News From Around the States
Christian Savage
Issue date: 4/13/05 Section: News
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As reported on Thursday, 7 April in Washington D.C., Congress approved an amendment to extend daylight-savings time by two months, having it start on the last Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November. "Extending daylight-saving time makes sense, especially with skyrocketing energy costs," said Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), who, along with Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), co-sponsored the measure.
The amendment was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and it is but one of many new pieces of legislation aimed at reforming energy use in the United States.
Rep. Markey said, "The more daylight we have, the less electricity we use," basing his analysis on Transportation Department estimates that showed the two-month extension would save the equivalent of 10,000 barrels of oil a day. Currently, the country uses about 20 million barrels of oil a day.
Source: USA Today
OIL PRICES CONTINUE TO INCREASE
The United States Government projects summer demand of gasoline to increase despite average gallon peaking at $2.35. U.S. gasoline demand this summer is expected to increase by 1.8 percent from last summer, thereby helping to push pump prices to a peak monthly average of $2.35 per gallon by May.
Therefore, American drivers will consume an average 9.331 million barrels per day (BPD) of gasoline this summer, according to the Energy Information Administration. The Energy Department's analytical forecast is for the busy summer driving season, running from April through September, and the expected growth in summer gasoline demand would be higher than the five-year average, the agency said. The EIA concluded that "The higher demand is caused by the increasing number of drivers and vehicles, and increasing miles traveled per vehicle." Also, it alluded that a flat to declining fuel efficiency in the entire U.S. vehicle fleet is also contributing to the higher demand.
While gasoline prices should peak in May, the nationwide price for the summer should average $2.28 per gallon-- up 37 cents from last year-- and not far from this week's $2.22 a gallon. When adjusted for inflation, the most expensive U.S. gasoline was in March 1981 at $3.12 a gallon, the EIA concluded. Moreover, rising crude oil prices are pushing up pump costs, and the price for U.S. crude should average $56.62 a barrel this summer, compared to $41.12 for the same period last year. However, the EIA said it expects crude costs to stay above $50 a barrel for the rest of 2005 and 2006. All in all, U.S. crude oil futures traded at a record high of $58.28 per barrel earlier this week before declining on the government's report of an increase in weekly inventory.
PFIZER TO REMOVE PAINKILLER BEXTRA FROM MARKET
As reported on Thursday April 7th, 2005 in Washington D.C., the painkiller Bextra was taken off the market Thursday, and the government wants similar prescription drugs to carry the strongest possible warnings about increased risk of heart attack and stroke among the millions of people who rely on them. Pfizer, Inc. dropped sales of Bextra in the United States and the European Union at the request of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European regulators. The company, basing its decision on the FDA, said that in seeking Bextra's withdrawal it cited a risk of serious and even fatal skin reactions to Bextra on top of the risks shared by other similar drugs.
At issue is a wide range of painkillers known as non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS. Bextra is a particular type of NSAID known as a Cox-2 inhibitor, a class of blockbuster sellers that are, in specific, popular among arthritis victims until a competitor-- Vioxx-- was pulled off the market last fall. That sparked questions about the safety of all similar drugs. However, Pfizer's Celebrex company can still sell, the FDA announced Thursday, but it and all other prescription NSAIDS must carry a black-box warning on its label that users may face an increased risk of cardiovascular side effects. Now, although the FDA stressed that scientists do not have enough information as of yet to determine whether the remaining prescription painkillers are safer than others, the agency decided that Bextra was more dangerous than its competitors because of the added skin side effect. In addition to the prescription drugs, the FDA asked that manufacturers of over-the-counter NSAID painkillers revise their labels to clarify information about the risks of cardiovascular incidents, gastrointestinal bleeding, and rare but serious skin reactions.