man was caught for illegally selling water to the companies in the oil industry. He had acquired a permit to sell 26 million gallons of water but ended up selling more than twice of that amount. In the Bakken Shale, about 70 new wells are produced each month. With water so scarce and in high demand, state officials are considering reusing the fracking water. North Dakota, is now one of the fastest growing states in America. Since the oil boom, they now also own the nation's lowest unemployment rate at 3.6%. According the the State Job Service, more than 7,000 laborers have come to North Dakota for work. In June, North Dakota reported an annual surplus of 800 million dollars.
**Connections**
In chapter 1, the textbook talks about scarcity. So in my article, it talks about how North Dakota is having trouble with their water supply. With a high demand for oil in the world, many people want to get rich. Even if it means harming the environment and its natural resources. To make 1 barrel of oil, it takes an equivalent of 1 or more barrels of water to produce. With global warming and all the fierce climate changes that we are going through, we should consume less oil to help the planet out. Even Canada, with one of the world biggest fresh water supplies is struggling to keep its water. In the very near future when water is a very hot commodity, people will finally realize the impact that was made for consuming so many things and taking it for granted.
**Reflection**
Before I read this article, I had never thought about how much water it took to produce oil. I always thought that you dug into the earth's surface and sucked it out with a giant tube. I usually walk to school most of the time. But Things have changed though, since I got my "N" license, I've never turned down a chance to drive anywhere. Now that I know it takes a lot of water to produce oil and gas, I will most likely think twice about driving. Water is a very scarce resource in our world, although it may never seem so. We need water for many things in life, drinking and harvesting are a just a few. In the future, I think there will be a lot of problems with the water supply. We will also probably think about the times we had wasted water in the past and wish we did differently.
**Summary**
With a major oil boom looming in the Great Plains of North Dakota, there comes a need for scarce resources. Since 2007, only California, Texas and Alaska has produced more oil than North Dakota. This year alone, they are expected to produce nearly 100-million barrels of oil and 100-billion cubic feet of natural gas. With all of this oil being produced already, scientists have discovered a large piece of producible land known as the "Bakken Shale". Located 10,000 feet below the Earth's surface is the "Bakken Shale", in the heart of Saskatchewan, Montana and North Dakota. In an estimate in 2008, scientists predicted that the "Bakken Shale" contained 4.3 billion barrels of oil. Now a couple of years later, they believe it may even contain more oil than first thought. To drill and fracture the Bakken Shale, workers use a technique known as "fracking" where a drill bit is drilled into the surface and water is pumped in at 8,000 pounts per square inch to break the rock and get the oil flowing. There are hundreds of wells in North Dakota that are capable of producing 4,000 barrels of oil per day. That may sound like a lot of oil but thats also means more water. To produce 1 barrel of conventional oil, it takes an equivalent of 1 barrel of water because the oil can easily be sucked up. To produce 1 barrel of unconventional oil, "fracking" is involved where water is pumped in at high speeds to get the oil to flow. Each year, 5.5 billion barrels of water is needed to produce all the the oil in the "Bakken Shale". With such high demand for water comes a lot of environmental concerns. Lake Sakakawea is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the United States located right in North Dakota. Scientists won't allow withdrawals from the lake because they are testing the full capacity. High demand makes for illegal activity. In February, a man was caught for illegally selling water to the companies in the oil industry. He had acquired a permit to sell 26 million gallons of water but ended up selling more than twice of that amount. In the Bakken Shale, about 70 new wells are produced each month. With water so scarce and in high demand, state officials are considering reusing the fracking water. North Dakota, is now one of the fastest growing states in America. Since the oil boom, they now also own the nation's lowest unemployment rate at 3.6%. According the the State Job Service, more than 7,000 laborers have come to North Dakota for work. In June, North Dakota reported an annual surplus of 800 million dollars.
**Connections**
In chapter 1, the textbook talks about scarcity. So in my article, it talks about how North Dakota is having trouble with their water supply. With a high demand for oil in the world, many people want to get rich. Even if it means harming the environment and its natural resources. To make 1 barrel of oil, it takes an equivalent of 1 or more barrels of water to produce. With global warming and all the fierce climate changes that we are going through, we should consume less oil to help the planet out. Even Canada, with one of the world biggest fresh water supplies is struggling to keep its water. In the very near future when water is a very hot commodity, people will finally realize the impact that was made for consuming so many things and taking it for granted.
**Reflection**
Before I read this article, I had never thought about how much water it took to produce oil. I always thought that you dug into the earth's surface and sucked it out with a giant tube. I usually walk to school most of the time. But Things have changed though, since I got my "N" license, I've never turned down a chance to drive anywhere. Now that I know it takes a lot of water to produce oil and gas, I will most likely think twice about driving. Water is a very scarce resource in our world, although it may never seem so. We need water for many things in life, drinking and harvesting are a just a few. In the future, I think there will be a lot of problems with the water supply. We will also probably think about the times we had wasted water in the past and wish we did differently.
Friday, September 17, 2010
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