Energy

Call to address; iPhone worries

July 3, 2007  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

<p class="source">The Gold Coast Bulletin (Australia)</p> <p>Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights has warned Apple CEO Steve Jobs and CEO of AT&T Stan Sigman they need to agree to new consumer safeguards for the iPhone. In a letter to the two CEOs, FTCR founder Harvey Rosenfield has called on them to address two serious potential problems -- the issue of battery replacement and the cancellation penalty the pair have said they will impose on anyone wanting to get out of the two-year contract they have to sign for when they buy their iPhone.</p>

Gas prices fall; enjoy it while it lasts

July 3, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The San Diego Union-Tribune (California)</p> <p>"The momentum for falling gasoline prices is slowing," said Judy Dugan of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica. Dugan says recent declines had a political component, explaining that she believes the large oil companies sought to dampen growing public rage and the possibility of a consumer-friendly federal energy bill with lower prices. "Oil companies, having killed almost everything they disliked in the Senate's energy bill, can drop their charade of good corporate citizenship," Dugan said.</p>

Governor accused of playing politics on warming rules;

July 3, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>2 members of air board exit, saying he pressured them</h3><p class="source">THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE</p> <p>The governor has made his name across the world as the jolly green governor, and now we have the regulators saying his inner circle has pressured them to go slow because the big industries don't want us to go too quickly," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights, a consumer watchdog group.</p>

Fourteen lawmakers seek action on ‘hot fuel’

July 3, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">The Kansas City Star</p> <p>"The warning labels are acknowledgment of this longtime oil industry rip-off of motorists just as they begin their holiday trips," said Judy Dugan, research director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "More consumers will understand what's causing their summer drop-off in gas mileage and be furious. Tesoro would be better off if it went ahead and sold its gasoline fairly."</p>

Audit the Pollutenator

July 2, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">The independent state auditor should investigate the reason for the dismissal of Air Resource Board Chairman Bob Sawyer after the resignation of Board executive director Catherine Witherspoon...</font>

Gov pressured board for weak greenhouse gas rules

June 29, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">New information from the Los Angeles Times about the governor's firing of top state air pollution regulator, Robert Sawyer (<a href="http://www.arnoldwatch.org/blogs/blogs_001035.php3">see last...</font>

Dismissal Tarnishes the Green Giant

June 28, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2"><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/246597.html">The Sacramento Bee is reporting</a> that Governor Schwarzenegger has fired California Air Resources Board Chairman Robert Sawyer, the top...</font>

State shifts gears on gas prices

June 25, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Pasadena Star-News (California)</p> <p>Jamie Court, of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, said the industry has "deliberately restricted California's gasoline supply, to the point that any unanticipated refinery outage boosts gas prices more than enough to make up for refiners' loss of sales."</p>

Assembly passes bills in effort to lower gasoline prices

June 22, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Associated Press</p> <p>Fuel expands when temperatures rise, but most retail gas stations set their prices assuming gas is pumped at 60 degrees. That means Californians could be paying 3 cents more for every gallon for so-called "hot fuel" when temperatures rise above 60 degrees and less gasoline flows into their tank. That costs motorists $480 million a year, according to a report by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica.</p>

The Changing Relationship Between the Price of Crude Oil and the Price At the Pump

June 6, 2007  ·  Liza Tucker

Crude oil prices, gasoline prices, and consumer protection Read the report here.

It’s time to exhale with gas price dip;

June 6, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Last month's record was 19 cents higher</h3><p class="source">The San Diego Union-Tribune</p> <p>"The fact that we can consider a sigh of relief (at current prices) is a testament to the oil industry's ability to make us believe in a new normal for gasoline prices," said Judy Dugan, research director of <a href="http://www.oilwatchdog.org">Oilwatchdog.org</a>, a project of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica.</p>

Tesoro to pump funds into refinery;

June 4, 2007  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>The firm plans to invest $1 billion in its plant in Wilmington to boost production for the state and reduce downtime.</h3><p class="source">Los Angeles Times</p> <p>"We need more gas on the market," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, whose Santa Monica-based group is a frequent critic of the oil industry. "Putting refineries into the hands of a Tesoro or a Flying J is a good thing, because they are much more likely to expand refining than the majors."</p>