Save Gas, Save Money, Save the Earth

I don't really care about the environment. I waste
gas,water,electricity,and paper. Who cares if the earth gets
damaged years and years after we are all dead? It's not my
problem.

The article talks about cars only. Perhaps promoting a walking
culture (with attendent transit-oriented development) would cut
down gas consumption quite a bit.

KrazyKyngeKorny,My response was intended for VBunton's comment
before your’s (“ People can not and do not cause climate changes”).
Your comment was posted before I uploaded my response to VBunton's
comment. You post didn’t show up on my screen until after my
upload. I support your comment - “Global harming IS a big issue,
and it is happening due to fossil feul usag”- 100%. Sorry about the
misunderstanding.

>>Sorry about the
misunderstanding.<<S'alright!KrazyKyngeKorny(Krazy, not
stupid)

>>It is not helpful to contribute to the myth about globel
harming.<<Lying about the evils of air pollution leads to
those who believe you, ignoring their bad habits- and those of
others.KrazyKyngeKorny (Just krazy. Not stupid)

>>ethanol has improved the environment to
boot.<<But, the message to which I posted implied that this
is lies. I simply said otherwise. Here, you call ME a liar by
aggreing with me. Please read what you are replying to before you
reply. It will make you look far less foolish.Global harming IS a
big issue, and it is happening due to fossil feul usage.Thank you
for confirming my comment.KrazyKyngeKorny (Just krazy. Not
stupid)

I work and live in China. I have the choice to purchase a gas
vehicle or electric. I have decided on the electric. Yes the
battery will need to be properly despose of and that can be done by
any of the electric bike dealer in Yantai. The range on the bike is
only about 16 miles, but the electric scooter gets about 25 miles.
For the bike I will buy an extra battery to get around on and not
have to stop long to change. I think more bikes (peddle or
electric) would be used in the cities if the autorities would make
better bike lanes and wider ones. Let the city tax the gas
vehicles. The system is there already. Just use the cameras at the
stop lights to check the license each day. Tax by the week. Tax by
the month. Tax by the date. If I have to go into the city on my
license plate day and it is not important, I would not
drive.

Was that supposed to be a joke?Brazilian ethanol know-how came
about due their dependency on foreign oil. Brazil once was a
imported oil dependent nation like the U.S.A. Their balance of
payments were far more out of wack than ours because they imported
so much oil (we too import more oil than we drill). When they
switched to ethanol, Brazilians were eventually able to shake their
dependency on foreign oil. Besides helping to improve Brazil’s
balance of payments deficit, ethanol has improved the environment
to boot. Ethanol, when burned in an internal combustion engine,
produces considerably less CO2 than petrol (gasoline) and C O2 is
one of the primary greenhouse gases we have to worry about .
(continued on next post)

(continued from last post)Ethanol not only could help our
balance of payments deficit and produce less CO2, it could help
change our foreign policy, too. Anything that frees us of our
addiction to middle-eastern oil will have a side benefit of
eliminating our need to send our military into harms way in that
area.If we spend a very small fraction of the money that is
currently being spent in Iraq on the development of better
electrical storage devices (batteries?), we could have an
electrical powered car that would go further and cost a whole lot
less to run. Electrical power is still far more efficient than
gasoline powered, fuel cell powered, hybrid powered automobiles. It
also produces far less pollution ( dead battery disposal
notwithstanding) than any other form of power. It is also much
easier to control pollution from a stationary producer (i.e. power
plant) than mobile ones (automobiles).Finally, when I was in junior
high school, President Kennedy set as a national goal for this
country to place a man on the moon before the end of that decade.
We achieved that goal and we could do the same again with global
warming. The longer we put off doing it, the more it will cost but
rest assured, we will have to deal with the problem sooner or
later. If you still don’t think it’s a problem, talk to the Eskimos
in Alaska who are having their homes sink into the sea as the polar
ice caps melt. The days of having a devil may care attitude about
the environment are over. If you have a problem with that, get over
it, get with it or get counseling.

It is not helpful to contribute to the myth about globel
harming. People can not and do not cause climate changes.

>> plastic is made from oil> Plastic is made from the
by-products of oil- > what will not crach into gasoline. It has
no > effect on the gasoline market.*laughs*>> I get 50 mpg
driving to work in my 1997 Geo > Metro> Very likely But,
that's not a Hummer, or big > engine 4wheel drive (which are
gaining in > numbers).SUV sales are WAY down, as are trucks.IMO,
driving an old car that gets 50 (or 40, or 30, for that matter) MPG
is really the best way to cut both personal expense and impact to
the environment, as long as the running gear and smog equiment is
kept in good running order. Bravo, MHagle! :)>> believing
that a few million SUV drivers in >> the US has that large of
an effect on >> world-wide oil prices is short-sighted at
best> No, believing that increasing gasoline > consumption
does NOT hold gasoline prices up is> short sighted. You are
trying to tell me that > gasloine hogs have no effect. Try to
prove it! I'd hate to confuse you with too much reality, but I'll
ask this: why do you suppose that the per-barrel price of oil has
more of an effect on gasoline prices than any other metric? Oh,
that's right, you don't believe that it does. Nevermind. With that,
I am done with this conversation.

I get 50 mpg driving to work in my 1997 Geo Metro. My husband
bought it for me last year when the gas prices went up. He found it
on the Internet for $1600. I love it.I remember in the 70s when
there was an energy crisis. It seems like the general population
took it more seriously than they do now. Why is that?I have been
guilty too. Just last week I thought, "My goodness . . . this is
Texas and it is over 100 degrees outside . . . why not hang my
clothes out on the line? They will dry in about 5 minutes!" So I
found some rope and strung it between a couple of trees.Time to
stop and bring in some sheets and hang out the next load!

> plastic is made from oilPlastic is made from the
by-products of oil- what willnot crach into gasoline. It has no
effect on thegasoline market.> I get 50 mpg driving to work in
my 1997 Geo MetroVery likely But, that's not a Hummer, or big
engine4wheel drive (which are gaining in numbers).> believing
that a few million SUV drivers in the US has> that large of an
effect on world-wide oil prices is> short-sighted at bestNo,
believing that increasing gasoline consumption doesNOT hold
gasoline prices up is short sighted. You aretrying to tell me that
gasloine hogs have no effect.Try to prove
it!KrazyKyngeKorny

> You stated earlier that the "rich" people who >drive
SUVs are the reason oil is so expensive, >which shows a
fundamental misunderstanding of >the oil marketThis proves that
you lack understanding of supply and demend, which is the monetary
rule that drives ALL profit motivated markets, including the oil
market. They are not special, but they act like it. Gas prices are
NOT driven by Arabs. They are driven by how much the American
public will shell out. To deny this does not show sound
reasoning.KrazyKyngeKorny(Just krazy- not stupid)

Then, you are not part of the problem. About the 55mpg? I
believe it. IO had a '51 Chevy (the old small 6cyl- a mid size
model) w/aftermarket OD. It got 45mpg- no acceleration in OD, but
much gas mileage.KrazyKyngeKorny

> Since we created the standard that is causing global>
warming, we need to begin a new standard for> environmentally
friendly means of transportation.You need to convince the oilk
companies and thepoliticians (Republican and Democrat alike. They
areboth invested in oil, oil, and oil. Dubby ain't
alone).KrazyKyngeKorny

One aspect of the problem with rising gas prices that hasn't
been discussed here is the current trend of over a billion Chinese
swapping their bikes for automobiles. As the economies of China and
India continue to advance, more and more of their populations will
opt for the high-life. For years we have set the standards for
extravagant living. One of the side benefits of out-sourcing our
jobs abroad is, as these other countries’ economies improve, all of
us get to pay more for oil.Since we created the standard that is
causing global warming, we need to begin a new standard for
environmentally friendly means of transportation. Good old Yankee
ingenuity got us to where we are today. Maybe it’s time to get
really creative and set a new gold standard for a new millennium.A
video of one such alternative means of transportation, a
human/electric hybrid that is currently available - one that is
both peddled and powered by electricity - can be found here:
http://media.putfile.com/Aerorider . Also, Mother Earth New’s own
3VG, [with upgrading (e.g. Electrically powered using a series of
capacitors? - A capacitor is a device that stores an electrical
charge or energy on it's plates, does not have a liquid medium,
charges in a fraction of the time of a battery, weighs much less
than a battery and can be charged indefinite number of charges)].
Students at Brigham Young University modified GM’s EV1 with a bank
of 160 ultra capacitors and timed on a one-quarter-mile drag strip
at an official competition of the National Electric Drag Racing
Association (NEDRA) to prove the viability of such a system(see:
http://www.earthtoys.com/emagazine.php?issue_number=04.04.01&article=dragster
).These are but two possibilities. The 3VG could become a real
sleeper with some upgrades.

According to a study cited by fueleconomy.gov, "as a rule of
thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like
paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas."Do 55 mph and
accelerate slowly and you're set. I drive a 2-door, Hyundai Accent,
manual, and my record is 55 miles per gallon (yes, fifty-five,
that's not a
typo).(http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml , last
accessed 26-08-2006)

Heh. What about the rich who buy gas guzzlers? The last I
checked, the US was a free country, and we can usually buy what we
want if we can afford it. Even though I disagree with those who buy
SUVs for no good reason, I defend their right to do so. I know I
don't want to live in a place where I am told I can only buy
certain products - that's a very dangerous place.You stated earlier
that the "rich" people who drive SUVs are the reason oil is so
expensive, which shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the oil
market.Besides, this isn't about being frugal, necessarily; some of
us actually care about the environment, and ensuring a clean, safe
future for our children.

>> You stated earlier that the "rich" people who >>
drive SUVs are the reason oil is so expensive, >> which shows
a fundamental misunderstanding of >> the oil
market--------------------> This proves that you lack
understanding of supply and demend, which is the monetary rule that
drives ALL profit motivated markets, including the oil
market.TBeasley already rebutted for me as far as the developing
world going for gas-powered vehicles, but also consider that
plastic is made from oil, and people from all over the world crave
more and more exotic things from other corners of the planet, which
needs to be shipped, which takes a great deal of oil. And those are
but a few reasons why oil prices are up, without even touching on
speculators in the market, and perceived scarcity of the product in
question.> Gas prices are NOT driven by Arabs. They are driven
by how much the American public will shell out. To deny this does
not show sound reasoning. Reason has little to do with this
conversation. Ignoring what the developing world is doing, and
believing that a few million SUV drivers in the US has that large
of an effect on world-wide oil prices is short-sighted at
best.FWIW, my car gets its best mileage between 60 and 75 mph, and
NO A/C. ;)