The Republican Party wants to make oil the critical issue in the 2008 election. But the misdirected focus will be a fatal flaw for the Republicans if they stick to the “oil or nothing” strategy.
Gas costs have skyrocketed, and with them, the cost of flying. This greenie isn’t 100% upset: with the cost of fuel increasing exponentially in the past few years, people are examining their transportation patterns and needs and trying to find cost- and fuel-effective methods of getting from Point A to Point B. Smaller, more fuel-efficient cars are selling well, and ridership on public transit is up. But for many Americans, particularly those in smaller cities and towns, public transit is non-existent. For those living anywhere but the East Coast, Amtrak is slow, unreliable, or non-existent. We’re a country for whom the cost of cheap fuel has promoted individual car use to the detriment of other forms of transportation.
Editor’s Note: This post is a guest contribution by Anthony Cefali.
Idealism aside, the BlueEFFICIENCY technology at least green in nature. The four-cylinder 200 horsepower diesel engine keeps the performance integrity of a Mercedes vehicle with a 45 mile-per-gallon economy. I do not drive a Mercedes, probably never will, but I do feel that 0-60 in 7 seconds is respectable for a car that is meant to save gas (most Prius driver’s brag that their car will hit 60 in under ten seconds). The cars eco-rating is awfully high. It complies with the European Union’s current emissions standards and is expected to meet the next revision of standards as well. The engine is presently being equipped to its latest C250 model.
A print advertisement in the March 1976 National Geographic Magazine shows two 1976 Honda Civics, hatchbacks of somewhat putrid brown and goldish tones.
The headline of the ad says, “Highest mileage or lowest price. The 1976 Honda Civics.”
A chart in the ad says that the average sedan or hatchback with a manual 4- or 5-speed transmission (costing only $2,729) reached EPA estimates of 43 miles per gallon on the highway, 32 in the city and 36 mpg combined.
And where are we today? What has happened in 32 years of American “progress,” “advancements in technology” and “economic growth” (well, until these last several years)?
As Ike closes in, drilling platforms in the gulf have been evacuated, refineries closed and now the Port of Houston is closed. MSNBC reports:
Exxon Mobil, Valero Energy, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil are among the companies halting operations as the storm closed in. Refineries on the upper Texas coast account for one-fifth of U.S. refining capacity.
In the week prior to landfall the energy and economic impact of Ike began [...]
Don’t go breathing too big a sigh of relief that gas prices have come down so much from their historic peaks this summer: it doesn’t mean another peak (as in Peak Oil) isn’t still on its way. Richard Heinberg, senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute, explains why brilliantly in a commentary titled, “The Dress Rehearsal is Over.”
In other words, [...]
I heard the news today, oh boy.
First let me say that I know gas prices are high. I know that not everyone can easily absorb the high prices. But, I thought that we were adjusting…weren’t we adjusting? People are actually driving less, and are turning in their SUVs for more fuel-efficient cars. These were positive steps.
And then, someone (he whose name we do not speak aloud) suggested opening up our coastal waters to drilling and all heck has broken loose. Never mind that the amount of oil available offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a drop in the bucket compared to demand. Never mind that at best, drilling there will lower gas prices by a few cents, many years from now. Never mind that protections for our unspoiled spaces are always so hard fought for, but so easily given away.
According to Businessweek, Ford lists a littany of excuses why they could never market this car in the US. Chief among these excuses is that they don’t think they could ever sell enough of them to make a profit. Ford says that in order to produce them for the US market they’d have to build a new plant and then make at least 350,000 of them a year.
If there’s no way to make a profit on these cars and Americans won’t buy them, why are so many European and Asian car makers bringing these new “clean diesels” to the U.S. starting next year? When I see news that Mercedes, Nissan, Volkswagen and even Honda are all building clean diesel cars with excellent fuel economy for the US market, Ford’s excuses start to seem pretty hollow.
Following in lock step, Chrysler has screwed the pooch like every other American car company over the last 5 years by completely ignoring the market for fuel efficient vehicles.
While both GM and Ford have finally reacted to this plight by beginning drastic company-wide overhauls from the ground up, I’ve been left wondering: does Chrysler still know that they’re losing money?
The issue stems from activist and Green Party candidate for Washington governor Duff Badgley’s attempts to drive customers away from a new biofuel station in northwest Seattle. Allegedly Badgley and his group, One Earth, have been harassing customers by taking pictures of their license plates and passing out leaflets that proclaim biofuels as a “scourge on humankind.”
Biofuels certainly have a hard row to hoe in terms of reaching sustainability, and the activists have some valid concerns, but a “scourge on humanity”? Really? It’s almost laughable.
An August 29th article on Science Daily explains how hurricane’s Katrina and Rita can give us insight into some offshore drilling issues should Gustav cause damage in the Gulf of Mexico. The findings of Dr. Satish Nagarajaiah, Rice University professor, studied the damage to offshore drilling platforms following the 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As the offshore drilling debate persists and Gustav travels through the Gulf of Mexico this weekend Dr. Nagarajaiah’s findings provide important information to consider as we watch the prices at the pump in the aftermath of Gustav.
Both Katrina and Rita were category 5 hurricanes and each one caused damage to an estimated 3,000 oil platforms and 22,000 miles of pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. The following damage is recorded:
- 52 platforms with major damage
- 19 of the floating drill units exposed to hurricane force winds went adrift or were damaged
- 115 platforms destroyed
- Eight rigs destroyed
- 535 pipeline segments damaged
Dr. Nagarajaiah explains that the rigs and platforms may have ongoing damage due to past storms, making them more susceptible to current and future storm surge and wind damage. If and when damage occurs to these platforms, equipment and pipelines the potential for more increases at the pump becomes greater and greater. This Science Daily article states:
When Katrina and Rita struck, gas prices soared as a result of damage to oil facilities. With oil prices at all-time highs this year, U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has a direct impact on gasoline prices.
Subscribe to our RSS feed or newsletter
Some Rights Reserved • Green Options Media • San Francisco, California • Legal
