Archive for January, 2009

« Older Entries

A Home for Every Green Heart

Saturday, January 31st, 2009
green energy
Paige Green asked:


According to the Australian Burean of Statistics, around 56 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are generated from the home. While it is important that we pressure business and government for sustainable initiatives, some of the easiest changes can be made in our own dwellings. From simple lifestyle changes such as adopting the Green Pages Top 50 tips to a more substantial investment in your home’s design features.

For many, building a sustainable home may seem too challenging, too daunting or just not feasible. Many people claim ‘we can’t afford it’, ‘I already own a home (and am still paying it off!)’, or ‘I’m renting’; these are all ready made excuses that make even the most die-hard greenie resistant to making a more substantial investment in a sustainable home.

‘Money is always one of the major impediments to investing in a sustainable home,’ says Julien Laclave, renewable energy promotions officer for Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society (ANZES). A green home can save a family thousands of dollars a year. ‘We can’t force people to invest in a sustainable renovation or a new home, but we can show them that it really pays off.’ Reduced energy bills from renewable energy sources and more comfortable living conditions that don’t require artificial heating or cooling are just some of the benefits of a sustainably designed home.

Lacave is also the project manager of the ANZES Sustainable House Day, a nationwide event that showcases a number of sutainable homes to the public. This year, over 100 homes were on diplsay and visitors could speak directly with the owners and get first hand information about the home and its sustinable features. Lacave finds taht many attendees come to sources ideas for their own projects. ‘People who visit the homes find it very inspiring. It’s very unique to be able to talk wiht the residents,’ he says.

So what’s behind good green design?

Essentially, building a ‘green home’ is to ensure a house is as ’self sustaining’ as possible. Key features include minimising energy use, rainwater harvesting, managing waste water disposal and even sustaining its inhabitants with a lush green garden. Renowned celebrities such as Csate Blanchett have brough popularity to green residences. Sustainable home design is reaching the mainstream. People are realising eco homes make good sense. Households can lower their energy bills by as much as 50 per cent and save on their water bills. Green homes stay comfortable throughout the year without the aid of artificial heating and cooling, which make them a real pleasure to live in. ‘A sustainable house is just a house that is well designed and cleverly thought out’, says Lacave.

For more information:

www.thegreenpages.com.au





Leave your comment »

Posted in Green Energy

How to Go About Biodiesel Production

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
biodiesel
Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Biodiesel production is a process of synthesizing biodiesel, it is a liquid fuel source highly compatible with petroleum based diesel fuel. Synthesis is method which is used by manufacturer, in which reaction of a glyceride containing plant with short chain alcohol like methanol or ethanol in a step called as transesterification.

The reaction which occur during this process is below,

Animal and plant fats and oil are made up of triglycerides. There are esters of free fatty acids with tryholic alcohol, glycerol. Here the alcohol is deprotonated with a base to make it stronger nucleophile. Generally in esterfication ethanol or methanol is used. From reaction one can easily find out there us no other input than the triglyceride and alcohol.

This reaction occurs very slowly or may not occur. Acid or base are used to make the reaction more quickly, also can used heat. It is very much important to not that acid or base should not be consumed by esterification reaction. Base catalyzed technique is used for most economical process which requires low temperatures and pressures. It produces more than 98% conversions yield.

Processing Steps

Purification:

If you are using waste vegetable oil, it should be filtered and remove dirt, charred food and other non oil material often food.

Water used to be removed from process because its presence causes the triglycerides to hydorlyze which gives to salts of the fatty acids. It is accomplished by heating the filtered oil approximately 120C. At this temperature any suspended water get boil off. When water gets boils, it used to spitters, so to prevent injury to container, there should be sufficiently large container, they should be closed but not sealed. In laboratory to remove water, they used drying agent like magnesium sulfate.

Neutralization of Fatty acids:

Titration of cleaned oil with standard solution of base which used to make for determines the concentration of free fatty acids (RCOOH) which is present in waste vegetable oil. Base quantity is measure which is required to neutralize the acid.

Transesterfication:

The measured quantity of base used to added slowly to the alcohol. It is then stirred until till it get dissolves. Three full equal size triglyceride are made by adding sufficient alcohol. Excess alcohol is added to complete the reaction.

The solution of sodium hydroxide is being added to a warm solution of waste oil, then the mixture is heated to process transesterification.

Workup:

After completion of reaction glycerol get sink. Emulsion used to occur when ethanol being used. It is being broken by standing, centrifugation, also by addition of low boiling, decanting, distilling. Then the top layer mixture of biodiesel and alcohol is decanted, where the excess of alcohol is distilled off or it is used to extracted through water. Biodiesel should be dried by distillation. It can also be done with the help of drying agent.

Benefits of Process

It is continuous process

It’s FAME=98.59 before washing process

It’s FAME=99.85 after washing process

It reduces space requirement

It is very low in process inventory

It require minimum manpower

Oils and fats can be produced

Reactors from 1GPM up to 500GPM are available

This process is successful for even poor quality of crude oil.



Leave your comment »

Posted in Biodiesel

How to Make Biodiesel at Home and With Ease

Monday, January 26th, 2009
biodiesel
Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Biodiesel is the best alternative to petrol and petroleum products along with petroleum diesel. Its preparation from biodegradable substances is the primary reason for the diesel being called the Biodiesel. The Biodiesel can be used in its pure form, but is also adaptable to a blend with petroleum diesel.

The preparation of this Biodiesel is a very easy task and can be carried out even in a ranch or farm. Biodiesel can be made through numerous processes. It is easier to make a homebrew Biodiesel than to make it on a large scale or in a refinery. The following are some of the ways that are commonly used for preparing the Biodiesel at home.

1. With the use of Vegetable Oil:

Under proper conditions, waste as well as new vegetable oil can be used for the production of Biodiesel.

a. Preparation of Biodiesel using new vegetable oil:

For the preparation of Biodiesel, there are a lot of kits that are available on the market today. For making convenient Biodiesel, you must first study the kit carefully and must first make small batches of it. For the preparation of a home brew Biodiesel, you will need the following apparatus:

* A blender with Glass jar.

* A scale which weighs upto 0 to 50 gm with the nearest 0.1 gm.

* One quart jar.

* A hand pump;

* A liquid measuring cup;

* Methanol;

* Sodium Hydroxide;

Method:

Take proper care of your guarding equipments and then pour 1 cup methanol in the blender. Put 3.5 gm of sodium hydroxide and put it in the methanol in the blender. Blend the mixture for about 5 minutes. The blended mixture is a very strong base, called sodium methoxide. Please take care to avoid getting in contact with it. Pour one quart of new vegetable oil into the sodium methoxide and blend the mixture for 30 minutes at low speed. Let the mixture to set for around 8 hours at room temperature. The mixture after the setting is a mixture of the Biodiesel, which floats on top of a dark colored glycerol. You can then pump the light Biodiesel out with the help of the hand pump.

b. Preparation of Biodiesel using waste vegetable oil:

The waste oil is more acidic than the new oil because of the high amount of fatty acids that are present in it. You will have to first determine the amount of catalyst needed for the preparation with the help of titration. When you determine how much sodium hydroxide is required, you can follow the same method for the preparation of Biodiesel with the new vegetable cooking oil. The end result is also the same, but there is a white layer in between the diesel and the glycerol. It is the soap and is present if there is even a small amount of water present in the vegetable oil. To remove the oil you will have to warm the oil and when the water settles down, you can remove it by the hand pump or can just pour it over the top.



Leave your comment »

Posted in Biodiesel

Tags:

Proper Processing of Biodiesel

Monday, January 26th, 2009
biodiesel
roosterbob asked:


The rising cost of fuel around the world gives way to exploration of alternative fuels which are more cost effective and environment friendly. Re-usable wastes are a great source of fuel to help us power our vehicles that bring us to everyday places. Biodiesel is a popular option in place of commercial petroleum.

Biodiesel was specifically designed to counter rising costs of oil products. It is especially formulated for use in Biodiesel cars and trucks with diesel engines. There are also available kits to convert engines that run on gasoline. Another good thing about this alternative fuel is that you can make it in your own garage or backyard by assembling your own Biodiesel processors oryou canproduce it in big quantities given a larger space.

When preparing your biodiesel at your own home, always wear protective eye glasses, don clothes which can cover much of your skin, and used gloves when handling the chemicals.

How Biodiesel is Produced There are several stages in the production of Biodiesel:

1. For the first few batches of Biodiesel that you will make, try to use clean vegetable oil. As you become more familiar with the process, you can collect the cooking oil from your kitchen or collect from restaurants, food stalls, etc.

2. If you are using used oil, filter the solid components like burnt meat, fish, or any food parts

3. Cautious steps must be taken to ensure that the amount of water and fatty acids in the vegetable oil are in their right levels.

4. Prepare a mixture of lye and methanol in a tightly sealed container. Roll the container several times (Note: Roll. Do not shake). In commercial production, the mixture is placed in an agitator

5. Pre-heat the vegetable oil to around 55 degrees Celsius

6. At this stage the animal or vegetable oil can then be poured onto the Biodiesel processors. The evaporation of alcohol is not permitted by making the vessels of Biodiesel processors completely sealed.

7. The mix of oil and alcohol is boiled around seventy degrees Celsius to hasten the reaction which normally takes 1-8 hours. The Biodiesel will come to its glycerin phase after this stage.

8. At this stage, glycerin is separated from the raw Biodiesel. The design of the Biodiesel processors allows gravity to take control of the separation by drawing off the glycerin at the bottom of the vessel. This stage is often called the Setting Phase

9. After Setting the mix for around 12 hours to a day, transfer the mix to the washer vessel

10. Next step is tomist or bubble wash the raw Biodiesel to rid of excess alcohol, glycerin, and other impurities.

11. The Biodiesel is then allowed to dry and is then filtered by the Biodiesel processor before it can be used as fuel.

The steps to make Biodiesel may sound complicated at the start. There are a lot of websites and books to help you understand the process more clearly. Biodiesel processors can be assembled or bought to produce Biodiesel in your backyard or for commercial use.

Biodiesel is in the horizon right now, timely for all the economic turmoil that’s happening around the world.



Leave your comment »

Posted in Biodiesel

Tags:

Green Snow Holidays - From Bbc Green

Sunday, January 25th, 2009
green energy
Green Rewards asked:


Here’s our essential guide to skiing and snowboarding the green way

Skiing and snowboarding are not the obvious choice for an eco-friendly traveller. After all, air flights, luxury spas and hacking your way through the pristine snow are a far cry from a tree-planting camp in Devon.

But it doesn’t have to be like that - winter sport is about enjoying the great outdoors, so we’ve looked at some of the best ways to respect it too. Here’s our advice on how to get there, where to stay and what kit you should bring with you. 

Take the snow train

If you’re looking for a greener way to the slopes than flying and are tired of the inconvenience of flight delays, then travelling by train could be for you. Thousands of skiers and boarders choose to make their journey to the heart of the slopes this way every season.

Rail Europe’s Snow Trainis an overnight sleeper service from London St Pancras and Ebbsfleet International, Kent, to a number of skiing destinations in the French Alps. There is a specially designated sound-proofed disco carriage, so you can party all night, or if you’d rather save your energy for the slopes, there is comfortable, flat-bed sleeping accommodation.

In many cases, ski train journeys are similar in length to flying. Remember, by train there’s no two-hour check-in time, fewer delays and (on most trains) no long transfers to your resort.

Plus, most independent research says that travelling to the slopes by train produces a relatively small carbon footprint compared to flying or going by car.

It’s worth remembering though that you need to change platforms at Paris before travelling onto the stations at Chambery, Albertville, Moutiers, Aime la Plagne, Landry and Bourg St Maurice.

The Snow Train can also be more convenient if you’re taking your own gear, as there is no charge for carrying your skis or boards in their ski locker. You arrive early Saturday morning and depart last thing the following Saturday, so you get maximum time on the slopes.

Eco-friendly coach travel

Coach travel to the Alps is a long-haul option but it is also great value. National Express’s Eurolines service runs from London Victoria to nine resorts in both France and Switzerland, and there is no charge for skis and snowboards.

The journey takes approximately 18 hours and most coaches leave in the afternoon and arrive early next morning. Reclining seats means you should get a decent night’s sleep and there’s usually a film to watch in the evening.

Greener accommodation

Finding a good value eco-friendly hotel or chalet can feel like an uphill struggle, as they are few and far between. But if you look hard, you can find wood fires, solar panels, and composting heaps among the hot-tubs, spas and gyms.

If it’s composting toilets you’re after you may well be out of luck, but lots of companies are increasingly looking out to protect the environment that their holidaymakers enjoy. Here are some of our favourites…

Whitepod

This unique Swiss eco-camp located above Les Cerniers, a small village at the foot of Dents du Midi, features five wood-fire heated domes around a 19th-century chalet. The igloo-shaped pods are each made from weatherproofed cotton stretched over a storm-proof steel frame, which should keep you snug and warm.

Inside, the pods are lit by petrol lamps and are furnished with recycled or sustainably made furniture. You can only get there on skis or snowshoes and your luggage is delivered via snowmobile, so it’s a good choice if you’re looking to get away from the crowds.

If you don’t want to ski or snowboard you can always go snowshoeing, dog-sledding, relax in the hot tub or try the star-gazing platform with telescope. If you have children, the site also offers an Eco Kids Camp from July to August, which includes wildlife observation, local farm visits, organic picnics and evening games.Winner of the Responsible Tourism Awards 2005 for innovation.

From 325 euros per night including coffee and afternoon tea.

For more information:Whitepod

Whitepod is renovating the camp to cut its footprint and ensure that the level of service remains high. As a result, it will not be open for this coming winter 08/09. However, their mountain refuge, which sleeps up to 60 guests, is open from 1 December 2008.

Green Rides - Challet Montperron

This luxurious 18th century eco-chalet is based just outside Bourg St Maurice. With five large double bedrooms, it includes all the usual chalet amenities such as wi-fi and cable as well an open log fire, spa area and a wood pellet-fired hot tub.

The electricity is sourced from wind and solar farms in northern France. All food waste is composted, the rubbish is recycled and energy efficient light bulbs are used throughout the property. The owners are also planning to install a solar panelled roof and offer a discount to customers who take the Snow Train.A week typically cost from £385 per person.

Green Rides

Karibuni - Lodge Aravis

This 100 year old catered chalet is set in the Aravis Mountains near La Clusaz and sleeps 35 people. It has a gym, sauna and massage room as well as a children’s area and an onsite ski hire shop.France can be hard for veggies but Lodge Aravis has been accredited by the Vegetarian Society, soust ask for their vegetarian menu. All waste is either composted or recycled and they aim to source as much fair trade, local, and free range produce as possible. The chalet also offsets its carbon emissions through Climate Care.

The people behind Lodge Aravis also run a number of other smaller chalets, including Chalet Aravis which can sleep up to 11 people and uses solar panels to heat all of its water.

From £580pp a week (including a lift pass for seven days of skiing).

Location: Aravis Mountain, French Alps. For more information: Karibuni

Green shopping for snow gear

When it comes to being green on the slopes, skis, snowboards and winter gear can pose a problem. Nearly all of them are made of a combination of wood, fibreglass, foam, plastic and steel, which are stuck together by epoxy resin, and are nearly impossible to recycle.

However, many manufacturers are taking green steps, from carbon offsetting to using sustainable materials, such as bamboo, and even solar-powered factories.

New Zealand company Kingswood Skis won a product sustainability award for their bamboo-core carbon neutral skis. They are also looking into a flax alternative to fibreglass which is used in almost every ski and board made today. And they provide a clear breakdown of all the materials used in their products on their website.

Arbor makes its snowboard’s cores from renewable, fast-growing bamboo, which has come from sustainably managed forests and the bases are made with leftover poly-ethylene. They have pledged to donate a portion of all their revenue to organisations involved in protecting the environment. Also, its factory’s machines are wind-powered.

Don’t forget the eco-benefits of buying secondhand gear or renting ski or snow equipment. Freecycle and Ebay are just a couple of online places you could try. 

Take a look at our shop now for the best eco friendly shopping.



Leave your comment »

Posted in Green Energy

Questioning Ril Gas Pricing by Adag is Without Substantiation

Saturday, January 24th, 2009
gas prices
Alan Peter asked:


Questioning the gas pricing formula by RIL for its Krishna Godavari basin, Anil Ambani’s group on Sunday asked the government to come out with a pricing and allocation policy saying that arbitrary high prices will hurt the power and fertiliser producers. “When the users are subjected to regulation, how can the single gas supplier (RIL) is not regulated, the production sharing contract between the gas producers and the government stipulates that pricing and utilisation policy should be in place but there is none,” Anil Ambani group company Reliance Energy Director J P Chalsani told media here.

Contrary to other regulated sectors where capital expenditure and tariff are defined, how RIL’s capital expenditure was approved in a non-transparent manner, Chalsani wondered and said that high capital cost by gas producer would only lead to lower returns for the government and high prices for the end users. Chelsani’s comments coincide with the on-going exercise in the government for fixing the price of natural gas and the formula by RIL, which seeks to sell gas at up $to 4.58 per million British thermal unit at the land-fall point at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. After detailed discussions, the Committee of Secretaries has sent its recommendations to the Petroleum Ministry, amid reports of inter-ministerial differences on the issue, for further action and a decision is expected to be announced soon.

The suggestion by the Anil Ambani Group that arbitrary high prices of Natural Gas will hurt Power and Fertiliser sectors has been contested by many experts who feel that the goalpost cannot be shifted after the terms have been settled while allocating gas field for exploration by the ministry.

When E&P was controlled and under the cost plus fixed return regime the E&P sector could not take off as no one was willing to deploy risk capital in which all the costs incurred in blocks/ wells that did not achieve commerciality is only borne by operator while on striking hydrocarbon the proceeds are shared with govt which pockets the larger

share by the virtue of the “quantum of govt take” being the criterion for award of block.

Further, power based on standard equip and technology available widely. Deep water is a frontier technology with operations and technology akin to exploring the moon/space. Reservoir risk is huge and has hurt the biggest companies as geology 3 km under sea level may differ widely and is specific to that operation only.

Despite this difference and relative simplicity of power sector, private investments are dismal, though tall statements are made of the thousands of megawatt plans even though the existing capacity may not cross 1000 MW.

Small companies with negligible existing capacity and no capacity addition in the past decade are laughably claiming that gas price could affect investment in this area.

Reliance sources added that the serious power companies Tata, AES and Torrent have indicated their extreme satisfaction with price and are ready to pay a substantial premium. Some companies that have never ever executed any large project will keep finding reasons to hide their incompetence.

Despite the regulation that is much touted the consumer are forced to bear costs resulting from poor and careless decision of power companies as was the case recently in which power companies are making the consumer bear the take or pay charges resulting from the poorly planned power offtake commitments.

In contrast the E&P activity in India is moving at great pace and serious investments and money has already been spent on the ground. Perhaps these upstream companies should be invited by the govt to set up even the power projects so that power sector finally wakes up.

On the issue of arbitrary capital cost, the DGH official commented that it seems that REL is not aware that there is a procurement process manual that is comprehensive with extensive procedures and checks and balances on the costing. Any amount that is extravagant or could have been managed prudently will not be approved for cost recovery. The official added that RIL has categorically welcomed any verification or auditing by the govt and CAG or others as they have innovatively finalised the inputs at the lowest cost/unit basis anywhere in the world.

Hence again this is a bogey that should be dismissed.

On the issue of PSC stipulating policy on pricing and allocation, a senior official of the MoPNG commented that the contract required the price to be based on prevailing policy if any and the process of approving / validating the operators price the govt could delegate this function to the regulator when created for the purpose and the operating part is “delegate” clearly establishing the unconditional right of the govt to ensure that

market determined rates are obtained. Even in the current instance, RIL’s submission will be assessed as que per què the pricing committee recommendations.

On the allocation of gas the govt is very keen to implement the same as soon as possible as gas is a national asset that one can allot to another due to non commercial and internal family arrangements. Recently DGH has asked the govt to track the RNRL court case and take appropriate steps as RIL can only sell its portion of the cost and profit gas and any contract to sell the portion of govt’s gas and that of Niko is infructious and cannot pass legal scrutiny and for his purpose govt has added this clause to the PSC.



Leave your comment »

Posted in Gas Prices

Tags:

High Gas Prices Are an Opportunity to Better Yourself

Friday, January 23rd, 2009
gas prices
Tim Whiston asked:


Many people report real financial hardship as a result of soaring gas prices. In fact during 2008 the percentage of people in the U.S. making this claim fluctuates between 60% and 75% depending on the survey you refer to.

It’s a little cold to look at a hard working family with kids to feed and simply tell them to “make more money”. At the same time, that is exactly what will be required of anyone who wants to prosper in a rapidly changing world.

There is no such thing as true scarcity. There is more than enough energy, fuel, food, and wealth on this planet for all six billion + of us.

However, many of our governing bodies and corporate entities have a vested interest in maintaining the illusion of scarcity. This isn’t a half-baked conspiracy theory, and if you do just a little in-depth research on your own you’ll come to the same conclusion.

Limited supplies are big business in the same way sickness and crime are big business. These are harsh realities of life on our civilized planet.

The media isn’t going to give you anything in the way of comfort and encouragement because your fear and anxiety are needed to help propel the herd mentality and constant state of crisis Americans and other westerners consider the norm.

What does this mean for you? It means quite simply that you and you alone are responsible for your own state of abundance or lack.

There are literally hundreds of ways an individual living in the U.S. in the year 2008 can make additional money and make better use of the money he or she currently generates. Make no mistake, times are getting more intense and the luxury of getting by without putting forth your full effort is fast disappearing.

Every reader of this article is urged to take a serious inventory of self. Are you truly doing all you can to create money for your household?

The majority of people, if answering honestly, would have to say “no” to that question. It’s quite likely that everyone, millionaire tycoons and ultra successful business owners included, can find room for improvement. Certainly the average citizen who makes his or her living as an employee can admit: more can be done to earn money than what is currently being done!

The author in no way condones the gouging of U.S. gas consumers by an industry that is already enjoying record profits. But the fact remains, one can choose to complain and suffer or one can see this phenomenon as a challenge and seize the opportunity to rise above it.

Hundreds of people will read the statement above and respond in anger. These folks don’t want to take responsibility for their own prosperity, and they’d rather point an angry finger at the oil companies than put forth the energy required to create new opportunities and more prosperity in their own lives.

It’s worth remembering that many people came out of the Great Depression with new fortunes. No matter how big the crisis there will always be opportunities to not only survive it, but literally to thrive right in the middle of it!

How will you react to the challenge at hand?



Leave your comment »

Posted in Gas Prices

Soaring Gas Prices Usa - 7 Tips - Fast Ways to Save Big at the Fuel Pumps

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
gas prices
Aaron M Phillips asked:


With Gas Prices in the USA going out of sight, here are 7 tips that can have you saving money on gas fast. If you practice them all, you may even double the mileage you get on a gallon of gas! That may seem a bit far fetched but it really is possible with some vehicles. So, in reverse order (the best is last) here are 7 tips to help you conquer high Gas Prices - USA:

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #7 - Use Overdrive Gears

When you use overdrive gears, your car’s engine speed is reduced. The slower engine speed saves fuel and lowers engine wear.

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #6 - Use Your Cruise Control

Using your cars cruise control on the highway helps you sustain a constant speed and, in the majority of cases, will help you save gas. Note that you should not use your cruise control around town or in heavy traffic.

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #5 - Avoid Excessive Idling

While idling your car is getting 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #4 - Eliminate Surplus Weight

Stop keeping needless items in your car, particularly heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could shrink your mileage by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of excess weight relative to the vehicle’s weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.

 Fuel Economy Benefit: 1-2%/100 lbs

 Equivalent Gasoline Savings: $0.04-$0.08/gallon

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #3 - Observe the Speed Limit

While each automobile attains it’s best possible fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds over 60 mph. You can estimate that for every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an extra $0.30 per gallon for fuel. Observing the speed limit is also safer.

 Fuel Economy Benefit: 7-23%

 Equivalent Gasoline Savings: $0.29-$0.94/gallon

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #2 - Drive Sensibly

Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.

 Fuel Economy Benefit: 5-33%

 Equivalent Gasoline Savings: $0.20-$1.35/gallon

High Gas Prices USA - Tip #1 - BEST TIP: Convert your car to a Hydrogen Hybrid

When you do it yourself (you don’t need to be a mechanic), you can convert your car to a Hydrogen Hybrid for less than $200 total and no modifications to the engine are required. Your car will run smoother, have less harmful emissions, and you can easily have 20% to 50% better fuel economy. Although one 1990 Jeep I know of went from 17 MPG to 35 MPG with this conversion, that is a bit unusual. The average is a 20-50% increase in mileage. Additional cars can be converted for about $70-$80 per car because the total above includes buying the ‘how to’ instructions.

 Fuel Economy Benefit: 20-50% (or more)

 Equivalent Gasoline Savings: $0.68-$1.89/gallon

 

This collection of tips is just tips unless you use them. Using them will undoubtedly reduce the amount you spend at the pump regardless of what Gas Prices are in the USA.

Note: Cost savings are based on an assumed fuel price of $4.08/gallon.



Leave your comment »

Posted in Gas Prices

Tags:

Green Energy – It Is All Around Us

Monday, January 19th, 2009
green energy
Stan Stomp asked:


The earth has blessed us with an abundance of green energy, all we need to do is tap into it. This site shares a few of the popular green energies like solar and wind power, what we failed to mention is hydro power, bio energy, geothermal, tidal or wave and hydrogen fuel cells. Green energy is defined in Wikipedia as “sources of energy that are considered to be environmentally friendly and non-polluting”. This is in true and rare form our new generation of energy. Fossil fuels in time will be exhausted or cost dearly to manufacture, not to mention the carbon foot print we have left for our children. 

    If you were to walk outside during the day and look around you would notice that green energy is all around us. Everywhere you look there is a source of untapped green energy. The most unique thing of all is it has always been there just patiently waiting for us to come to our senses. The sun shines every day, the wind blows frequently, the rivers flow all the time, the waves in the ocean crash on the shore like clockwork. None of these forces ever call in sick or just stop working, they are more constant than any other source of energy we have. They are not controlled by other countries and best of all they are free! 

    Green energy is the way of the future it is the only way we can save the earth for our future generations, it is the only way we can reverse the global warming. The government also sees a clear view of green energy you can view on their site here: http://www.eere.energy.gov/ they have it all broken down by programs. The government is also offering grants which can be viewed from the same page. Any way you look at it green energy is here to stay.

 

    So if green energy is so good and it is here to stay then why are we not embracing our future? Well, all you have to do is look at the economy and the shrinking that has happen since October 2007. In a shrinking economy one does not spend large amounts of capital on an investment like green energy. That would probably be the biggest problem with green energy is the initial capital that has to be spent to buy and install the equipment. Over time the investment will pay for itself but, right now it is cheaper for us to use our 120 year old addiction to fossil energy. So how do we break the habit? The government is offering rebates on green energy you can read the form here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5695.pdfup to 30% off! With that in mind it makes the pain of the expenditure just a little more inviting.



Leave your comment »

Posted in Green Energy

Tags:

Predicting Gas Prices: Three Factors to Watch

Sunday, January 18th, 2009
gas prices
Chuck Bonner asked:


If you knew how much your corner gas station was going to charge tomorrow, you’d be able to save a few cents by beating the increase, or by holding off until the price goes down.  And if you could make such a prediction every day, the savings could add up to several dollars a year.  It’s not enough to change your life, but it helps a bit.  And when the $4.00 per gallon gasoline returns to the U.S. market - as you know it will sooner or later - the small savings on each gallon will be that much more important to your budget.

 

Now, if you could make a reliable forecast of long-range changes in the price of gasoline, you could make a killing in the futures market.  However, that is beyond the scope of this article.  It is, in fact, impossible.  Let’s just stick with saving a few bucks on our yearly gasoline budget.

 

The retail price of gasoline is determined by a number of factors, including, whether we like to admit it or not, human whim.  It is impossible to predict the exact price at any particular gas station unless you are the owner, and it is equally impossible to predict the lowest or highest price within a particular geographical market.  However, what we can predict is the general movement of prices at a large number of gas stations in a given area.  The extremes - highest and lowest prices - are most affected by the truly random factors which can never be predicted perfectly.  But the average price in a given market is driven by some predictable and well-known factors.

 

Here are three of them:

 



Gasoline futures prices.

Local constant factors.

Current local retail prices.



 

Gasoline Futures Prices

 

News media are always reporting the wholesale price of crude oil, and often run stories that describe how it affects the price you pay at the gas pump.  This is an important factor, but it’s a bit removed from the gas pump.

 

A better indicator, more closely coupled to retail gas prices, is the price that investors are paying for “futures” in refined gasoline.  We won’t go into details about what exactly gasoline “futures” are, but you can readily guess the most important thing you need to know:  This reflects what the gas stations will be paying to refill their gas tanks in the near future.

 

Look for reports of gasoline futures prices.  They are published every day in financial news outlets, and the latest price is posted and updated in near real time throughout the business day on many financial news Web sites.

 

Watch the price of gasoline futures over the course of a few weeks and months, and you will see a relationship between this price and the retail price of gas in your area.  Of course, this relationship is not exact.  Sometimes the futures price will go up, but the retail price will go down in the same day.  But over the long term, the two prices will tend to move in the same direction.

 

This relationship is not the same in all places, either.  For example, let’s look at yesterday (as I write this), December 11, 2008, and let’s look at the retail price of gas in two U.S. cities.  The futures price of unleaded gasoline was $1.08 per gallon when the market closed.  In Atlanta, Georgia, the retail price of gas that afternoon was $1.56 per gallon, and in White Plains, New York, it was $2.39 per gallon.

 

So, what is the relationship?  It varies from one place to another, as we can see, but there are local factors to consider.

 

Local Constant Factors

 

By observing the price of gasoline futures and the local retail price of gas over a period of time, you can figure out the relationship between these two prices for your area.

 

Take another look at the examples cited above.  On December 11, 2008, the retail price of gas in Atlanta, GA was 42 cents higher than the futures price, and in White Plains, NY, it was $1.31 higher.  Will these relationships always hold?  Will you always be able to add 42 cents to the futures price and find the retail price in Atlanta?  Probably not.

 

Here’s another way of looking at it.  The retail price of a gallon of gasoline in Atlanta was about 1.44 times the futures price, and the retail price in White Plains was about 2.21 times the futures price.  Proportional relationships like this tend to work better.

 

The difference in retail price between these two cities has to do with several complex factors, including the cost of transporting gas to the gas stations, local business taxes, local employment costs, and the vague “what the market will bear” factor.  Nevertheless, these factors themselves change rather slowly, and therefore you can come up with a proportional relationship between the futures price and the local retail price, and this proportion works pretty well.

 

If you keep track of the futures price and your local retail price over a period of time, you can eventually come up with a proportioning factor that comes pretty close to predicting the retail price of gasoline for your area.

 

Current Local Retail Prices

 

Another important factor in predicting tomorrow’s gas price is, what is the price today?  Gas stations tend to change their prices slowly.  When their costs go down, they want to keep their retail prices as high as they can in order to maximize profits, but they have to follow the other gas stations to avoid being undersold.  When their costs go up, they must raise their selling prices in order to remain in business, but they must be cautious to avoid driving their customers away.

 

So, even if the futures price were to increase dramatically, say 10%, in a single day, the gas stations in a given area will adjust their retail prices a bit more slowly.

 

If you build a mathematical model of the retail price of gasoline based on the gasoline futures price and the local constant factor described earlier, it just won’t work.  Your model must also account for this “drag” factor whereby tomorrow’s gasoline price is held back from moving, either up or down, by today’s price.

 

There are many other factors affecting the price of gasoline, but the three described here are the biggest ones.  You can watch these three factors from day to day and figure out whether you should buy gas today, or hold off until tomorrow and save a few cents.  It won’t change your life, but it feels good to “beat the system,” even in a very small way.



Leave your comment »

Posted in Gas Prices