Tag: car

The Price of Oil

The increasing price of oil is having a positive impact on the environment, and it looks like this trend will continue. Energy analysts are saying that the sheer economic cost of oil is forcing people to look into alternative energy sources. Yeah!

Record U.S. crude oil futures near $124 a barrel have reached a “break point” that will spur a shift away from an oil-centric transportation sector toward alternatives, energy analyst Daniel Yergin said on Wednesday.

Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, told Reuters that U.S. crude oil prices — which hit a record $123.93 a barrel on Wednesday — will hasten the adoption of cellulosic biofuels made from switchgrass and woodchips, as well as battery-powered cars and fuels derived from coal.
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Yergin countered the notion that global demand for gasoline, jet fuel and other transportation fuels is chiseled in stone because drivers have few current alternatives.

Beijing Closing Gas Stations

Beijing is admitting that it is a dirty place and is trying to clean itself up. Because they are hosting the olympics this year, they’re trying to improve their image. To reduce the amount of air pollution in the city officials are closing gas stations and retrofitting others. I have no idea why they didn’t do this earlier, but better late than never.

By the end of May, 144 will shut because they are not expected to meet higher environmental standards, according to state media.

The remainder are to be fitted with devices to reduce the level of fumes which escape when vehicles fill up.

The 82 Most Fuel Efficient Vehicles in the USA

It’s not shocking to discover that the top 5 most fuel-efficient vehicles in the USA are hybrids, in fact it’s good to see that they are leading the pack. Recently, a blogger went to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website and created a handy list that orders the cars based on fuel-efficiency.

MPG
Ranking Category Vehicle City Highway Combined
1 family sedan Toyota Prius 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Automatic (CVT), HEV, Regular 48 45 46.7
2 small car Honda Civic Hybrid 4 cyl, 1.3 L, Automatic (CVT), HEV, Regular 40 45 42.3
3 family sedan Nissan Altima Hybrid 4 cyl, 2.5 L, Automatic (CVT), HEV, Regular 35 33 34.1
4 family sedan Toyota Camry Hybrid 4 cyl, 2.4 L, Automatic (CVT), HEV, Regular 33 34 33.5
5 SUV Mercury Mariner Hybrid FWD 4 cyl, 2.3 L, Automatic (CVT), Regular 34 30 32.2

Google Investing in Green Companies

Google.org is looking to fund a lot of companies that are looking to improve cars to run off of electrifying technologies. Google sees a lot of promise in getting people to use plug-in cars because it would greatly reduce energy consumption in the USA.

Today, Google.org has issued a request for investment proposals (RFP) to the tune of $10 million in order to advance sustainable transportation solutions. We are inviting entrepreneurs and companies to show us their best ideas on how they can contribute to this important cause. We need catalytic investments to support technologies, products and services that are critical to accelerating plug-in vehicle commercialization. That is why we have structured this RFP to offer investment dollars to for-profit companies to promote social and environmental change.

This initiative continues Google’s adventure into trying to be super-green.

Hybrid Highlights

The United States’ Department of Energy has concluded that hybrids save a LOT of gas:

The lab crunched all the statistics — number of hybrids on the road, new and old EPA mileage ratings, user-reported mileage figures, and the same mileage numbers for vehicles that most closely matched hybrids in terms of size, weight, and performance — and produced the following figure: To date, hybrids have saved 230 million gallons, or 5.5 million barrels, of fuel.

In Japan, Toyota has received approval to test their plugin hybrid:

While the car is still in testing phase, with eight plug-in OEM vehicles being manufactured and released for testing in Japan, hopes are high that Toyota will soon release this car to the general public.