RSS Feed
International Builders’ Show New American Home is All About Natural Gas
This is really exciting! The New American Home, the official Showcase Home of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), is entirely powered by natural gas and it has turned out to be truly fantastic! Visit www.nahb.org and click on Builders Show and then Showcase Home to see photos of the home. NAHB also has a write-up which boasts of the new clean natural gas HVAC system. This home, despite its size and over-the-top furnishings, has received an extremely high energy efficiency rating, Gold Certified Green by NAHB Green, due in no small part to the natural gas appliances and the new AISIN gas heat pump. AGA and Southwest Gas are thrilled to be among the sponsors of this project. The new AISIN unit will be operational in the gas industry exhibit (#N2617) at the IBS show. I’ll have more on the AISIN and our exhibit later.
The 2009 International Builder’s Show – Will Builder’s Show?
Everybody knows of the rough times in the U.S. housing industry. In 2005, the nation’s home builders built 1.7 million single family homes. They will end this year with 626,000 new homes and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is forecasting a drop to 501,000 new single family homes for next year. So, given this steep decline, what can we expect in terms of builder attendance at the annual convention next month in Las Vegas? NAHB expects about a 10 to 20 percent drop from the over 100,000 who have attended the International Builder’s Show (IBS) in Orlando the past few years. I think they will be lucky to go over 80,000. Still, that is a lot of builders and these are the survivors! There may be fewer but they will be of high quality. And natural gas will have a huge presence at the January 20-23 convention, the largest light construction trade show in the world. Follow this link for more information on the IBS and leave us a comment if you’re planning on attending. You can find us in the gas industry booth (#N2617). Hope to see you there!
The New Secretary of the Interior – Good News for Natural Gas Consumers?
President-elect Obama has chosen Colorado Senator Ken Salazar to run the U.S. Department of the Interior. On balance, this is good news for natural gas consumers as the Senator has been a proponent of the cleanest fuel the earth produces – natural gas. He is a big supporter of renewable energy to be sure and some may have concerns over his opposition to oil-shale development and his generally cautious attitude about energy production on western federal lands. I believe his caution, however, stems from a concern over potential threats to the regions scarce water supply and not from a desire to prevent fossil fuel energy development. Salazar was also a member of the Senate’s “Gang of 16″ that tried earlier this year to broker an agreement on opening the Outer Continental Shelf to more drilling. He also voted for the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act which opened up new areas in the Gulf for exploration and production. He should be confirmed easily.
True Blue Natural Gas Blog from the American Gas Association (AGA)- Beating the Heat with Summer LIHEAP Action Day
- “The Future of Natural Gas,” Meet Dr. Ernest J. Moniz, MIT
- Renewable Gas – Vision for a Sustainable Gas Network
- The Natural Gas Revolution
- The natural gas grid…the really smart grid
- Meeting the Route 66 guys
- Drilling 101
- ‘Drive To Inspire’ Rides Through Tulsa
- Congratulations to the AGA Awards of Merit Recipients
- Summer LIHEAP Action Day
