Fuelishness! Feed

July 2, 2008 · Filed Under Fuelishness!

Michigan: Granholm said lower speed limits are â€œnot a proposal,â€ but should be considered in light of the significant reduction in fuel consumption that results from reducing speed, and as one of many steps that could be taken to decrease demand for energy resources as the state and nation move toward alternatives to oil and gas.
A congressional moratorium on oil shale leasing and development hurts an established industry’s efforts to find investors and imperils the nation’s hopes for energy independence, Utah’s senators said Tuesday.
The United States gets only about 13 percent of its daily dose of oil from the Persian Gulf states, and that is down from 23 percent a decade ago. But those countries produce 18 percent of the world’s oil, and a significant disruption in their output would set off price spikes, if not outright shortages. The turmoil in the region during the last three decades frequently aroused fears, sometimes well-founded, of oil supply disruptions.
Gasoline supplies unexpectedly grew by a considerable amount, and demand continued to slideâ€”suggesting that record fuel prices are prompting a real shift in Americans’ driving habits.
Fuel prices are denting demand for car rental companies and causing companies like Avis Budget Group and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group to veer from previous earnings projections.