OPEC announced Friday it will reduce oil production by 1.5 million barrels a day because of the global slowdown of oil demand. This could drive gas prices back up, but that might not be such a bad thing.

The New York Times reported that the emergency meeting ended with the decision to reduce OPEC output by 5 percent, which is 2 percent of the overall global consumption of oil, starting Nov.1.

Oil prices are trading below $64 a barrel, down from $145 a barrel in July.

The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer, but demand in the U.S. for oil is down and the lowest in five years. Last month it fell to 18.6 million barrels a day according to the Department of Energy.

As of Monday, gas now averages $2.66 a gallon, down from $4.11 on July 17. OPEC seems desperate to keep gas prices up.

Although this might seem bad for the economy to raise gas prices, it might be the best thing for the environment and green energy movement. When gas prices were high Americans started limiting their gasoline consumption and went to more earth-friendly forms of transportation such as biking, carpooling, taking the bus, walking, or even planning their trips more efficiently. Hopefully the fall of gas prices won’t revert those who now think more about their gasoline consumption.   

Don’t celebrate the low prices at the pump just yet.

In a Time article, economists say the cause for the decrease in crude oil prices comes as a result of the economic slowdown experienced worldwide. This happened the last time there was a large-scale economic downswing (in the 1980s), though crude oil prices won’t dip nearly as much as back then given the worldwide increase in gas consumption since then, particularly over the last several years.

The demand for crude oil declined partly because of the increase of unemployment. The Time article said 60 percent of American drivers use their cars to go to work. If fewer people have jobs, fewer people need gas to drive to work.

The low gas prices aren’t necessarily because more oil is being produced; the dip in prices is caused by the worldwide economic downturn. So while it may feel great to finally pay less than $3.00 a gallon, it comes with its own implicit costs, which may be more threatening to our pocketbook in the long run than paying extra for gas.

Drilling for oil in Alaska is among one of the key issues of the political campaigns this year. Each party presents its own justifications for its proposals for ending this spiral of choking gas prices and dependency on foreign oil, but what are they not telling you?

Politicians, economists and that guy sitting in the cubicle across from yours who knows everything about everything, can talk until they’re blue in their faces, but when there’s a division on the economy and the environment, the only answers good enough for both sides are going to come from the numbers. So here they are. Use them for what you will, but that guy, he’ll be hearing from me.

Current Petroleum Consumption

*The U.S. consumes nearly 21 million barrels of petroleum every day – that’s 7.5 billion barrels a year.

*Sixty-six percent of that petroleum is imported.

*At the current pace, the U.S. will spend more than $500 billion on petroleum imports by the end of the year.

Drilling Won’t Solve Our Problems

*A 1998 U.S. Geological Survey estimated recoverable oil from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) would be about 10.4 billion barrels – the equivalent of one and a half years’ current consumption. A more recent study, released by the Department of Energy put recoverable oil between 1.9 billion and 4.3 billion barrels. The report addresses reasons for the discrepancy.

*Fifty-nine billion barrels would be recoverable from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), of which only 18 percent are off limits as per a federal moratorium. According to U.S. Department of Energy studies, lifting this ban would yield 1 percent our current consumption by the year 2030.

*DOE predicts ANWR oil reserves to reduce oil prices by 2 cents per gallon. Combined, lifting the moratoria on the OCS and ANWR would reduce the price by 6 cents, which wouldn’t be seen for another 10 years.

Alternatives Are Possible

*The new fuel-economy standard of 35 miles per gallon, as set by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, is projected to save more than 1.1 million barrels of oil per day in 2020. And people are learning how to make more fuel-efficient cars all the time.

*In time, oil imports could be reduced significantly with an electric public-transportation system and with restructuring urban transport.

*With the increasing production and modification of plug-in cars, vehicles could eventually be powered, at least partly so, from energy obtained through wind turbines. Here’s an article about this very concept.

Although we’ve all had our share of complaints about the gas prices in our country, this growing situation does seem to be getting out of hand. Only a few days ago, I filled up and the price was almost $60! I remember when I was in high school (I graduated in 2003); I could fill up the same car for around $20.

So it’s no surprise the question of offshore drilling in America has been introduced by the 2008 presidential candidates. While John McCain promotes it as something that will “rescue our family budgets,” Obama opposes it. One of his main reasons for opposing offshore drilling is because it will be at least a decade before we can produce usable oil. He also beleives offshore drilling is the wrong emphasis. The focus, in his eyes, should be on renewable energy. 

Even the Energy Information Administration (the energy analysis agency of the U.S. Department of Energy) says that 20 years from now, offshore drilling would produce less that 0.2 percent of world production.

While reading about this issue, I came upon a very interesting opinion piece from Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director and Co-founder of the Center for Economic Policy Research. To read it click here.

What do you think? Is offshore drilling a good idea? Let us know in the comments section below.

Although we’ve all had our share of complaints about the gas prices in our country, this growing situation does seem to be getting out of hand. Only a few days ago, I filled up and the price was almost $60! I remember when I was in high school (I graduated in 2003); I could fill up the same car for around $20.

So it’s no surprise the question of offshore drilling in America has been introduced by the 2008 presidential candidates. While John McCain promotes it as something that will “rescue our family budgets” other organizations such as the Energy Information Administration say that 20 years from now it would produce less that 0.2 percent of world production.

While reading about this issue, I came upon a very interesting opinion piece from Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director and Co-founder of the Center for Economic Policy Research. To read it click here.

What do you think? Is offshore drilling a good idea? Let us know in the comments section below.

Every time a Nissan executive gives a major speech, the automaker sounds more and more serious about electric cars. Last May the company announced plans to be the first automaker to sell a mass-produced all-electric and zero-emission car by 2010 (geez, hurry up and get here already!). But a recent speech from chief executive Carlos Ghosn provided more details.

“I want a pure electric car. I don’t want a range extender. I don’t want another hybrid,” Ghosn said after a dedication ceremony for the automaker’s new North American headquarters in Franklin, Tenn. “It’s not going to be zero emissions in certain conditions. It’s going to be zero emissions.” 

Not only does that statement set a substantial goal, but it’s a challenging distinction between Nissan’s direction and that of General Motors and Toyota, with their focus on gasoline-electric hybrids, which can still use fossil fuels to varying degrees. 

Another Nissan executive, senior vice president for finance Dominique Thormann, stressed that the automaker isn’t on this track for green credibility. Thormann said Nissan won’t sell the cars unless it can do so at an affordable price, and make a profit. 

For decades, Nissan has built reliable, high-quality cars that are fun to drive. The automaker does what it does very well, without overextending itself. I still fondly recall my college car, a Nissan 240SX. Oh, how I would love to have an electric version of that now! 

While many automakers talk green but don't necessarily back it up, I have little or no reason to suspect this from Nissan. If this talk of affordable, zero emissions, all-electric cars comes to fruition, it’ll be a monumental shift for the auto industry. 

Thanks to AutoblogGreen for the head’s up. To read more about Nissan’s plans, check out the two articles below from The New York Times.

Nissan Plans Electric Car in U.S. by ’10

Nissan Says Electric Cars Will Be Quickly Profitable

Reading this article in The New York Times, I was struck by this example of old-think (trucks, SUVs; entrenched executives) vs. new think (small, efficient cars; relatively new chief executive Alan Mulally) at the notoriously financially troubled Ford: 

As recently as 2004, two-thirds of Ford’s United States sales were of truck-based products. Many people in the company were skeptical that Ford could be profitable with more small cars in the showroom.  

But Mr. Mulally has challenged those notions.  

At a town hall-style meeting this year, he expressed frustration when one employee suggested that making small cars was a money-losing proposition.  

“Why can’t we make money on small cars?” Mr. Mulally said, according to two people in attendance. “Do you think Toyota can’t make money on small cars?”  

At virtually every management meeting, Mr. Mulally would repeatedly refer to charts showing that smaller vehicles constituted 60 percent of the global automotive market.  

Each time an executive suggested that Ford’s future lay in expanding its truck business, Mr. Mulally pulled the charts out.  

“Let’s see, the global share of large vehicles is 15 percent,” he said at one such meeting, according to people in attendance. “And you’re telling me you want to invest more in them?”  

Details are few and far between, thus far, but today Ford announced it is shifting its longstanding focus on trucks and SUVs to small cars and crossover vehicles. The automaker will convert three plants in North America from truck and SUV production to produce six new cars, according to this report.

I bought gas last night. Cost me $42.96. Ouch.

When I saw the low-fuel light come on in my 2001 Honda Civic, I feared I was going to get hit with a $50 fill-up. But thankfully it wasn’t quite that bad.

What I got was 11.017 gallons at $3.899 a gallon. The car before me at the pump took about 18 gallons for about $70. Although rare, I have seen $100-plus totals this summer at my neighborhood gas station.

As usual, I wrote down the numbers I would need to do my mpg math. I jot them down on my receipt, which already lists the amount of fuel I bought.

354.4 miles on my trip meter divided by 11.017 gallons comes to 32 mpg. Ouch.

I know it’s summer and I’m using the air conditioning often, but 32 mpg isn’t good enough for me, nor my car, which definitely can do better. Looking at my gas mileage spreadsheet  (yes, I’m an mpg nut) back at home, I can see that my green Civic’s fuel economy has been slowly moving in the wrong direction over the last several weeks. The car does have 130,000+ miles, but I ought to be able to get about 34 mpg in the summer and up to 38 mpg in cooler weather.

So it’s time to check my tire pressure and do more sleuthing. I’m probably overdue for a tune-up. Hopefully I’ll find something and can raise the mpg result next time. But if gas prices continue upward, I might face that $50 fill-up after all.

How much have you paid at the pump? Share you pain by posting a comment below.

As Congress is scrambling for a quick solution to America’s oily crisis, the Alaska Wilderness League is working to expose misconceptions about the benefits and environmental effects of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain region. Here are a handful of points the group released last month.

• Leasing and development of the region would result in production of approximately 2.6 billion barrels of oil between 2018 and 2030, with production peaking in 2027 at approximately 780,000 barrels per day.
  
• Production would not lower gas prices immediately. Even if Congress authorized leasing tomorrow, first production would not occur for 10 years.
  
• At peak, the gas pump reduction would be less than $0.04 per gallon, based on a $0.78 per barrel reduction in the price of crude oil (in 2008 dollars).
  
• In recent years, reductions in petroleum consumption have led to reductions in projected future imports that dwarf the production potential of the Arctic Refuge.
  
• When national trends are extended out to the year 2050, the U.S. is on track to achieve a reduction in imports of more than 100 billion barrels of oil through conservation and alternative technologies.
  
• By 2050, potential production from the region is estimated to be less than 10 billion barrels of oil.
  
• The oil industry on Alaska's North Slope annually emits more than twice the amount of nitrous oxide emitted by Washington, D.C.
  
• The oil field industrial sprawl on the North Slope spreads across an area of more than 1,000 square miles.
  
• The Prudhoe Bay oil fields and Trans-Alaska Pipeline have caused an average of 504 spills annually on the North Slope since 1996.

For the full reports, see The Myth of Environmentally Sensitive Oil Exploration in Alaska and Existing Conservation and Alternative Technology Gains Far Outweigh Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Potential: Oil Imports Have Declined Significantly Since 2005.

Also, see Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by the Energy Information Administration.

According to the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy, the national average price of gasoline is still higher than $4 a gallon, $4.165 specifically. That's for all grades. The average price of regular octane is $4.114.

In late June, the averages were $4.146 and $4.095, respetively.

Here are a few other averages of note:

National average for regular gas, May 19, 2008: $3.791. That's 32 cents less than today's average.

National averages for regular gas, by region:

New England: $4.143
East Coast: $4.079
Midwest: $4.059
Gulf Coast: $3.958
California: $4.550
West Coast: $4.440

Some specific cities:

Boston: $4.058
New York City: $4.179
Denver: $3.974
Miami: $4.173
Seattle: $4.350

How bad is the price of gas in your area? Share you pain by posting a comment below.

Over at Greenversations, the official blog of the EPA, there’s a lively discussion going on about what it’ll take to get us to change our driving habits. It’s a good question, one that’s becoming more front and center for most Americans.

The post notes that the pressures of rising gas prices and increasing pollution have many people wanting to drive less, but not necessarily everyone can, at least easily so. 

For me, I’d take public transportation in a heartbeat. If it were available for my commute. I yearn for high-speed light rail of some sort to run between where I live and where I work. In the meantime, I’m thankful I’m at least able to carpool with three or four other people. 

To share the pain of record gas prices and post your thoughts on what it would take to significantly change your driving habits, click here.

With the ongoing record surge in the price of oil against declining supplies, there’s renewed clamor from oil companies and some politicians for drilling in protected areas, such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and offshore locations along the East and West Coasts. 

But don’t shed a tear for Big Oil as it begs for more drilling. According to a report from CNNMoney.com, oil companies aren’t producing oil on 70 million of the 90 million offshore acres for which they already have drilling leases. The majority of these permits are for locations in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Oil companies need to “finish what’s on their plate before they go back in line,” says Oppenheimer analyst Fadel Gheit in the CNN article. 

For their part, the oil companies say it takes years of research and exploration before drilling can begin in a specific area. 

This is basically true, and few think Big Oil is hoarding oil (why would they given record prices?). But how long have those leases gone unused? It does seem likely that the oil industry is holding out hope for drilling in federal lands, such as the Arctic Refuge, which would be much less expensive to tap than locations deep within the ocean. 

About 8 million barrels of oil are produced every day in the United States (versus 21 million consumed). A report from the Energy Information Administration, Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, projects that oil production from the Arctic Refuge could be between 1.9 and 4.3 billion barrels over the course of 12 years, with the most likely scenario being 2.6 billion. 

Click here to read the CNN Money article.

One of the best ways to save money on gas and improve your fuel economy is to not buy gas you don't need, or can't even use for that matter. The easiest ways to do that is to not top off your tank.

It's a bad habit for many people — after the pump shuts off automatically they think they can squeeze more gas in their tanks or they want to get the cost to a round number. But the truth is the nozzle knows when to stop. Trust the nozzle. Here's why:

• Most gas stations' nozzles have sensors that shut off the fill up when the sensor is covered with gas. Anything you pump after that either goes back into the station's tanks or will spill out for the next person who uses the pump. All that extra gas does not end up in your tank. And excessive topping off could damage the pump's sensors, which will lead to more gas being pumped than is necessary, which leads to more waste and emissions. It's a vicious cycle.
• When you spill gas from overfilling or leave gas to squirt out on the next person in line, that creates vapors that are harmful to breathe and contribute to air pollution.
• Your car's gas tank needs wiggle room because gas expands as it warms. Too much gas in your tank could damage your car's vapor collection system and cause your car to run sluggishly and produce more emissions than it normally would.

Want more gas for your money? Whenever possible, fill up when temperatures are relatively cooler. As temperature rise during the warmer times of the day, especially in the summer, gas expands and thus you get a little bit less as you fill up.

But in the morning or late evening, gas has more density and you'll thus get more for your money. Cooler temperatures also mean less evaporative emissions from your time at the pump — smog forms more easily when it's hottest outside.

Another good reason to buy gas in the early morning: It's speculated that gas stations, especially the corporate chains, adjust their prices in the late morning or at lunchtime. When those prices go up, that starts a domino effect for all the locally owned stations in the area.

The first step to improving your car or truck's fuel economy is to know how many miles per gallon it really gets. Calculating mpg is easy, even if you hate math. Plus, monitoring your fuel economy and becoming more aware of what influences it is one of the simplest ways you can make a difference for the environment and your wallet.

Here's how to do the math. It's easier than you might think.  

1. Fill up your tank.

2. Reset your trip meter to zero.

3. Get gas when you need it.

4. Record the number of gallons it took to fill your tank and the number of miles on your trip meter. You could write these numbers down in a small notebook, or perhaps an easier place is the gas receipt. Usually these already include the number of gallons you bought.

5. Reset the trip meter before you restart the car (so you can check your fuel economy again next time).

6. Divide the trip miles by the gallons of gas. Congratulations, with just simple division, you've calculated your car's mpg. For example: 298.7 miles ÷ 8.475 gallons = 35 mpg.

7. Whether you use a small notebook or a simple spreadsheet on your computer, track your fuel economy over time. It can be fun and rewarding, especially as you learn habits to improve your mpg. It will also give you a better understanding of how your car is performing and can signal potential maintenance needs before they become big problems. If a few calculations reveal dramatic declines from the norm and you don't have an obvious explanation, consider calling your mechanic. Another idea is to record basic notes on fuel economy influences such as speed, tire pressure, driving conditions, extra loads and use of air conditioning. This will help you better understand what driving habits most influence mpg. Tracking fuel economy will also give you a richer understanding of just how much money you spend on gas and how much oil driving requires.

Now you know how to do the math. Make it a personal challenge to improve your fuel economy. Tell us about calculating your mpg, and improving it, in the comments section below.