Compendium Software Systems to Provide Fuel Conservation Technology for Trial Use on City of Sanford Vehicles
SANFORD, Fla. (July 12, 2010) — Compendium Software Systems, LLC was recently awarded a contract to install its FuelClinic.com® Fleet System fuel conservation and risk reduction technology on select City of Sanford vehicles on a trial basis.
Michael Bragg, president of Compendium Software Systems, LLC, said the Sanford Economic Development Office played a big role in shaping the agreement.
Compendium Software Systems’ FuelClinic.com® Fleet System closely records real-world driver behavior and provides data analysis and reporting.
“FuelClinic.com® Fleet System provides a fuel efficiency report card for drivers and vehicles that will enable the city’s fleet of vehicles to achieve maximum fuel efficiency while reducing fleet risk,” Bragg explained. “The goal is to show how FuelClinic.com® Fleet System can help the City save money by reducing the fuel consumption of normal fleet operations.”
Bragg said the trial project will be conducted in two phases. Each phase will include data collection and analysis, he said.
Bragg said installation of the monitoring equipment will commence in July.
Compendium Software Systems LLC is a client company of the UCF Business Incubation Program and headquartered at the Incubator on West First Street in downtown Sanford. Compendium specializes in advanced information systems for use in driver behavior analysis.
Military Continues to Test Alternative Aviation Bio-Fuels
Some additional information regarding how the DoD is exploring options to ween the military away from petroleum based fuels.
On Earth Day, 22 April, the US Navy conducted a test flight of an F/A-18 Super Hornet at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, run on a 50-percent mixture of a fuel refined from the crushed seeds of the flowering Camelina sativa plant. The flight of the Green Hornet, as it was called, followed an Air Force test a month earlier of an A-10C Thunderbolt II at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, fueled with a similar blend.
Both events had the purpose of testing the performance of biofuel/petroleum mixtures with an eye toward the eventual certification of the fuels for routine use. They also demonstrate the efforts of the Department of Defense to increase its use of renewable energy, not only for environmental reasons but also to protect the military from energy price fluctuations and dependence on overseas sources of petroleum.
The DoD spends $20 billion a year on energy and incurs $1.3 billion in additional costs for every $10 per barrel increase in the market price of oil, according to a report recently released by the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate. In addition to vulnerability to price fluctuations, the DoD’s “reliance on fossil fuels also compromises combat effectiveness by restricting mobility, flexibility and endurance on the battlefield,” said the report. “Transportation of fuel to the combat theater is a significant vulnerability as fuel convoys are targets in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Source: ISN Security Watch
Charging Motorists by the Mile More Reliable Than Fuel Tax, Says Study
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Charging motorists for every mile they drive could be more reliable than fuel taxes to pay for bridges, highways and transit systems, but would be hard to sell to motorists, according to a national policy group.
A RAND Corp. study released last week concluded there were good reasons to switch from charging gas taxes to charging fees based on how far each car or truck travels. The government gets most of the money for road construction and maintenance from gas taxes, but cars and trucks put more wear and tear on roads while inflation and better fuel efficiency make the fuel tax worth less and less, said Paul Sorensen, lead author of the study…
…Collecting the fee would be more expensive than administering the gas tax; putting tracking units in cars likely would raise privacy concerns; and changing the fee wouldn’t be any more popular than changing the federal gas tax — which hasn’t increased from 18.3 cents per gallon since 1993, Sorensen said.
Read the whole article here, then join in the discussion over at the FuelClinic Facebook page.
Fuelishness! Feed: Hummer now “Green” for Japan; Diesel Engine Biofuel Advances; Dolphin Wins Eco-Driving Challenge; Fuel Efficiency VS. The Tax Man in Washington State
- In Japan, the Hummer Is Now Officially Green — Starting this week, Japanese buyers of the hulking power machines from General Motors — which come with a 5.3-liter, 300 horsepower engine and roar to 60 miles per hour in eight seconds — receive a 250,000 yen ($2,780) subsidy under Japan’s new, looser fuel-efficiency standards for imported cars.
. - Researchers develop “smart” diesel engine that runs on biofuel blend — Researchers from Cummings and Purdue University claim to have found a way to improve fuel efficiency in diesel engines that run on biodiesel fuel while cutting emission levels. The process involves an advanced “closed-loop control” approach for preventing diesel engines from emitting greater amounts of smog-causing nitrogen oxides when running on biodiesel fuels.
. - Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne wins Audi fuel-efficiency driving challenge — The Audi Efficiency Challenge was designed to showcase the mileage and performance possibilities that Audi TDI clean diesel technology provides in real-world driving conditions.
. - Fuel-efficient cars affecting Washington gas tax — Automobiles are more fuel-efficient, people are driving less and, increasingly, they are driving automobiles that aren’t powered by petroleum at all…”All of those things add up to the fact that we aren’t going to rely on the gas tax as being the mainstay of the future if we want to maintain, preserve and improve our transportation system,” said Paula Hammond, the state’s transportation secretary.
Announcing: FuelClinic.com membership in Stuttgart’s “Cities for Mobility”
Today we are very pleased to announce FuelClinic.com membership in the Cities for Mobility network, created and coordinated by the city of Stuttgart, Germany to promote sustainable and efficient transport systems in the member cities.
“Cities for Mobility” is a global network on all questions regarding urban mobility. The network is coordinated by the City of Stuttgart and promotes transnational cooperation between local governments, transportation companies, businesses, science and the civil society, with the aim of supporting the development of sustainable and efficient transport systems in the member cities.
“We want to warmly welcome FuelClinic.com as new member in the world wide network Cities for Mobility. The Coordination Office is more than delighted by your decision to join our network and we look forward to a fruitful cooperation with [you]“, wrote Isabelle Kübler from the office of Coordinator Network Cities for Mobility.
FuelClinic.com will provide member cities the ability to invigorate and measure their eco-driving and driver behavior improvement programs with free web-based eco-driving training materials, a voluntary web-based driver-efficiency analysis and reporting system, and increasing levels of technology support for promoting and measuring eco-driving behavior within their cities and communities.
FuelClinic.com was nominated for membership in this network by existing member Projeto Melhorar, a Brazilian-based initiative to create sustainable transportation systems in South America’s largest country.
FuelClinic data included in Copenhagen case study
A few weeks ago I was asked by EcoDrivingUSA to create a graphic describing some aggregate efficiency improvement data from the information collected here at FuelClinic. The intent was to demonstrate the efficacy of eco-driving techniques for improving fuel efficiency and decreasing GHG emissions.
I spent a few hours pouring through the database, to find the best data set to describe our users maintaining fuel receipt records, making sure not to skew the numbers, but selecting a sub-set of our most active members who do not have data entry problems (automatically flagged as “suspect” by FuelClinic – a whole topic unto itself).
Then I created the following graphic, with this description:
This information made it into an “EcoDriving Impact Study for Copenhagen” presented by Driving Sustainability earlier this month. What’s most impressive is that the average improvement in fuel efficiency is 5.23% without any real form of ecodriving training - a point not lost on the authors of the study:
According to FuelClinic.com, the average EcoDriver improves their efficiency by 5.3%. These are drivers who have had no formal instruction on green driving…
If everyone in the US improved their efficiency by a basic EcoDriving level of 5%, this would result in a 66,346,545 ton reduction in CO2 emissions in the US.
The most active FuelClinic account users are benefiting from following simple online tips and believing that they can improve their fuel efficiency. The effort it takes to create an account, collect multiple receipts, and enter that information into the application is not trivial, and it indicates that a percentage of motorists are interested in understanding their fuel efficiency – and just the act of being “involved” and improving their understanding is all it take to turn an average motorist into a basic EcoDriver.
As an aside – my personal goal for FuelClinic is to increase this average efficiency improvement to 10% by the end of 2010.
You can download the case study (.pdf) here.
MINI Cooper D Sets New Zealand Fuel Economy Record Of 3.5 l/100km (67.2 MPG)
Source: The Motor Report
A MINI Cooper D (diesel) – piloted by trained ecodrivers Mark Whittaker and Paul Owen – has just set a new record for fuel efficient driving, by driving 2000 km on just over 72 liters (19 US gallons) of diesel fuel – achieving 3.5 l/100km (just over 67 MPG) average for that trip.
Mark Whittaker said the aim of the exercise was to highlight the potential for cutting New Zealand’s transport related emissions at little or no extra cost.
“In setting this record we are demonstrating that everyone can contribute to reducing emissions by choosing a fuel efficient car and employing simple ecodriving techniques,” Mr Whittaker said.
While Whittaker and Owen had originally targeted an average of 3.0 l/100km, the final 3.5 l/100km figure bested the country’s other top fuel miser – the third generation Toyota Prius – with which the Cooper D shares an official fuel economy of 3.9 l/100km.
The MINI Cooper D sports a fuel efficient and spunky small clean diesel engine and state-of-the-art start/stop technology similar to the new Ford Focus ECOnic we profiled a few days ago.
The Cooper D’s figures are thanks to a host of technological innovations borrowed from parent company BMW (including a start-stop system and a thrifty diesel engine from PSA).
BMW Group New Zealand Managing Director, Mark Gilbert said the fuel economy record proves how far diesel technology has come.
“The MINI has proven that new, small clean diesel engines have an important part to play in improving the fuel economy of the New Zealand vehicle fleet,” said Mr Gilbert.
“And the other clear message from this exercise is that it is not only what you drive, but how you drive, that counts,” he said. (Emphasis added)
That last bit sounds familiar! We certainly agree.
The bad news is that although it was mentioned last February that MINI was considering making the Cooper D available in the US, it has yet to become a reality according to our local MINI dealer. A message to MINI USA about the future availability of the “D” here in the US is awaiting reply – I’ll update you should we hear back. (If you’ve seen a “firm” scheduled availability date, please let me know.)
The future availability of the Ford Focus ECOnic diesel is also yet to be announced. In the past I mentioned my experience driving the SEAT with a small clean diesel a few years ago in Estonia… for now, you’ll still need to cross the pond to have this much fun driving at over 65 miles per gallon.
New Ford Focus Gets 71MPG – Only in Europe
Five years ago I visited family in Estonia, a country still digging out from decades of Soviet domination after World War Two. Estonia is an amazingly beautiful country full of “old world” charm and wonderful people. My cousin, who built heavy robotic equipment for the lumber industry , drove a SEAT hatchback with a small, quiet, and clean diesel engine that had tons of torque, ran on bio-diesel (available in most towns), and got better than 65 miles per gallon regularly. I was astonished.
We drove that spunky car all over the country, into Latvia, with the whole family, sometimes towing his little Russian-era boat. It was a joy to drive, and when we passed a field of soybean my cousin would smile at me and point, saying we were driving on sunshine – converted to oil in those plants. He said proudly “We are all green in Estonia. I am a green man.”
I wondered why I couldn’t buy a car like that back home in America.
Consider the new Ford Focus (available in Europe) with a little diesel engine, and upgraded starter, alternator, battery package that support their improved ECOnic start/stop technology – similar to a golf cart, the engine stops when the car is idle for a few seconds, and springs back to life when you press the accelerator to move ahead.
As with any Focus it is delightfully balanced and comfortable and the stop/start process in traffic is by no means intrusive or unduly noisy. In fact it is one of the better versions of the current crop of on/off engines.
The starter motor has been beefed up to cope with the additional use while developments have been made to the alternator to reduce friction and lessen the workload on the engine.
To improve fuel consumption further, kinetic energy built up as the car goes along is captured and used to recharge one of the two batteries which power the likes of the air conditioning or entertainment systems when the engine is off.
NOTE: While it’s generally a good idea to turn off your engine and reduce idling when not in traffic, we do NOT recommend turning your car off while in traffic – hybrids and stop/start equipped cars are designed to do this safely and automatically. Turning your car off (turning off the “ignition”) while in traffic is illegal in most places and puts you at risk if you need to move quickly to avoid a hazard.
The Focus also takes “driver feedback” to another level, with an on-board “eco driving coach” that will analyze driving habits and help encourage the driver to be more efficient.
On the road, the car monitors the driver’s technique examining gear changes, the smoothness of steering and use of speed.
The results are displayed on the instrument panel and highlight areas were improvements can be made. It also praises good eco-driving.
Eco-driver feedback systems are becoming more and more popular. FuelClinic is a type of feedback system, but isn’t real-time and doesn’t travel along with you in the car. Our new CarChip Pro does travel with you, providing real-time feedback when you accelerate too quickly, brake too aggressively, or exceed a pre-set speed limit. Other devices like the Rover from Cartasite provide similar feedback, and communicate wirelessly.
These uber-efficient diesels are not easily available in the US (you’ll need to look to Volkswagen if you want a diesel car here), nor is a ready supply of bio-diesel at pumps in many places – a classic chicken-and-egg dilemma.
Would you buy a small diesel-powered vehicle like the Focus mentioned? What if you could have your favorite make, manufacturer, and body style – but with a little-diesel option?
Believe Sustainability is the first member in South America of the Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) Partnership
Source: Believe Sustainability
The current discussion on fighting climate change brings a clear need for reductions on greenhouse gases emissions caused by transportation. Transport related CO2 emissions are expected to increase 57% worldwide in the period 2005 – 2030, being 80 percent caused by transportation in developing countries. This is directly linked to an overall lack of sustainability represented by poor urban planning, increased motorization, increased air pollution and noise, growing congestion and decreasing road safety.
It is in this context that Believe Sustainability has become the newest member of Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) Partnership, aiming to expand its projects on sustainable mobility worldwide.
SLoCaT Partnership is an international organization hosted by the UN Department of Economy and Social Affairs together with development banks and international agencies. It intends to provide opportunities for coordination and cooperation among organizations working on sustainable, low carbon transport.
Believe Sustainability SLoCaT Partnership has a multi-stakeholder membership of more than 40 organizations, among universities, governmental agencies, institutes and NGOs. To promote the partnership, members must demonstrate commitment towards sustainable mobility and low-carbon transportation, and promote the discussion at the regional, national and global level. Thus, Believe Sustainability, an organization located in Brazil that develops consulting on sustainable mobility and creator of the BetterAir Project http://www.projetomelhorar.com.br, comes in great time to join the Partnership, emphasizing the importance of the subject on developing countries in South America.
Center for Science and Environment (CSE)
Center for Transportation and Logistics Studies (PUSTRAL), Gadjah Mada University
Civic Exchange (CE)
EMBARQ, The WRI Center for Sustainable Transport
Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
Global Transport Knowledge Partnership (gTKP)
Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-CE)
International Union of Railways (UIC)
International Transport Forum (ITF)
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
Institute for Transport Policy Studies (ITPS)
Institute of Transport Studies (ITS), University of California, Davis
Korean Transport Institute (KOTI)
Ministry of Land Infrastructure Transport and Tourism, Japan
National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS), Philippines
Rockefeller Foundation
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
University College of London, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomtaic Engineering
University of Transport and Communication (UTCC) Hanoi
VEOLIA Transport
WWF International
How to ensure people’s transportation and at the same time be sustainable?
by Lincoln Pavia, The MelhorAr Project
The better that the economy of a country is, the greater the demand will be for transportation and the larger the impact will be on the public transportation service and the emission of CO2, with obvious repercussions on the traffic of towns and cities.
The MelhorAr (Improve Air) Project of Sustainable Mobility arose from the need to develop a culture concerned with managing the demand for mobility in a sustainable manner in order to reduce the use of individual transportation, responsible for 70% of the occupation of the earth and for the problems arising from this option such as pollution and investments in modal infrastructure, as well as to discuss alternative, more sustainable means for cities.
Evaluating the current models of mobility of the large global urban centers, the MelhorAr Project opted to develop projects focusing on the corporate market, responsible for a large part of the transportation in cities, both of workers and of the distribution of consumer goods. This work model is unique throughout the world, as most consultancies perform with governments.
Nowadays the projects of sustainable mobility are still for the public sector, especially in Europe, where the main focus is on modal integration (interconnection between modes of transport) as a means of encouraging people to walk or cycle in order to reduce the pressure on public transportation. In developing countries where a large part of the population does not earn enough to use public transportation, the option for these cases is to get about on foot. However, to the extent that the economy becomes stronger in developing countries, these people end up opting for individual means of transport, as a large part of the public transportation does not cater efficiently for this new public of the layers D and E. Moreover, the most serious problem is the nonexistence of modal connections, so that people travel most of their route using a single mode. The challenge now in our country is to increase the options of collective means of travel without burdening towns and cities with works of infrastructure and investments in transportation which increase the social, economic and environmental impacts. In developed countries (G8), people usually choose to displacement by car, increasing pollution and affecting the quality of life of the population. Making life unbearable in the city.
The most urgent challenge is to execute an inventory count of the emissions of public and private collective transportation. It is true that while most emissions come from individual means of transport, the automotive industry is already investing millions of dollars in building more economical, hybrid and electrical models and adapting their engines to cleaner fuels, although the traffic will continue to increase. In the collective transportation sector, we do not yet have an inventory count of emissions of the journeys made. The Public Sector will have to do its homework executing an inventory count of its fleet of buses, trains subway trains, etc. The metropolitan train and subway companies will be increasing their capacity of attending to the public by increasing their networks, which will generate a greater emission of CO2 as the Brazilian and others countries generation of power depends upon thermoelectric stations. The pertinent question is how much power will these increases require? Countries has the capacity to build hydroelectric and thermoelectric stations, but will they be sufficient to cover the demand of new consumers, electric cars, collective electrical transportation?
How will the private sector of collective transportation be able to complement this demand with a quick, cheap, more efficient and sustainable public transportation?
Read more
Driver Distraction: New Presidential Text-Messaging-While-Driving Ban
President Obama’s new ban on text messaging behind the wheel of government vehicles and texting in personal vehicles if using government-issued phones or on official business is an important warning to motorists to the dangers of distracted driving.
Federal employees will not be allowed to text while driving, according to an executive order signed Wednesday night by President Obama.
Department of Transportation Secretary Ray H. LaHood on Thursday announced the measures aimed at curbing what he called a deadly epidemic of distracted driving.
The order covers federal employees when they are using government-provided cars or cellphones and when they are using their own phones and cars to conduct government business.
Separately, the federal government plans to ban text messaging by bus drivers and truckers who travel across state lines, and may also preclude them from using cellphones while driving, except in emergencies.
Tragically, distracted driving claims thousands of lives each year. Texting is becoming more and more popular with both teens and adults, and many of those teens who grew up texting are now getting behind the wheel as inexperienced – and distracted – drivers.
Last year, 5,870 people died and 515,000 were injured nationally in crashes linked to distracted driving – often due to the increasing number of drivers who juggle cell phones, BlackBerries, and other gadgets.
Drivers who talk on cell phones are four times as likely to crash, regardless of whether they’re using a hands-free device, studies show. In fact, a yakking driver is just as much a road hazard as one who is legally drunk. Texting poses even greater risks, since motorists have to take their eyes off the road.
It’s not just cell phones and text messages. The availability and variety of in-car gadgets continues to grow, and with it the potential for distracting drivers long enough to reduce reaction time and rob drivers of that critical second or two that could mean the difference between accident avoidance or tragedy.
Beyond the PR – Additional Detail about Believe Sustainability
This morning we published a press release regarding the 2nd place finish in the ITS Congestion Challenge. I wasn’t really sure that a second place finish would be news worthy, but after seeking the advice of a few colleagues, I decided it wasn’t a bad idea.
I decided to highlight one of the most interesting bits in the release with a comment from Mr. Lincoln Paiva from Brazil who found FuelClinic at the ITS Congestion Challenge, and wants to work together to take advantage of our new “clean cities” derivative product currently under development.
One such silver lining is a partnership with Believe Sustainability in Brazil, who is interested in using FuelClinic to help reduce carbon emissions from transportation in São Paulo, one of the world’s largest and heavily populated cities.
“We are researching more sustainable ways to reduce the pressure of individual transport in the chaotic traffic in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro” said Lincoln Paiva, CEO of Believe Sustainability and Organizer of Improve Air (http://projetomelhorar.com.br/) Project Sustainable Mobility. “FuelClinic would provide a system that can help change the concept people have regarding the use of the car.”
Brazil is truly energy independent, with sugar-cane ethanol being plentiful, our little promotional video needed a few updates - including translation into Portuguese, and swapping out the “transportation relies on oil 98%” with a “20% of CO2 is produced by transportation”. Mr. Paiva wanted to use the animation during a conference he was speaking at, so we decided to produce a 2nd version.
Here’s the Portuguese version:
The Death of “Cash For Clunkers”
Seems like everyone has had enough of “Cash for Clunkers“:
The Obama administration plans to end the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program on Monday, giving car shoppers a few more days to take advantage of big government incentives.
The Transportation Department said Thursday the government will wind down the program on Monday at 8 p.m. EDT. Car buyers can receive rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 for trading in older vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient models…
…Through Thursday, auto dealers have made deals worth $1.9 billion and are on pace to exhaust the program’s $3 billion in early September. The incentives have generated more than 457,000 vehicle sales. Administration officials said they have reviewed nearly 40 percent of the transactions and have already paid out $145 million to dealers.
Administration officials said applications for rebates will not be accepted after 8 p.m. EDT Monday and dealers should not make additional sales without receiving all the necessary paperwork from their customers. Dealers will be able to resubmit rejected applications after the deadline.
Not soon enough, IMHO…
Corvette:
New Truck:
Jag on Fire:
V10 Super Duty:
Announcing: IOU’s For Clunkers
If you’ve read this blog at all over the last month you know I do not support the CARS program because of it’s excessive wastefulness and questionable effect – perfectly good vehicles and used car parts being destroyed before their normal usable life-span in a dangerous and dirty government mandated procedure.
Now we’re learning that dealerships who participated and “fronted” the $3500 to $4500 government rebate to the customers are now having trouble getting the actual rebate from the government, causing immediate cash flow problems. They basically sold cars at a loss, intending to “make” their profit from somewhere in the rebate check.
If you remember the program works because the government offers consumers a roughly $4500 dollar rebate.
So every clunker a dealership takes in puts them in the red until the government reimburses them. “What you have is hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting out there waiting for the government to pay,” Speers said.
Sheppard Auto has yet to see any cash, “I’m not concerned,” Speers continued, “I think we will get paid, it’s just going to take longer than we anticipated.”That is fine for big dealerships like Sheppard Motors and Kendall Auto. Kendall’s CEO said they have been paid for 84 of their clunkers, but they have sold about 600.
For smaller dealerships, keeping up with this could be trouble. “A small dealership would have a tough time continuing with this,” Jeff Shutt the GM of Nissan Lithia in Eugene said.
They are doing alright, despite not getting reimbursed for all their clunkers, but there are rumors in the industry that some small dealerships may have to discontinue the program, if they don’t see some cash fast.
Now dealers are waiting on the mailman, hoping that the check arrives soon enough to pay the bills. Wonderful. Payments are so slow that many dealers are opting-out of the IOU’s for Clunkers program.
What are your thoughts? Did you take advantage of C4C? If so, how did it work out for you?
—
UPDATE: Even more good news over at the LA Examiner…
Natasha Bishop: My understanding of the program is that a customer comes in with their clunker and they hand it over to a dealership for a credit of $2500 to $4500 towards a new car. Does the customer immediately get to take the new car home?
Megan N: The dealership must release the sold car even if government money has not yet been received.
Natasha Bishop: Your dealership hands over the new car before any rebate money is seen?
Megan N: Dealerships are having to front the cost and hope that they will get reimbursed by the government. Many dealerships would like to hold onto the sold car until they receive the government money.
Natasha Bishop: That seems like a big risk for dealerships. Why can’t dealerships hold cars?
Megan N: The government is telling customers to report dealerships as they MUST release the car to the customer at time of purchase.
Natasha Bishop: How does the dealership get their rebate for each clunker sale?
Megan N: There are well over 20 pages of paperwork the dealership must fill out for each “Cash for Clunker” sold vehicle. If there is one mistake on this paperwork the government will deny that dealership the money “rebate” for that sold vehicle. There are NO second chances to re-do this paperwork.
Natasha Bishop: Sounds like dealerships could potentially lose millions of dollars from this program. What happens to the clunkers when they are turned over to the dealership?
Fuelishness! Feed: $700B Gains from Energy Efficiency; Bio-Engineering Algea; Cash for Clunkers FAIL; Cellphone Use as Deadly as Drunk Driving; Merits of a Gasoline-Diesel ‘Cocktail’
- McKinsey Tallies $700 Billion Gain from Energy Efficiency – A massive efficiency push over the next decade could save the U.S. economy $700 billion. That is, while efficiency measures would cost about $520 to put in place, they would save $1.2 trillion through 2020. In the process, efficiency could meet 23% of America’s future electricity demand.
- Algae: From Biotech to Frankenfuels? – Algae, say scientists and industrial titans alike, could jumpstart a viable biofuels industry because it reproduces quickly and can be turned into fuel without taking food from the world’s plate.
- Is the Cash-for-Clunkers Program an Environmental Dud? – As Congress debates adding $2 billion to the program, some calculations show that it may have only negligible environmental benefits.
- US safety agency hides dangers of using cellphones while driving – Driving while dialing and driving while texting is more dangerous than you knew. A federal report proves it, with some really scary numbers that show it is as dumb and deadly as drunk driving and DUI, driving under the influence.
- Gasoline-diesel ‘cocktail’: A potent recipe for cleaner, more efficient engines – Based on tests by the University of Wisconsin-Madison engine research group headed by Rolf Reitz, would be a diesel engine that produces significantly lower pollutant emissions than conventional engines, with an average of 20 percent greater fuel efficiency as well.
The ugly truth about the so called “Cash for Clunkers” program
The ugly truth about the so called “Cash for Clunkers” program is that it has very little to do with improving our energy problems, increasing fuel efficiency, or protecting the environment.
The mandated “engine destruction procedure” is dangerous – spewing hot oil and coolant into the air around the engine compartment – and in some cases starting fires in the engine compartment. Wait until someone is maimed for life from a steam explosion during this procedure.
The mandated “engine destruction procedure” is filthy – causing a maximum amount of emissions from the engine during the procedure. High temperatures also cause engine coolant (a poison) to boil and sometimes explode from the engine with an uncontrolled low-pressure steam explosion.
The mandated “engine destruction procedure” is wasteful – all internal engine parts need not be destroyed to render the car “un-sellable”. All that is needed is a simple annotation in the state’s vehicle VIN record that the car is “scrap”, and you can not get a title for that car – no one will buy a car they can not title. You can then recycle those car parts into the used-car-parts market.
Here’s a YouTube playlist with over 80 Cash-For-Clunkers “Engine Stop” videos:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FEAC2AC1708B4D61
The CARS program effectively buys and destroys your old oil-addicted vehicle, and helps you replace it with a moderately more fuel efficient oil-addicted vehicle – prolonging the overall lifespan of our oil-addicted fleet of vehicles in American garages!
The government jumped too soon… we don’t have viable alternative-fuels established yet to usher in the much anticipated post-petroleum era in transportation… If you are truly trying to fix our problems, you’d have waited to incentivize a change to whatever is “next” – instead of prolonging the history of 100% oil-dependency.
(Of course we could have had at least some choice with FlexFuel, had Congress not failed to mandate this low-cost alternative be built-in to new cars many times over the last few years.)
Even worse, Congress is so enamoured with the “success” of CARS that they are going to fund it up some more by taking money out for real energy efficiency research programs!
It boggles my mind really – and I’m a fuel-efficiency nut who spends much of his “free” time promoting fuel efficiency! You’d think I’d love this program… instead I can’t get beyond what and an ugly display of excess it is to needlessly destroy working vehicles that still have value.
My brain is about to have an uncontrolled low-pressure steam explosion of it’s own.
The NY Times says Government Can Promote Energy Efficiency – why not start with a program that can actually accomplish a great deal of success w/o a great deal of up-front costs?
Announcing “Cash for Un-Clunkers” Program
Are you driving an un-clunker like this recently destroyed Volvo S80? You’ve heard about the “Cash for Clunkers” program where you can turn in that un-clunker worth $10K to $15K for a government “allowance” of $3.5K or $4.5K off another new car that gets better gas mileage?
Sure that un-clunker will get it’s engine destroyed in a dirty and unsafe procedure, effectively wasting all of the energy and resources used to build it – but you just want to save money and be more energy efficient! Right?
What if I told you there is an alternative program, one that will help you save money and measurably improve your vehicle’s fuel economy…
“Cash for Un-Clunkers” – Keep Your Un-Clunker & More of Your Cash
The “Cash for Un-Clunkers” plan requires no government funding, does not require you to take a new loan, pays you back for every mile you drive, can increase fuel efficiency of any vehicle, and can be immediately rolled-out nationwide.
Everyone is pre-qualified, there is no red-tape, you can take advantage of the free program right now, and it applies to every single motor vehicle ever made.
Keep your “Un-clunker” – and upgrade your driving habits instead - improving your fuel mileage 10%, 20%, or more – without new car payments or destroying the existing re-sale value of your property.
Potential side-effects of “Cash for Un-Clunkers” include:
- Increased levels of personal-safety for you and those sharing the road with you.
- Reduced stress and anxiety as you no longer jockey and compete against other drivers, instead begin competing “against” the gas pump or your best mileage record.
- Reduction in the frequency or severity of traffic citations – contributing to lower insurance costs over time.
- Overall improvements in traffic flow and reduction of accidents, injuries, and congestion.
- You may experience a dizzy sensation when you realize how much money you could have saved last year.
- Some swelling of your purchasing-power if you re-sell your car when you are done with it - or – a reduction of your tax burden if you choose to donate your car to charity.
Program Basics:
The “Cash for Un-Clunkers” program allows for various levels of participation. You can tailor the program to your own requirements, participating at a level that is comfortable to you and fits your lifestyle. The more actively you participate, the greater your savings and success at achieving greater fuel economy.
At the most basic level, the program encourages these simple and effective techniques, mostly geared to the conservation of momentum and maximizing your engine’s mechanical advantage. In city driving, you can expect to save 10% to 20% (or more) following those guidelines as often as possible. There are additional techniques that will help you even more, like keeping top-speed below 65 MPH on the highway (depending on your car’s specific aerodynamics, engine, transmission, and tire configuration your optimum highway speed may vary).
Additionally, professional eco-driving instruction delivered by certified eco-driving instructors will soon be available in the United States for fleet owners or individuals interested in maximizing their fuel efficiency through driver training.
Participating websites:
- FuelClinic.com – Our local favorite. Improve your driving habits, track your success.
- EcoDrive$mart.com – Our partner site. Take Eco-Driving quiz, learn about certified Eco-Driving training available soon in the US through our new partnership.
- FuelEconomy.gov – A government website about improving fuel efficiency? Yes – one of the best around.
“Cash for Clunkers” vs. “Cash for Un-Clunkers”
[Updated: New link to "Cash for Un-Clunkers" added]
Far from a model of energy-efficiency, the CARS (Cash for Clunkers) program creates a system that encourages mind-boggling waste of energy, money, and natural resources.
The word “clunker” makes you think of cars with no real value left, in poor mechanical shape, incredibly inefficient, outdated, unsafe, and already a problem for the owner. The government program assumes the clunker is such a problem that the it requires that the “trade-ins” drive-train be destroyed within 2 days, else the dealer is fined $15,000. In reality, there are perfectly good vehicles with lots of value remaining – and can get measurably much better mileage if driven efficiently - being turned in and destroyed.
Take for example this video of a decidedly “un-clunky” Volvo S40 or S80 being destroyed as part of the CARS program. All of the energy used to produce that car is completely wasted, even if it would still have value in the used car market.
WARNING: This is a surprisingly graphic video – especially if you are a “car guy”. This top-quality machine literally screams as the “liquid glass” solution (used in place of motor oil) scours the moving parts inside this engine, eventually overheating it enough to start a fire in the engine compartment, and puking it’s last remaining ounces of red-hot oil out onto the ground in front of it as it finally seizes up.
Some thoughts on this video:
- That’s a well engineered, safe, and fairly efficient high-quality car that apparently ran well when turned in.
- It has obvious value remaining (KBB says around $13K).
- I can’t believe it ran for over 4 minutes with sodium silicate instead of oil.
- Thank goodness it didn’t puke up that red-hot oil all over the young man as he reached across the engine to put the oil fill cap (?) back on.
On Wednesday it was announced that the program was suspended – some say it was because dealership couldn’t get their paperwork filed fast enough to not go bankrupt in the short-term, others said it was because the program was too successful and already “spent” all of it’s funding. Then yesterday it was announced that the program would be re-funded, using grants previously slated for other energy-efficiency improvement programs.
I propose a different plan called: “Cash for Un-Clunkers”
Can anyone answer me “why” we should scrap perfectly good cars instead of invest in improving driving habits?
Fuelishness! Feed: U.S. gasoline prices hover around $2.66; Have gas prices peaked for summer; States Consider Gas and Oil Levies; IEA slashes oil demand forecast
- U.S. gasoline prices hover around $2.66/gallon: survey – The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States remained virtually unchanged from two weeks ago as crude oil prices hovered at about $70 per barrel, according to an industry analyst.
- Have gas prices peaked for summer? – After running up every day for nearly two straight months, gasoline prices have fallen this week — as they typically do a little before or after the Fourth of July holiday.
- States Consider Gas and Oil Levies – Cash-strapped states are considering raising taxes on oil production to plug yawning budget gaps, but they face strong resistance from oil companies, which warn the moves could lead to lost jobs and higher energy prices.
- IEA slashes oil demand forecast – The International Energy Agency on Monday cut sharply its medium-term forecast for oil demand because of economic recession, but said the threat of a supply crunch had only receded, not gone away.
- Nigerian militants say attack Shell despite amnesty – Nigeria’s main militant group said its fighters had attacked an oil facility belonging to Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta on Monday, days after President Umaru Yar’Adua proposed an amnesty.
First Look: Houston We Have a Problem [Movie Trailer]
Here’s a first look at the trailer for a new film Houston We Have a Problem – a feature documentary about America’s ferocious appetite for oil from the insider’s perspective.
Exploring our dangerous addiction to oil through candid insights from the Barons, Wildcatters, CEO’s and Roughnecks that comprise the world of Big Oil. This film is an inside look into the culture of oil that explores the history of our dependency that has led us to our current ENERGY CRISIS.
We learn how the perceived perpetrators of this critical American problem understand its complexities better than anybody. These seasoned professionals and New Wildcatters are presenting innovative strategies with a systemic shift to renewable, sustainable energy sources.
For too long, the energy policy of this country has been dictated by lobbyists and knee-jerk political decisions but now, politicians and business are finally joining together for a solution
The film premiered at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival earlier this year. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky enough to be there. There is, however, an interesting interview from the festival with director Nicole Torre and producer Eric Mofford where they talk about how the motivation for the film developed out of a conversation where two people, representing two distinctly different political and social perspectives, were able to overcome the obvious obstacles and discuss real solutions to the shared crisis.
I talked briefly with the film’s director Nicole Torre yesterday who told me they are still shopping it around for national theatrical distribution, and the screening schedule and DVD release date is not yet available.
You can learn more about the film Houston We Have Problem and it’s schedule at their website, or on the film’s FaceBook page.
Fuelishness! Feed: Iran Removes Oil Chief Torkan Amid Political Unrest; Iran’s oil supply and potential for disruption; [Flashback 2006] Why Iran oil cutoff could be suicidal
Some fresh Fuelishness!
- Iran Removes Oil Chief Torkan Amid Political Unrest - The sudden dismissal could raise concerns that political unrest in the second-largest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may be spilling over into the country’s oil industry.”If his removal is for political considerations, it is sad to bring in politics into the oil industry,” Manouchehr Takin, an analyst covering Iran at the U.K.-based Centre for Global Energy Studies. “He was considered a ‘doer’, someone getting things done. He got projects moving.”
- Iran’s oil supply and potential for disruption - Disruption to Iran’s oil exports would drive up the oil price as refiners that buy the Islamic Republic’s oil would be forced to buy elsewhere. Strikes in the run up to the Iranian revolution in 1978 stopped the flow from the southern fields, and the country’s capacity has never recovered to the 6 million bpd of before the revolution.The disruption was keenly felt by top oil consumer the United States, which had to ration fuel. The shortfall ruptured global supply lines, sparked panic-buying and saw a sharp rise in oil prices that contributed to the U.S. recessions of 1980 and 1981.
Iran now pumps around 3.8 million barrels per day, or about 4.5 percent of global supply.
- [Flashback 2006] Why Iran oil cutoff could be suicidal – Iran’s nuclear standoff with the United States, Europe, and other nations has led to considerable speculation of $100-per-barrel oil and $4-per-gallon gasoline in the US. Such high prices might kick off a worldwide energy crisis and recession.
Where does your gas money go?
There’s an outstanding report from American Petroleum Institute (API) called Energizing America. I’m going to cherry pick some of the best and most informative info-graphs from this report and highlight them over the next few weeks. You can download a free copy of their report from their website.
Click image to enlarge.
The API report wants to emphasis that oil companies only make a 5.5% margin on each drop of oil the buy, refine, and transport to your local filling station.
More interesting are the taxes; nearly a quarter of the money consumers spend at the pump gets fed back to local, state, and federal governments. Any idea why every administration since the 1970’s oil crisis has so far failed to solve our oil addiction? Anyone?
Oil Prices Continue to Spike Despite Massive Surplus – Outpacing Economic Recovery
Remember the most inconvenient double-hockeystick graph? Get a load of this.
Source: Yahoo Finance/AP
Oil prices have been soaring for months despite a massive surplus of petroleum and natural gas. A large amount of speculative money has flowed into the markets, according to government reports, potentially taking advantage of a weak U.S. currency.
Surging energy prices appear to be outpacing an economic recovery for now, and there are concerns that consumers may pull back spending further, especially with retail gasoline nearing the $3 mark.
Pardon me. “Concerns” that consumers may pull back? Let’s hope!
There is NO LEGITIMATE REASON for oil to be this high right now. We are sitting on the largest stockpiles of oil in history. Ships are still doing circles at sea because there’s no storage left on shore for their oil. Demand is still depressed in general. Why is it being sold at premium prices?
And why is this not news any longer? Are we so shell shocked and distracted by the trillions that we’ve spent bailing everyone out to not notice the same mechanisms that helped trigger the largest financial disaster in history are back at work steadily inflating the next oil bubble?
OPEC say $85-$90 by the end of the year…we’ll be at $85 in two months or less.
“That everyday, in-your-face experience of seeing higher gas prices at the pump; that has quite an impact on people’s psyche,” said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.
“There’s this feeling of ‘here we go again’ with what happened last year,” Kloza said. “It hurts discretional spending. It leaves people to think about not taking those summer vacations.”
I’m quite a bit more pissed than “Here we go again…”
I built FuelClinic to help people realize how much they spent on fuel, and find ways to improve their efficiency, as a “band aid” to high gas prices. I’m beginning to thinking we may need less of a “band aid” and more of a “war footing”.
We need to get serious about our oil problems, introduce as much direct competition as we can – as quickly as we can.
In the mean time we need to buy as little of it as possible, and let it circle in those expensive oil tankers as long as possible.
Find out how much this costs you, then learn how to immediately use less oil yourself.
Here are some more resources, just in case you don’t like the first two for some reason:
- http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1510
- http://www.fueleconomy.gov
- http://www.fuelly.com
- http://cars.about.com/od/helpforcarbuyers/tp/ag_top_fuelsave.htm
- http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/drive.shtml
- http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/106842/article.html
You can cut your expenses and improve your mileage 10% to 25% (sometimes more) – depending on your driving habits.
Fuelishness! Feed: Oil firms above $60; Venezuela builds oil rig with China; The end of the gas guzzler; Will transform US auto fleet; Safety could suffer
- Oil firms above $60 – Oil prices have been on an upward trend since mid-April on equity-led rallies. They have recovered from below $33 in December after a plunge from record highs above $147 in July.
- Venezuela set to build first oil rig with China – China buys 300,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude every day, and is eager for more from the Latin American country as part of its global quest for a diverse range of energy supplies.
- The end of the great American gas guzzler – President Barack Obama will unveil new fuel efficiency standards today in an effort to limit the release of greenhouse gases by cars and trucks.
- Obama’s new rules will transform US auto fleet – The new rules would bring new cars and trucks sold in the United States to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon, about 10 mpg more than today’s standards. Passenger cars will be required to get 39 mpg, light trucks 30 mpg.
- Safety could suffer if we boost mileage by making cars smaller - The National Academy of Sciences, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Congressional Budget Office and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have separately concluded in multiple studies dating back about 20 years that fuel-economy standards force automakers to build more small cars, which has led to thousands more deaths in crashes annually.
An American Automotive Industry Rescue Plan that Just Might Work
If you’re like me you’re more than a little disappointed by the early missteps of the Obama Administration’s efforts to save a few of the big American auto manufacturers, and by association, the entire industry. The Presidential Task Force seems a little out of touch.
Enter Iowahawk. He’s a guy with a clue about what it takes to help rescue the American Automotive Industry… take a hint from the booming American Custom Car Industry… all he needs is “unlimited regulatory powers and expense account“.
I realize the [automotive] industry is not suffering from a lack of law professors — it is suffering from a lack of imagination. They gave us cup holders and electric seat warmers when we wanted angel fur and bubble tops. They pushed micro-clown cars and hybrids when the market was rife for chromed 8-deuce Chrysler Hemis. Well, Bucko, all that outmoded thinking is going to end during the reign of Czar Dave. Saving the American auto industry is going to be a big job, but I won’t be doing it alone. I have already appointed my own shadow Council of Automotive Advisors, a select group of successful auto manufacturers whose qualifications appear after the jump. Many are close personal friends of mine, and I can attest to their patriotism, integrity, ingenuity, and wonderful lack of law degrees.
Not too many gas sipping hybrids on display at the link – but there is just as many customizers (both professional and do-it-yourselfers) who’s passion are cars that squeeze every last tenth-of-a-mile from a gallon of gas.
The point is that we need car guys — who know cars and what makes people love cars, not more lawyers and bureaucrats — saving our auto industry.
Read the rest of Iowahawk’s argument, with lots more photos of hot cars…
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