Archive for December, 2008

5 Simple, Straightforward and Sane Gas Savings Tips

Gas Prices
Gas Prices

Gas prices have recently dropped with our slowing economy. At roughly $1.70 a gallon, it has been a minor relief for our pocket books. Yet OPEC recently cut production, which will cause prices to rise in the near term.

OPEC’s price targets will matter less as production itself becomes challenged, no matter how much they want to produce.

Yields Are Still Declining

The world’s mature oil fields that produce most of the world’s oil face production declines, with the prime fields showing a declining yield. Although oil exploration has been a priority, new infrastructure will be a long time coming before it can reach more recent finds like the Tupi field off Brazil’s coast.

Read more »

7 Obscure Biofuel Sources that Could Work But Probably Won’t

Biofuel Conversion
Biofuel Conversion

When it comes to biofuels, the current economic crisis should be the siren song to the most plausible and profitable bio-matter available for manufacturing.

Unfortunately, the most common bio-matter tends to be corn-based or sugarcane-based. Though plentiful, these fuels will not be able to sustain a large portion of the fuel market for a variety of reasons.

We will examine the pros and cons of such biofuel sources as corn, sugar, cellulose, cooking oil, and algae; and of such processes as gasification and bioengineering.

Read more »

Palm Oil is Still Not a Good Biofuel Solution

Palm Trees
Palm Trees

We have been asked on several occasions to follow up on our previous discussion about using palm oil for biofuel, as a sustainable alternative energy resource. We didn’t like it then, and we don’t much like it now. So without further ado, here is a second perspective on palm oil as a biofuel.

What is Palm Oil?

Palm oil is an edible plant oil derived from the fruit of the Arecaceae Elaeis oil palm. It is the world’s second most widely produced vegetable oil, after soybean oil. Apart from consumption, it has also found a new use as a biofuel, a greener alternative to energy sources.

Read more »

A Second Reflection on Energy Bill H.R.6

Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear Power Plant

Energy bill H.R.6 was passed and signed into law by president Bush in December 2007. The bill seeks to establish a comprehensive energy plan for the United States. The bill is aimed at addressing multiple problems facing the country.

  • The dependence on foreign sources for our energy needs which puts the country in a vulnerable position where national security is concerned.
  • The global problem of climate change, of which the United States is one of the largest contributors.
  • The depletion of world energy resources.
  • The U.S. consumes approximately 25% of the worlds oil production yet estimates are that only 2 to 4 percent of the remaining oil reserves are located within the United States.
  • The bill also addresses green job creation.

Read more »

Wind Power Development in the United Kingdom (UK)

Wind Power Turbine
Wind Turbine

Currently, 1.5% of UK power is provided by wind and it is estimated that by the year 2010, that will have increased to 8%. Current provisions for this new capacity are both on and off shore power sites (off shore sites are extremely useful in generating power as they have unlimited waves & tidal energy).

February 2007 allowed for the opening of the Braes O’Doune wind farm with a capacity of 2GW of power. In fact, in the last 7 years, wind has been the fastest growing energy source. At this time there are approximately 269 farms providing enough power for 4,759,898 households.

Read more »