Gas prices

[AlpineK]

Right now you have to search hard to find diesel of any variety less than $4/gal.

 

Well you still get better gas mileage with most diesels.

 

And although this isn't a practical solution for the average person, you can convert a diesel to take waste oil (think McDonald's grease) that you can get for free. Costs around $1000 to convert, then you just have to go get yer grease... Or you can buy fresh veggie oil for $2/gallon at Costco. Ever hear of the "Veggie Van" guy...he drove around the country in his vehicle fueled solely on post-consumer oil (used fast-food grease). Yes, another mention...he's the guy who made the documentary Fields of Fuel that's coming out soon.

 

I was burning biodiesel in work vehicles 5 years ago. The main reason I did it was doing work where you stand behind a machine spitting out exhaust for 4 hours a day you start thinking about the amount of pollutants your sucking down your lungs. But that doesn't mean I buy into the whole bio/global warming line. A boatload of CO2 gets produced from production of biodiesel.

 

We as a country need to do something so we can burn something that we produce and doesn't spit out as much CO2 as regular or bio produces.

 

I like the talk I've heard about algae, and I think some aspects of the biodiesel movement are good, but I don't buy into the biodiesel is the future argument.

[Hugh Conway]

applied to politics...well.... applied to politics it has no meaning.

 

I believe it's meaning is "Bush Pioneer"

[Dechristo]

applied to politics...well.... applied to politics it has no meaning.

 

I believe it's meaning is "Bush Pioneer"

 

Early on, much of my politicking was fueled by the desire for pioneering bush.

[murraysovereign]

Something to consider: diesels contribute to global warming more than high mileage gasoline cars (Honda civics, etc), despite their slightly better mileage overall, due to very high particulates. Unfortunately, biodiesel, while it produces reduced greenhouse gases, still produces large amounts of these particulates. This is a big problem in Europe, which has switched a large portion of its vehicles to diesel.

 

Particulate is not a greenhouse gas. Particulate is fine particles of soot that remain suspended in the air. And being so fine, when inhaled they tend to lodge deep in the lungs and accumulate there. This causes respiratory problems like asthma and, in extreme cases, black lung. So particulate is a concern particularly in urban areas because concentrations can get quite high, and pose a significant health risk. It's also a component of visible smog. But it's got nothing to do with global warming.

Edited March 15, 2008 by murraysovereign

[murraysovereign]

Also keep in mind that it takes 25% more crude oil to refine a gallon of diesel than gas, so, if one is concerned about oil depletion/consumption, gas mileage for diesel vehicles should be downgraded by 20% to compare with gas vehicles.

 

Not exactly. In refining a barrel of oil, a certain amount of gasoline is produced - let's say 30 gallons although I don't know the exact ratios. Additionally, another 15 gallons of diesel is produced from the same barrel of oil. It isn't an either/or process. If you're refining oil to make gasoline, you're going to get the diesel anyway as a byproduct. So you might as well use it, right? And since diesel contains something like 15% more energy per unit than gasoline, and since diesel engines are mechanically more efficient than gasoline engines, they're able to do considerably more work per unit of fuel and thus produce significantly less greenhouse gas emissions per unit of work. And when you're finished doing all that work you've still 30 gallons of gasoline kicking around somewhere, because you didn't need it for your diesel engine.

[tvashtarkatena]

Something to consider: diesels contribute to global warming more than high mileage gasoline cars (Honda civics, etc), despite their slightly better mileage overall, due to very high particulates. Unfortunately, biodiesel, while it produces reduced greenhouse gases, still produces large amounts of these particulates. This is a big problem in Europe, which has switched a large portion of its vehicles to diesel.

 

Particulate is not a greenhouse gas. Particulate is fine particles of soot that remain suspended in the air. And being so fine, when inhaled they tend to lodge deep in the lungs and accumulate there. This causes respiratory problems like asthma and, in extreme cases, black lung. So particulate is a concern particularly in urban areas because concentrations can get quite high, and pose a significant health risk. It's also a component of visible smog. But it's got nothing to do with global warming.

 

While it's obvious to most that particulates are not gases, they do contribute to global warming, hence my previous post.

 

CA EPA summary

 

This is a short summary of health/environmental effects of diesel particulates. Note the last last bullet identifying diesel particulates as a potent contributor to global warming.

Edited March 15, 2008 by tvashtarkatena

[KaskadskyjKozak]

"social engineering"

applied to politics...well.... applied to politics it has no meaning.

 

yes, it does have a meaning.

 

[tvashtarkatena]

"social engineering"

applied to politics...well.... applied to politics it has no meaning.

 

yes, it does have a meaning.

 

Why don't you write the Turel Corporation and inform them of your concerns.

[Hugh Conway]

applied to politics...well.... applied to politics it has no meaning.

 

I believe it's meaning is "Bush Pioneer"

 

Early on, much of my politicking was fueled by the desire for pioneering bush.

 

exploring untrodden bush gets old. blazed paths are much more hospitable.

[Dechristo]

Subsequently, as I learned.

[rbw1966]

Wheat prices are going up as a result of increased demand but also in part because farmers are planting corn for ethanol and giving up wheat as a crop.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/business/worldbusiness/09crop.html