Ideas for reducing dependence on gas and petroleum?

[runawayjim]

i've said it before and i'll say it again. the best way to increase mileage is not necessarily how fast you drive but how fast you accelerate. although keeping your highway speeds between 55 and 65 does help quite a bit (these are the speeds that just about every car on the road achieves the best mileage). but you use a lot more gas by stepping on it after stopping than driving a little faster. it takes more energy to accelerate fast off a stop than it does to maintain a higher speed. also, maintaining the same speed is a help on back roads where you can't be doing 55-65.

[GaryP]

A California company and a Department of Energy research lab have announced that they're teaming up to make oil out of algae

[Captain Worley]

Little known fact to increase fuel mileage: Accelerate at 75% throttle. That's where the internal combustion engine is most efficient.

Also, coast down hills when you have a manual car. Doing both of those took my mileage from 27mpg, to 30 mpg. That's an improement of more than 10%.

[runawayjim]

Little known fact to increase fuel mileage: Accelerate at 75% throttle. That's where the internal combustion engine is most efficient.

Also, coast down hills when you have a manual car. Doing both of those took my mileage from 27mpg, to 30 mpg. That's an improement of more than 10%.

[Captain Worley]

^ Yup, Georgia Overdrive is illegal in a few states, but it is an outdated law. The reason it came about was that during the Great Depression, a number of cars were fitted with devices that would effectively declutch when the engine was coasting down a hill. Brakes were horrible in those days and many lives were lost when the brakes couldn't compensate for the increased speed at the bottom of the mountain. It is really a law that should have been repealed in 1970 at the latest.

My theory is how is anyone gonna know what you are doing?

The 75% throttle thing works, too, surprisingly. I worked as a vehicle engineer for three years and *still* had to try it myself before I believed it.

[runawayjim]

^ Yup, Georgia Overdrive is illegal in a few states, but it is an outdated law. The reason it came about was that during the Great Depression, a number of cars were fitted with devices that would effectively declutch when the engine was coasting down a hill. Brakes were horrible in those days and many lives were lost when the brakes couldn't compensate for the increased speed at the bottom of the mountain. It is really a law that should have been repealed in 1970 at the latest.

My theory is how is anyone gonna know what you are doing?

The 75% throttle thing works, too, surprisingly. I worked as a vehicle engineer for three years and *still* had to try it myself before I believed it.

[reverbandwhiskey]

My suggestion to reduce gas usage? Run your errands via bike and bike trailer.

I buy all of my groceries, run to the library, go shopping, etc by using my bike and small trailer. You would be amazed how much time you spend in your car just running errands within a short distance from your home.

this is the trailer I use:

A good hybrid bike can be found for $300 to $400 so it isn't a huge investment.

It also reduces the need for a gym membership.

My city bike:

I must point out, in fairness, that I do make my living selling bikes.

[Captain Worley]

^...and bike trailers, too, no doubt!!

That's actually a pretty good idea.

[jencoleslaw]

For those of you in the New England Area--Free Event on Clean Vehicles.

Clean Cities to Hold Annual Clean Vehicle Workshop and Expo at the Mohegan Sun

8:00 AM-3:00 PM Monday November 20, 2006

On Monday, November 20, 2006 the Clean Cities Coalitions of Connecticut and Rhode Island will hold its annual clean vehicle workshop and expo from 8am-3pm on Monday, November 20, 2006 at the Mohegan Sun Conference Center in Uncasville, CT. The workshop--the region

[Lance Winslow]

Work in Progress; Background thoughts:

Rehabilitation of America

[dpbaker]

Does this count?

Solar Sizzler

Obviously, there are limitations, but......

[miamivicefan]

I Have another solution, Straight vegetable oil, this is the one that is good for the air and good for the food businesses.

This will send a message to Al Gore, Business sections and the wall street journal that we can do it.

[dubone]

It would be great if this year, many more school systems and municipal bus systems to switch to biodiesel and recycled fuel oil. Not only does it reduce waste, but it creates a fuel out of oil that would be thrown away. If the oil is taken from the schools, it saves the schools money both for the fuel oil and in waste removal costs.

The best situation is for there to be more diversity in the fuel systems. If there is a diversity of engines set up for biodiesel, ethanol, gasoline, low-sulfur diesel, electric, natural gas, hydrogen, and others, then we could significantly reduce the dependence on gas.

[miamivicefan]

It would be great if this year, many more school systems and municipal bus systems to switch to biodiesel and recycled fuel oil. Not only does it reduce waste, but it creates a fuel out of oil that would be thrown away. If the oil is taken from the schools, it saves the schools money both for the fuel oil and in waste removal costs.

The best situation is for there to be more diversity in the fuel systems. If there is a diversity of engines set up for biodiesel, ethanol, gasoline, low-sulfur diesel, electric, natural gas, hydrogen, and others, then we could significantly reduce the dependence on gas.

[Nitro]

If the oil is taken from the schools, it saves the schools money both for the fuel oil and in waste removal costs.

[Captain Worley]

It would really help reduce our consumption if everyone rode those old Honda 50 stepp throughs. IIRC, they got close to 130mpg, although you couldn't go much faster than 35 or so.

[snoogit]

You can't use the term realistic, and reducing dependence in one sentence.

The truth is any change we have to make will end up being drastic and extremely expensive. There's really no way around it. If we do not adapt quickly the more expensive, and the more drastic it will be.

The biggest change will be getting rid of the idea that everyone needs their own vehicle. We just wont have the energy capacity to have this luxury. We have to rebuild our former infrastructure of rails, and streetcars. Abandon the trucking industry, and return to a PreWW2 infrastructure. That means more Railroads, and fewer Walmarts. More multi unit condos, and fewer McHomes.

"Realistic" isn't possible. "Realistic" means keeping things the status-quo. We might be able to sustain our current living style for 10 maybe 20 years at most, and even by then it will have diminished considerably. We can no longer take baby steps, we have to take big-boy steps now. Perhaps the biggest solution to the energy crisis isn't an invention waiting to be made yet. It's something you've had all along. Just look down at your new mode of transportation, because your two feet are going to have to serve you well for a good portion of the rest of your life.

My advice? Move into the city if you can. because that 2500 sq ft single family home you bought 5 years ago will end up with more then one family in it in 20 years time. It might be your kids and their families all in one house, or your neighbors all cramming into a single home leveling their own houses for farm land.Hydrogen needs fossil fuels to be useful. Its not viable. All the veggie oil in the world wont save us.

There really is only one good answer: Better start walking.

[Captain Worley]

^I don't think it's that bad.

I think fusion power will be up and viable within 30-50 years, people will probably grow some brains about McMansions, and smaller cars will become more popular. Fossil fuel will probably still be wih us for a long time.

I'm not sure about moving to cities. It takes a lot of energy and infrastructure to run them. We do, as a society, need to simplify our lives though. I'm amazed at all the crud I have, and I don't even have cells, beepers, blackberries, Ipods, etc, tht so many seem to have. Its nuts.

[runawayjim]

^I don't think it's that bad.

I think fusion power will be up and viable within 30-50 years, people will probably grow some brains about McMansions, and smaller cars will become more popular. Fossil fuel will probably still be wih us for a long time.

I'm not sure about moving to cities. It takes a lot of energy and infrastructure to run them. We do, as a society, need to simplify our lives though. I'm amazed at all the crud I have, and I don't even have cells, beepers, blackberries, Ipods, etc, tht so many seem to have. Its nuts.

[Captain Worley]

if more people lived in cities and less moved to teh suburbs, there'd be less sprawl and more use of mass transit. while cities do take a lot of energy and infrastructure to keep them going, it's all used more efficiently than the amount used to keep suburbs going. a city of 100k requires roads just like a town of 5k. the roads cost the same to build and require the same maintenance. the amount of energy used per person is a lot less in a city than it is in a suburban or rural town.

[runawayjim]

I've seen studies that go both ways on whether a large city is more efficient than many small towns. The roads in cities require more maintenance because of heavier usage and must be more robustly designed for more frequent heavy loads. IMO, its pretty much a wash, and boils down to personal preferences.

[Captain Worley]

ok, road usage aside, there's still the issue of energy. on a per person basis, the amount spent on maintenance and energy used is less in a densely populated city than in a not-so-densely populated suburb. in that respect, more people living in cities than in rural and suburban areas is better for the environment and will cause us to use less energy.

[runawayjim]

No, that's not quite true either. The only time a high rise building makes sense over many smaller building (construction cost wise) is when land is incredibly rare and expensive, like Manhattan. Maintenance costs are higher on high rises because of higher spec materials used, and required by code. Energy use overall per square foot is a little lower for mutli story buildings, but not enough to offset the other costs.

There's a reason for sprawl, its cheaper to build. I don't like it, but that's the way it is.

BTW, I really like the upgrades

[miamivicefan]

^I don't think it's that bad.

I think fusion power will be up and viable within 30-50 years, people will probably grow some brains about McMansions, and smaller cars will become more popular. Fossil fuel will probably still be wih us for a long time.

I'm not sure about moving to cities. It takes a lot of energy and infrastructure to run them. We do, as a society, need to simplify our lives though. I'm amazed at all the crud I have, and I don't even have cells, beepers, blackberries, Ipods, etc, tht so many seem to have. Its nuts.