President wants to cut back consumption of gasoline

Not too long ago we saw that the President is wanting to invest more in alternative energy sources.

Couple that, now, with his desire to cut gas consumption and pretty soon we're going to start seeing some real change within the transportation and energy markets.

According to this Jennifer Loven, Associated Press article (photo Ron Edmonds), the President wants to cut gasoline consumption by up to 20%.

WOW - and how does he plan on using less gas?

primarily through a sharp escalation in the amount of ethanol and other alternative fuels that the federal government mandates must be produced. The rest of the fuel use reduction is to come from raising fuel economy standards for passenger cars

Just a quick update on the State of the Union and Gasoline.

Al

Wal-Mart enters the hybrid truck market - Semi truck that is...

Love em or hate em, Wal-Mart is doing something that other companies won't even try to do yet. They want to develop a semi truck that runs on diesel and electric.

Why it's taking so long to begin development of these ideas is astonishing, but now that Wal-Marts involved it might actually happen. (article by Anita French at Arkansas' 'The Morning News')

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is teaming up with ArvinMeritor, an auto component supplier, to develop a diesel-electric hybrid truck that may be the first of its kind in North America.

The companies said in a news release this week they had agreed to develop a dual-mode, diesel-electric drivetrain for a class 8 truck, called the "workhorse of the U.S. long-distance trucking industry" by ArvinMeritor.

What do you think?

Al

EPA ratings drive new car gas mileage down, down, down

From the shocking headlines you would think that new car models are dropping their mileage and becoming more fuel inefficient.

But that's not the case at all.

Instead, the EPA has been using outdated testing methods to determine gas mileage on vehicles. And that all changed with 2008 models.

So you are going to see a surprising drop in mileage ratings for cars in 2008, but it has more to do with the EPA than the cars themselves.

Here are the new tests, as explained By Jon Alain Guzik...

While the EPA's machinery for testing hasn't changed, what has changed is the fundamental way they test cars. "We have no new machinery. What we have are three additional tests. One each for interstate and city driving, as well as a new air conditioning test," Millett continues. "The EPA began to look at changing the tests on March 24, 2004. While no test is perfect, due to real world variables that are impossible to recreate in a lab, we can look at the overall general changes in the past 20 years and do a better job testing."

When asked how the changes will affect the new 2008 vehicles, Millett says, "It certainly will be even. Whatever we do has to be a level playing field for all of the automakers; it also has to be good for the consumers, so they will get the mileage on the sticker. On average, from the 2007 to 2008 models, it's going to be a 10% decrease in change on most vehicles. For vehicles with better fuel economy, the new testing will affect the vehicle more in a 20-30% range."

It's a good read though,
Al

Soaring gas prices coming... sometime soon

I was surprised to read (from Reuters and CNN Money) that they expect the price to take this long to get back up there, but...

Auto executives expect the gas prices to hit $4 per gallon in 2015. Is that steady and constant pricing at $4.

I was surprised by this because we've already hit $3 - not that long ago. Does that mean prices are going to be staying this low for the next 8 years?

Anyhow, I thought it was an interesting read. I'm not sure if these auto execs and their gas prices are coming from planet earth - or where?

True - gas prices haven't been that high in a while, but I have seen no clear indications or statements about WHY it went that high in the first place and now WHY it's coming back down. It looks like hocus pocus or some kind of oil company magic making it happen. (Lots of rhetoric and behind-the-scenes comments - but nothing consistent that should show why the prices actually went that high)

U.S. auto executives are bracing for gas prices to more than double over the next decade and for sharply higher U.S. fuel economy standards - a step the industry has long resisted, according to an academic survey released Tuesday.

Gas prices will average slightly more than $4 a gallon by 2015 and just over $5 a gallon by 2020, according to the survey conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).

Talk soon,
Al

Automakers race for better car battery

Some automakers are betting on lower gas mileage through better car batteries. They are saying that the better the car battery the less gas.

So they're trying to get more money from the government to expand car battery development.

"What you're seeing with GM is that they're going for broke on batteries," says Tom Gage, president of AC Propulsion, a San Dimas, Calif., company that retrofits hybrid cars. "There is a very real race going on here, but not just with General Motors and Toyota. All the car companies understand battery technology is key to electrifying the automobile."

Electrify the auto with better car batteries.

It could happen... in about 5 years.

All the best,
Al

President will fund some alternative fuel research

I was a little surprised to see how little this amount is (due to the size of this market), but it appears the President does and is going to put a little funding weight behind alternative fuel vehicle options.

This article, from the Independent, is a good general overview of the current state of commercially viable alternative fuel plans.

At $180m (£93m), the annual budget for the Department of Energy's vehicle technologies office has repeatedly been criticised as too modest given the scale of the environmental pollution from more than 200 million petrol vehicles on US roads. Only a fraction of the budget is distributed to groups working on alternative fuels, who have to compete for funds against academic institutions and corporate ventures working on light-weight materials and other projects to improve the efficiency of petrol vehicles.

Al

Going Green - it's all about the Greenbacks

Well, more and more companies, governments, and organizations are truly backing the 'Green' revolution. But it has a lot to do with getting cash from customers and investors. Even Victoria Secret is getting in on the act (thanks to Amercan Public Media for the article and the photo).

As energy costs and climate change made headlines in 2006, many businesses began to change their wasteful ways and adopt more sustainable practices. But it's still all about profit.

Investors are basically falling all over themselves trying to pump cash into startups that have anything to do with clean energy.

This is a good, quick read.

Al

U.S. carmaker finally getting smart about the Smart car

I find this article, by the AFP, very intriguing.

On one hand they're saying the U.S. is a land of SUV's and huge vehicles - but on the other hand I'm thinking...

What options have they given us up until now to have anything but bigger vehicles? They continuously push the huge SUV's and giganto-trucks on the American consumer as if those are the only vehicles in the world.

What would happen if they actually started making and marketing cars that were a little more environementally friendly, and yes - even a little bit smaller. (But maybe built with more functionality anyhow)?

But in the United States, proud home to gas-guzzling trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the notion that such a car might prove a hit seemed laughable until only recently.

According to DaimlerChrysler chairman Dieter Zetsche, even the group's head of US sales once "said it would fall into a pothole in Manhattan and you couldn't find it any more."

"That's not the attitude people are showing today. The Smart is simply cool," he said on an ice rink laid out to introduce new Mercedes-Benz cars, insisting that US drivers were ready for the two-seater vehicle.

"I think the simple equation that the larger the car the better, doesn't apply that much to the US market any more either."

DaimlerChrysler says that more than 770,000 Europeans have chosen the first generation of the Smart, which now comes in four models including a four-seater and a sporty convertible, often to replace a larger car for city living.

Anyhow, it's nice to see that some more sensible options are on the horizon for us.
Smart car and Smart Fortwo - you are welcome here anytime. Thanks for changing the landscape of our thinking.

All the best,
Al

GM electric concept car

GM is entering the foray in alternative transportation with an electric car that uses very little gas.

In theory, this car (as reported by this Reuters article and photo), may not require you to buy any gasoline.

Why?

Well...

The Volt is designed to run for 40 miles on pure electric power, making it marketable for everyday family use.

For the average American driver who drives 40 miles a day, or 15,000 miles a year, the Volt will require no fuel and lead to an annual savings of 500 gallons of gasoline, GM said.

Pretty cool idea - unfortunately it's still 2-3 years away from production levels.

Talk soon,
Al

Italy brings wind farms to the U.S. and Canada

Real quick - Italy's biggest utility is bringing 2 more wind farms to North America.

Enel said a 250 megawatt capacity wind farm will be built in Smoky Hills, Kansas, and a 27 megawatt plant in Newfoundland — reducing carbon emissions by 415,500 tons a year.

I'm sure we'll be hearing more on wind energy in the years ahead.

Al

Green laws may not breeze through new congress

Although the new congress has entered with a bang, with a large backing of all things 'green'. It may not mean the green laws will flow through without any hitches. (great article from the L.A. times)

Powerful groups, job losses, and other money sources (certainly things that MUST be considered by all congress-men) might put a few hitches in the new congress' plans.

Boxer has set an ambitious agenda that includes advancing legislation on global warming and reinstituting a tax on the oil and chemical industries to pay for clean up of contaminated sites. She also has pledged tough oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency.

But she faces a daunting task in trying to move her bills through Congress — and past President Bush's veto pen.

For anything controversial, such as mandatory caps on emissions linked to global warming, she probably would face Senate filibusters — perhaps joined by some of her fellow Democrats.

This is worth a read, so you know where our congressmen will be heading over the next few years.

All the best,
Al

Which flat screen TV's use more power? LCD or plasma

Here's part 2 of the article I reported earlier.

Flat screen TV's use more power than regular TV's. We know that now, and if it's a big problem you'll want to factor that into your household budget.

But, like I said, I think the space savings will probably override the energy costs.

Anyhow this next part explores which flat screen TV uses the most energy - the LCD or plasma. This article, from Robin Raskin a Yahoo tech Advisor, is well worth the read - and she even throws in a general energy / cost saving tip at the end.

From my look at all the data across multiple sources, you're going to save electricity most of the time by buying an LCD. (You'll also spend more on the initial purchase.) Meanwhile, the one loud and clear takeaway is that no matter which flat-screen TV you've bought, you will save power if you unplug it from the wall when you're not using it. Those savings increase if you've got DVD players, tuners, and other systems hooked up to your TV since they typically remain in a low-powered but standby mode when you shut them off as well.

I hope you like it.

Al

Flat Screen TV's use more power

Well, not that it's a huge problem and it probably won't send the earth out of its atmospheric alignment, but here's an interesting article about the power usage of flat screen TV's.

And while I tend to focus on alternative energy vehicles and power sources, I think this might be a good article to look at for a more typical, indoor household item.

Some of the best research can be found at EfficientProducts.org. The site says that a typical U.S. household watches about five hours of television each day and that there are about 260 million TVs in our homes. They claim that our TVs are responsible for about 1 percent of our nation's electricity production a year (47 billion kilowatt hours). Most of this electricity is consumed when the TV is turned on (90 percent), but the remaining 10 percent is used in standby modes when the set has been turned off. It predicts that unless TV efficiency improves, the rapid growth in TV sales, increased hours of TV viewing, and multiple TVs per household will ultimately contribute to a rise in TV energy consumption by about 50 percent before 2010.

So before you rush off to pick up a flat screen TV this might be good to know for your family budget. Honestly though, to me, the space savings will probably be worth it in the end.

All the best,
Al