Argentina - Colder Than Antarctica

3 Aug 10 - Argentina is importing record amounts of energy as the coldest winter in 40 years drives up demand and causes natural-gas shortages, says this article on Bloomberg.

Dow, Siderar and aluminum maker Aluar Aluminio Argentino SAIC are among about 300 industrial users closing plants, cutting output or seeking alternative energy sources after temperatures in parts of Argentina fell below those of Antarctica on July 15.

Temperatures in Mendoza, the wine-producing region in western Argentina, fell as low as -8.9C below the temperature that day in the Argentine-controlled area of the South Pole, according to a national weather institute report.

July temperatures in Buenos Aires averaged 1 degree C below the usual low and high of 8 and 14 degrees (46F and 57F). Temperatures plummeted to about 2C on July 15.

On Aug. 1, temperatures in almost half of the country’s 23 provinces fell below zero, while the mercury in the northern city of La Quiaca fell to minus 10C (14F). The average low through Aug. 5 is 1 degree.)

The winter months have put stress on Argentina's energy supplies since 2004, when economic growth of an average of 8.5 percent a year stoked demand and price caps on gas, oil and utility prices curtailed investments in the country’s fields and pipelines.

          No surprise. Price caps lead to energy shortages. Then industries
          shut down and people freeze to death. That's what happens when
          governments begin messing with free trade.

          Do we really want to freeze in the winter? Do we really want to cut
          energy consumption by 80 percent? That's what Cap-and-Trade
          proponents want. They want to create huge energy shortages. On
          purpose! How crazy is that?They want to take us back to the energy
          consumption of 1863 ... but this time without any horses.

See entire article by Rodrigo Orihuela:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-03/argentina-colder-than-antarctica-spurs-record-power-imports-shuts-plants.html
Thanks to Bill Sellers for this link

THE NEXT ICE AGE - NOW!