I got a tip from a friend who describes himself as the “hated conservative on Martha’s Vineyard in the Peoples’ Republic of Massachusetts.” According to a June 7 notice in the MV Times, the Obamas of 
Turkeyland Cove Road made an unprecedented request of the Edgarton select board.
As reported, the Obamas asked the board’s permission to install a 2,500-gallon commercial propane tank on their property. “We’ve never had a private propane tank come to us,” select board member Arthur Smadbeck told the MV Times. Board member Michael Donaroma added that a private-residence propane tank is typically a fraction of the quantity being requested.
On an island that is as prone to storms as Martha’s Vineyard, it would not be unusual for a home to have a back-up generator, but no one apparently has a commercial-grade 2,500-gallon tank at a price tag that could range as high as $75,000. It should be noted that propane is a byproduct of either petroleum refining or natural gas processing. This means propane is subject to the same law of supply and demand as its sources. People who heat their homes with natural gas are told to expect a 54% increase in next year’s energy costs, but then again the Obamas stopped looking at price tags long ago.
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