Tank on empty -- how far can your car go on an empty tank? Basically a collection of statistics and stories from users on just how far they pushed their car on reserve fuel. (via)
posted on May 8, 2008 - View this thread

How far away from work do you live? How much of your pay gets used up to get you to and from work, get you around town, and pay for where you live? As gas and food prices continue to rise, "affordability" has become a more critical notion for everyday Americans. The Center for Neighborhood Technology developed their Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, which aims to help better inform renters and owners about the relationship of transportation options to where one lives.
posted on Apr 28, 2008 - View this thread

The Burning Crater of Darvaza. [Via.]
posted on Mar 26, 2008 - View this thread

The Tata Nano (pic) is a car that costs less new than the amount I've spent on gas during single car trips, recently announced to the auto market in India. The Chery QQ ^, successful , widely exported, and recognized as the Hostage Taker's Vehicle of Choice by China Car Times, is the runner-up for the world's cheapest car but is still approximately twice as expensive. Yes indeed, the price of gas is not going to come back down. So much for my coast-to-coast road trips.
posted on Feb 3, 2008 - View this thread

A two-ton 21-mpg 8-passenger V8 Chevy Tahoe? America, meet your 2008 Green Car of the Year!
posted on Nov 27, 2007 - View this thread

As crude hit an all time high at $96.40US per barrel this week, prices increase at pumps across the US. Regular self-serve rose 9 cents to an average of $2.80 per gallon in 11 Texas cities this week, a price of €0.51 per litre. Even Arab nations are feeling the pinch; in Syria, subsidised fuel prices were increased by 20% to €0.74 per litre. This price is "still low compared to world prices", though. The Automobile Association has a handy reference chart for Europe: drivers in the UK are paying an average of €1.37, and Danes €1.40. Latvia, though, is a European bargain at just €1.00 per litre.
posted on Nov 2, 2007 - View this thread

Photos of WWI poison gas and flamethrowers.
posted on Sep 14, 2007 - View this thread

A bunch of natural gas canisters blew up near downtown Dallas today. Eyewitness video!
posted on Jul 25, 2007 - View this thread

The Language of Farting
posted on Jul 18, 2007 - View this thread

gas: tractor pulls and demolition derbies. Music, a bar graph, and a clown [youtube]
posted on Jan 15, 2007 - View this thread

CitizenRe is a solar power rental company for the home. Free to install (!), a monthly rental fee is equal to what would normally be paid to the power company. Video.
posted on Jan 11, 2007 - View this thread

Wayne Gerdes, king of the hypermilers
posted on Jan 3, 2007 - View this thread

A study released by CERA has some interesting tidbits: the average motorist in 2005 used 703 gallons of gas, and drove 40 percent more than 25 years ago; the US has 1,148 registered personal vehicles for every 1,000 licensed drivers; the percentage of vehicles that are SUVs (including minivans and light trucks) is slowly going down from 55% in 2005 to 53% in 2006; the average fuel consumption for all vehicles is 19.8 mpg in 2005, a drop from when it peaked at 20.2 in 2001; and the share of U.S. household budgets going to gasoline and oil has has been relatively stable for decades, at about 3.8 percent in 2006.
posted on Dec 1, 2006 - View this thread

Thomas Friedman:

The First Law of Petropolitics, in short, argues that the price of oil and the pace of freedom operate in an inverse correlation. As the price of oil goes up in what I call petroauthoritarian states—like Iran, Sudan, Venezuela—the pace of freedom goes down. These regimes can afford to be less responsive to their people and outside pressure. And as the price of oil goes down, the pace of freedom goes up because these regimes have to open up to the world if they want to deliver for their people, and they have to empower their people more.

But how to lower oil prices and help freedom on its proverbial march? Many, from Alan Greenspan to Andrew Sullivan to Ray Magliozzi from Car Talk think the answer may be to . . . raise the gas tax? The Pigou Club is an ever-updated list of economists, politicians and others who have advocated Pigouvian (or is it Pigovian?) taxes to not only lower oil prices, but reduce greenhouse gases, fix the federal deficit and strengthen our national security. Though some remain more than a little hesitant to jump on the bandwagon and others remain skeptical that the movement is anything more than "just talk," this could be an idea whose time has come, especially since the gas tax isn't as regressive one would think.
posted on Oct 25, 2006 - View this thread

Green Nazis.
posted on Oct 24, 2006 - View this thread

the new urban jungle . . . is a growing movement led by cities like San Francisco, New York, and Leiden to restore active and vibrant natural systems in urban areas. Far from the eden-like depictions of nature of yesteryear, i.e. the garden of earthly delights (nonetheless, still attracting some dynamic new christian converts), the movement has morphed into today's backyard and grassroots environmental movement which is more and more a picture of hybridity, compromise, mixed-use, and ultimately, taking nature out of the walled islands of zoos, aquaria, national parks and other thick-walled institutions and offering a different kind of everyday "unmediated" community experience with the new urban wilderness. VIDEO LINK
posted on Jul 6, 2006 - View this thread

You may have known that Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA) has been a crusader for many great causes, such as HB 145, HB 180, HB 425, HB 500 and HB 637. However you may not have know that he has a second love. Which shines some light on why he has chosen to use his extensive knowledge and experience to co-sponsor H.Con.Res. 11 and H.Con.Res. 12. After listening to him explain why these two resolutions are so critical, I was almost swayed.
posted on Jun 16, 2006 - View this thread

The Gas Price Temperature Map is a neat little Javascript feature that tells you how screwed you are next time you fill up at the pump in the lower 48.
posted on Apr 20, 2006 - View this thread

Iraq - All oil, no gas. A consortium of 34 Turkish companies have joined together to stop all exports of petrol / refined oil products to Iraq, because Iraq's government owes them over $1 billion that they have so far been unable to pay. Iraq's largest refinery was forced to shut down in December, after its truck drivers walked off the job due to insurgent threats. They reopened ten days later, only to shut down again after an insurgent swarm attack killed and wounded more drivers. The refinery has once more ceased activity, as their reserves of refined fuel are full and there is no way to get them to their customers. Iraq's diesel-driven power plants are undersupplied too, leading to worsening outages.
posted on Jan 22, 2006 - View this thread

The Acoustics of Gases. The high-pitched version of your voice that you hear when you inhale helium represents a cool principle. Unlike the speed of light, the speed of sound is quite sensitive to the composition of the medium that it travels through. A gas such as helium that is much less dense than the air we normally breathe and hear in will actually cause the speed of sound to increase, a phenomenon that we perceive as a Chipmunks-like change in pitch. A couple of scientists have used this relationship between sound frequency and gas composition to invent an acoustic device for monitoring the gas composition of air. Of course , if you're a canary this is nothing new.
posted on Oct 25, 2005 - View this thread

Running on Fumes -- a fascinating essay by the Nation's Sasha Abramsky on what rising gas prices will do to poor exurban communities.
posted on Oct 4, 2005 - View this thread

Petroleum Industry Christmas Wishlist Conservative pundits are quick to point out that no "new refineries have been built since 1976", and even quicker to blame "environmentalists". But the facts just don't support that. Refiners have chosen the environment that they do business in, and in some cases have willingly contributed to it. (Plenty of data here.) Here's why:

• The government has allowed the industry to merge, consolidate, and restrict refining capacity, thus impacting pricing, supply, and demand.
• The quest for profits has caused the need to run extremely lean supplies (ie. no stockpiles of crude - it arrives when you need it, not before) and has resulted in susceptability to wild volatility in prices, but has allowed refiners to operate at very high efficiency but with no margin of excess capacity for temporary shortages, disasters, etc.
• Oil refiners trimmed back capacity after the Oil Crash of the early 1980s and have been unwilling to reinvest in new technologies unless environmental restrictions and local fuel cleanliness mandates are reduced.

As one would expect, Bush's solutions nicely match up with the wishlists of OPEC and US refiners, who in the past few decades have largely undone the breakup of Standard Oil (via) via mergers and joint ventures. Representative Joe Barton, (R-TX), Chairperson of the Energy and Commerce Committee, incidentally up for reelection and well funded, by "the industry" through various Political Action Committees, has released a draft of the predictably named (to be found here when released) Gasoline for America's Security Act of 2005 (committee discusion and webcast are scheduled for 9/28 at 8 am.) Given that new refineries are years away, there is still no solution for current prices or the (90%?) increase in prices since January of 2001.
posted on Sep 27, 2005 - View this thread

Fed up with paying exorbitant prices for fuel? Try Petrol Direct - fuel delivered straight to your door!
posted on Sep 16, 2005 - View this thread

Oil companies, not environmentalists behind refinery shortages. The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) today exposed internal oil company memos that show how the industry intentionally reduced domestic refining capacity to drive up profits. Internal memos from Mobil, Chevron, and Texaco show different ways the oil giants closed down refining capacity and drove independent refiners out of business. In related news, petroleum industry analyst Tim Hamilton showed that from January 17th to April 18th 2005 gasoline prices jumped 65 cents per gallon and refiner profits rose [pdf] by 61 cents per gallon.
posted on Sep 7, 2005 - View this thread

I can't afford my gasoline.
posted on Sep 7, 2005 - View this thread

"Every night MSN Autos analyzes prices from over 90,000 gas stations across the nation to show you gas prices in your neighborhood ....Don't eally know if this is as up to date as it says it is. Put in a zip code you know and see what you think. After loading a page you have to scroll down to the bottom to see the local gas station data. A timely link for U.S. readers.
posted on Sep 1, 2005 - View this thread

Resource wars and gas rations, what will be next ? I bet you didn't know we gobble oil like two-legged SUV's.
posted on Aug 31, 2005 - View this thread

Gas Money (mp3) Time for somebody to remake this novelty surf/car tune into a top 40 hit again.. ? JAN & ARNIE'S rocker from 1958. A perennial favorite covered by goofball/ garage bands like the Rip Chords, the Skeletons (a.k.a the Morrells), Cousin Al and the Relatives, and the Inner City Unit Above. ... to commemorate the new Gas Crisis. It must suck to be a Hummer Owner. ... unless it's the "Hydrogen Hummer". More covers of the song listed here.
posted on Aug 28, 2005 - View this thread

Gas prices too high? Try Europe. $7 a gallon? That's what drivers in Amsterdam pay. But Europeans have long adapted to high prices.
posted on Aug 28, 2005 - View this thread

Never use a debit card to pay at the pump: "Each day millions of Americans use their debit card at gas stations to "pay at the pump." What you probably do not know is gas stations have the right to overcharge you a certain amount to ensure they get their money. Each gas station decides how much to overcharge and hold on your account. Some put a $75 or $100 hold on the account while others only hold $5 or $10. But, these stations also decide how long to hold that money. Some hold the money for up to three days. . ." How is this even legal? Am I the last schmuck in the U.S. to find out about this? I just found out that Sam's Club (for example) charges $50 and deposits your change three days later.
posted on Jun 19, 2005 - View this thread

If you own a gas-guzzling SUV, Uncle Sam just might pay for your gas...that is if you use it 100% for business.
posted on Apr 25, 2005 - View this thread

A nice spread of oft maligned British food left me wondering (after a tidy breakfast of bangers and mash) if Beano was an English creation -- flatulence and all that (watch out for the first mp3) -- but apparently it isn't: the inventor appears to be American. According to this author, Henri Cartier-Bresson termed Britain "the most exotic place in the world," and I think I agree. Probably this tastes fabulous if you're hungry... please make mine well-done.
posted on Feb 20, 2005 - View this thread

Real-Time Biological Natural Gas Generation. A research lab has discovered that microbes living in Wyoming's Powder River Basin are generating methane (natural gas) through their natural metabolism of local coal beds. In relation to the many Peak Oil discussions here, could be way to get more energy for the future. (via SpaceDaily.com)
posted on Nov 17, 2004 - View this thread

Most of us are whiners, blaming circumstances for our failings; a precious few function in a self-sufficient bubble and able to shape their circumstances, never accepting the role of being a victim. Inder Parmar is such a man.
posted on Jul 31, 2004 - View this thread

Iraqis Paying 5 Cents a Gallon for Gas While Americans are shelling out record prices for fuel, Iraqis pay only about 5 cents a gallon for gasoline — a benefit of hundreds of millions of dollars subsidies bankrolled by American taxpayers
posted on Jun 7, 2004 - View this thread

Sarin gas bomb used in Iraq... Could this be the beginning of chemical warfare by the insurgents? Sarin is a particularly nasty one too that has been previously used by terrorists. Did the CIA actually call it correctly?
posted on May 17, 2004 - View this thread

The gas shortage won't get better. Paid more at the pump recently? I hope you don't drive an SUV -- things could get really painful really fast. Demand is always increasing for gasoline, but now we're hitting a point where refineries can't actually refine enough gas to meet demand, and very few places in the world can supply gasoline that meets our environmental standards.
posted on May 3, 2004 - View this thread

The Poop on Poop [an A to Z courtesy of Vice]
posted on Dec 28, 2003 - View this thread

Global warming will never bring a "doomsday scenario" a team of Swedish scientists say -- because oil and gas are running out much faster than thought. Oil production levels will hit their maximum soon after 2010. "The decline of oil and gas will affect the world population more than climate change."
posted on Oct 3, 2003 - View this thread

Phoenix runs out of gas. In a scene reminiscent of the 70's, the entire PHX area is queued up, waiting in line for gas. Since Sunday, when this began in earnest, prices have shot up something like 50% to somewhere in between $2 and $3/gallon for unleaded. Apparently, it doesn't take much to throw off a city like Phoenix's gas supply -- a pipeline that linked Tucson to the greater PHX metro area had to be shut down earlier this month, cutting off a major supply of precious petrol from El Paso. Panic buying ensued, throwing the whole system into total chaos. Think alternative fuel is the answer? Just ask 'Propane Jane.'
posted on Aug 19, 2003 - View this thread

$400 Dollars (yes, that's four hundred) is the price per gallon of gas for our military. The cost of moving fuel to a war theater can boost its price to about $10 dollars per gallon. And if it has to be airlifted in, that price tag can reach $400 dollars a gallon or more. This story is the opening piece on this week's edition of Living on Earth on NPR. Read the transcript here, or listen via MP3 or Real Player.
posted on Apr 12, 2003 - View this thread

Military use of Gas
Top US military planners are preparing for the US to use incapacitating biochemical weapons in an invasion of Iraq. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed the plans in February 5th testimony before the US House Armed Services Committee. This is the first official US acknowledgement that it may use (bio)chemical weapons in its crusade to rid other countries of such weapons.

Would someone explain to me again why we're attacking Iraq? Was it something about use and/or possession of chemical weapons?
posted on Mar 21, 2003 - View this thread

Staten Island oil and gas facility on fire...
The BBC reports that a massive explosion has struck an oil and gas facility on Staten Island, on the outskirts of New York City.
posted on Feb 21, 2003 - View this thread

Beyond petroleum? British Petroleum’s recent $200-million makeover into sunny-logoed bp seems to respond to mounting concerns over pollution, global warming, and wars for oil. By advocating alternatives to the very product that has made it the world’s seventh-largest company, it also seems like economic suicide. In accordance with their environmental goals, they've helped release bald eagles in Manhattan and bring solar power to rural Tibet, but many remain unconvinced. Each bp ad ended with the same tagline: “It’s a start.” Is it?
posted on Dec 19, 2002 - View this thread

Sure, we all know the story about how Detroit developed, and then kept under wraps, a 100mpg carburetor is false. However, affordable 80mpg family sedans are real: behold the Supercar! They are the results of a nearly decade-long partnership between The Big Three and the Clinton administration. However the program was quietly shelved last June, the victim of the Bush administration, and corporate backpedaling. Read the whole sordid tale here. [use username/password for login] In the meantime, you'll have to settle for one of these.
posted on Dec 13, 2002 - View this thread

Burmese villagers sue Unocal in an L.A. courtroom. The villagers are charging that Unocal is responsible for human-rights abuses committed by the Burmese military along the company's $1.2 billion Yadana gas pipeline. Here's a Unocal website responding to the suit. And the Free Burma Coalition's Unocal Page.
posted on Oct 21, 2002 - View this thread

VW introduces a car that gets around 235 miles per gallon (1 liter per 100km).
When should we expect Ford to release a commercial in which the newest heir to the auto dynasty relates how his father shot bears with Einstein and was told by him, in confidence, that he thought small cars were for whiny little babies?
posted on Apr 17, 2002 - View this thread

Cow Belching and it's effect on the Environment. Not only is it rude, but it also bad for the environment.
posted on Dec 5, 2001 - View this thread

Gas prices did in fact spike to $5.00 a gallon in some areas of St. Louis, Kansas City and Oklahoma. All Conoco stations that have spiked their prices will have their licenses immediately revoked. Avis still hasn't responded to their price gouging around midwest airports.
posted on Sep 11, 2001 - View this thread

Unocal seems responsible for driving up gas prices by taking shameless advantage of regulations and patent law. Why did our government get ambushed by a basic loophole that any first-year lawyer would think of? Maybe it's involved with too many things to do anything right?
posted on Aug 29, 2001 - View this thread