Tip of the day

Exercise more!

Here is the scenario: you get home after work, you get out of your work clothes and realize you have a couple of hours of daylight left. So what do you do? Drive to the golf course? Go shopping? Take a joy ride around the local lake? Or you could go for a peaceful 3 mile jog or 10 mile bike ride in your neighborhood. Exercise is something we all could do more of for our own health, it sets good examples for our children (which I don't have), and most importantly, it does not require any Petro. You never know, one of these days our feet may be our only reasonable means of transportation.

The Saudi Summit

What is the Saudi kingdom's stake in all of this and what do they want to see happen? The simplest answer to this is that they do not want the U.S. or any other country to Petropinch. Their worst fear is that we as a country and the industrialized world will become more efficient and become less dependant on the one resource that they dictate. One misconception that is out there is that the Saudi's are enjoying these high gas prices and reaping the benefits of the high price of oil, but instead it has them very worried and very upset with the way the U.S. financial sector is driving up the price, causing people to search for alternatives.

This weekend, the Saudi's will meet to discuss upping the production of crude in an effort to alleviate the skyrocketing gas prices that we are seeing. This comes after our President basically went over there and begged for more oil. This increase in production is designed to send a signal to speculators and is an attempt at bringing down the price of crude. If this does not work, an even clearer signal may be sent out that simply upping production is nothing more than a quick fix to a big problem.

I'm back!!

Sorry I was gone for a while, but I was busy Petropinching - it takes a lot of time when you are always checking the air in your tires, driving slow, parking in the shade, etc.

But seriously, there has been a lot of activity with oil prices and oil speculation, as well as debate about off-shore drilling, so I would like to discuss some of these topics, and also talk about what I have done to Petropinch over the last couple of weeks.

It seems to be getting worse

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/06/news/economy/gas_prices/index.htm?cnn=yes

Good article

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/07/news/economy/120_oil/index.htm?postversion=2008050812

The truth is, the price of gas went from $.89 per gallon to about $2.50 per gallon with little change besides alot of complaining. This means that for the longest time gas was completely undervalued in our free market economy. This relatively cheap form of energy fueled the huge growth in our country thru the 80's and into the 90's as we became a society totally dependant on cheap transport. Now, as prices soar above $4 per gallon, I believe we are hitting a tipping point that will not bring about disaster, but will bring about a change in consumer habits. That is what Petropinching is all about. People are talking and taking notice, which will in turn change habits.

The price of a gas of gallon is accurate - if it were to go down we would only start to overconsume again. Hopefully, we can all appreciate the price of gas as it is today and adjust appropriately.

A diversion into plastic

Up until now most of my blogging has been related to gasoline consumption. However, last night I read an interesting article regarding the amount of petroleum used in the production of those unsightly water bottles and plastic bags littering our beautiful landscapes.

According to the Pacific Institute, Americans consumed 31.2 BILLION liters of bottled water in 2006. In order to support the bottling process for all of this water, producers use over 900,000 tons of plastic. The process for making all of this plastic (of which only a very small percentage is actually recycled) requires a combo of natural gas and petroleum. The bottom line is that to make all of this plastic for the bottles of tap water that we carry around uses about 17 million barrels of oil!

Another disturbing statistic concerns those plastic bags that stores like Wal Mart use to bag every individual item. America uses around 100 billion of these per year (about one per day per person). This equates to about 12 million barrels for production using this petroleum and natural gas method.

Just to keep things in perspective, the 29 million barrels used in the production of these plastics per year are only enough to fuel our gas consumption for about a day and a half, but once again, every little bit helps. Cutting back on our fascination with plastic bottles and bags will also benefit the environment greatly.

So go out, buy some of those eco-friendly bags, refuse bags at the counter, and for God's sake, cut it out with the bottled water. Its just tap water! Buy a filter and reuse the same bottle.

Think Petropinch positive!

Very useful sight

Track your milage using the following sight - excellent for measuring your Petropinchability!

http://www.fuelfrog.com/

I have started my account and am looking forward to tracking my progress - let me know if you are using it.

Thanks for the link CD of Boston.

Second Tip O' the Day

Just a reminder to everyone that reads this - the problems that we are facing today regarding gas prices and petroleum consumption can easily be blamed on many different entities: Congress, OPEC, Corporate America, the Saudi Arabians, George Bush, etc. However, the blame needs to rest on everyone's shoulders including me and including you. We cannont continue to be slaves to this one finite natural resource and the only way to change that is to change your habits as a consumer. Take responsibilty - we are all to blame, every single person living in this nation.

Be aware of how you use petroleum. It is not just in your car or in your home, it is in the plastic bags you use, the water bottles you drink out of, and the other items that you may choose to recycle or not. We are a wasteful society that tends to avoid personal blame for the situations that we impose on ourselves. I am not standing on a soapbox here because I am part of the problem, but I hope to make changes in my life and would ask the same of you.

Good luck and realize that the first step to Petropinching is taking responsibility for the problem at hand.

Tip O' the Day

When purchasing gas at the pump, don't top off. This extra amount evaporates by the time it reaches your fuel pump and also releases more fumes into the air.

a couple of interesting articles - form your own opinion

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/05/30/Biofuels.opinion/index.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121201723656327625.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

Update on Petropinching 2008

Currently I am measuring my latest fillup - I put in 16.5 gallons of regular gas and it cost me a whopping $68.22. So far, I have gone 300 miles and have about a quarter of a tank left. My tires are aired up, my car is relatively empty, but I haven't been driving like I should be - alot of fast acceleration, AC, and hard braking. I am going to measure my mpg this go round, and then be very cautious my next fill up and see what I can change.

Here is my latest tip:

• Anticipate stop signs and red lights: we all know when we are approaching a stopping situation, but we probably wait until the last minute to stop. By doing this, we are wasting a very valuable source of energy - momentum. If we anticipate the stop, we can harness some of this momentum to help us start accelerating again, allowing us to Petropinch.

Think about it.

Let me know how it is going, and please spread the word.

A good explanation of the long emergency

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7203633/the_long_emergency

A link and two tips for the day

Just saw this on cnn.com

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/30/finding.alternatives.ireport/index.html

Two more tips for the day:

• Park in the shade if you are going to park for extended periods. "Why" you might ask? Because the heat from the sun will heat up your gas tank and make your gas evaporate. You may not lose much, but every little bit helps when you are a Petropincher.
• Don't fill your tank until you are under a quarter of a tank. Riding around on a full tank all of the time means you are carrying a lot of extra weight around and therefore burning more gas. Makes sense huh?
  

Corrections

I need to review my posts better....One more word on cruise control, and I purchased a tire gauge. Thanks

I had a low tire!!

I purchases a tire gauge today. It was only 98 cents at Lowe's, and lowe and behold - my back right tire was about 15 pounds under pressure. I quickly went to the nearest Fastrac gas station, went to a free air pump, and put in the extra air. That 98 cent investment should easily pay for itself many times over in better gas milage. I suggest everyone go get one and let the Petropinching begin in earnest.

Also, by the way, one of the oldest breweries in America burned down today in Utica, NY and I got to watch the whole thing go down live on the scene. The Saranac Brewery is still burning as I type. R.I.P.

One more work on cruise control

There seems to be a little confusion on cruise control, and austin, I can appreciate the comfort that cruise control brings. When using cruise control keep the following in mind: it should not be used in hilly terrain (which would cause a lot of revving of your engine going uphill), and if you do use it, make sure it is around the speed limit, which will help you burn less gas.

Tip of the day

Park in the absolute first parking lot you find - usually this will be far away from the entrance so it will a) keep you from driving around the parking lot b) keep you from driving any further than absolutely necessary and c) require you to walk a little further, burning off those calories from earlier in the day

Not a good day

Hello Petropinchers - didn't have a good day today; I tried to drive slower as I did my travels, but had an emergency that I had to respond to and found myself driving faster than I would've liked and accelerating more than I should have; can't win them all.

I did read an interesting article today that explained that cruise control can actually be Petropinching positive on flat surfaces (vs. Petropinching negative on hilly roads). Life is all about education - here are a couple of interesting articles if anyone is interested. Thanks for the response today austin.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/27/lifestyle.change.irpt/index.html

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1737002_1737005,00.html

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1809900,00.html

Some ideas for Petropinching

Here are a few ideas for today:

• The most obvious one - Drive Less! Seriously, this is the fastest way to Petropinch. Be conscious of why and how many times you get behind the wheel everyday. Instead of going to the store twice in one day or going to multiple stores instead of one store, try to find everything at once. Also, as we have seen this past Memorial Day, more families are learning to enjoy "staycations" instead of vacations and camping out in your back yard can be a lot of fun. Just be aware, and you may realize that you are driving less. (Already we are seeing this, Americans drove 11 billion miles less this past year than the previous one, nice start!)
• Inflate your tires on a regular basis: under-inflated tires cut fuel economy by 2% per pound, so if your tires should be at 32 psi and you are riding at 27 psi, then you have reduced your milage by 10% (your recommended psi should be in your car's owners manual). So in this particular example, if gas were $4 per gallon and you inflated your tires, you would reduce your price to $3.60. Not bad! A tire gauge is only about $5 and air is free at some gas stations. I am going to buy my gauge tomorrow, hope you will too.
• Change your oil as recommended. Old oil increases friction which in turn decreases milage. I recommend no longer than 5,000 miles between changes.
• Keep an eye on your air filter, spark plugs, and oxygen sensors. I am no mechanic, but according to edmunds.com the above items can seriously affect your ability to Petropinch. A clogged air filter can reduce mileage by 10%, and a bad oxygen sensor can reduce mileage by as much as 40%!
• Reduce clutter in your trunk. This may not be a problem for you, but keep this in mind - an extra 100 pounds in your trunk can decrease mileage by up to 2%.
  
• Leave work earlier. If your usual routine is to get up and read the paper at home and then fight the commuter traffic, then maybe you should leave earlier and drive more effeciently. You can always read the paper when you get to work.
• Crack your windows instead of using the air conditioner. While I was driving to Syracuse today, I found myself subconciously running the AC. I looked at my outside temp gauge and noticed that it was at 66 degrees - the exact temp that I was running my AC. I cracked my windows and turned up my radio, and also Petropinched. Running the convenient AC not only burns more fuel, but also decreases drag on your vehicle.
• Use cruise control selectively. I love cruise control, and will therefore find this one hard to do, but I am going to try. I'll let you know how it goes.

Just a few ideas for now. Remember to start recording your milage and measure your results, it will make Petropinching much more fun.

What I did today to Petropinch

Just to give an update - today I drove on the New York Thruway to Syracuse and back; normally I drive 80 miles per hour all the way. Not only is this asking for a ticket, but it is burning a lot of gas (more on that later). Today, I drove 70 there and back, saving just a little of the precious gasoline.
Time to pat myself on the back.

By the way, I also saw diesel fuel for $4.99 today, the highest I have seen yet. Just think of all the products that you use and consume, I would bet just about all of them were carried to you in one form or another by a vehicle that burnt diesel....no wonder everything is going up.

Petroleum - the facts

Petroleum is a naturally occuring liquid found in rock formations in the Earth and is a mix of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights

• Approximately 84% by volume of hydrocarbons present in petroleum is used for energy-rich fuels such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other fuel oils; the other 16% is used as the raw material for many chemical products including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, and plastics among others
• Petroleum makes up 40% of the total energy consumption in the U.S. However, it is responsible for 90% of vehicular fuel needs but only 2% of electricity generation
• The top three oil producting countries in order are Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the U.S.
• Consumption of oil currently is 84 million barrels of oil per day, or approx. 31 billion barrels per year - current estimations guess that there are about 1.2 trillion easily accessible barrels of oil left in known reserves (this does not include another 3.74 trillion that is to believe to be in oil sands which are more difficult and expensive to extract)
• The U.S. uses 20.5 million barrels of oil per day (or 25% of world usage); we produce 8 million of those and import the rest
  

How to begin

For now we are going to focus on gasoline consumption, even though there are many other ways in which we use and abuse petroleum. In order for you to get started, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• By reducing your gasoline consumption, you are not only helping with our current economical, environmental, and political situations, but you are also saving yourself cash - a great motivator
• You can, without a doubt, reduce the amount of gasoline that you use and it never change your lifestyle
• In order to know if you are really accomplishing what you are setting out to do, it is important to measure and set goals for yourself, similar to losing weight

On this last bullet point, I am suggesting that everyone set up some system of measuring your gasoline consumption either daily, weekly, or monthly. Fortunately, I have to do this on monthly basis for my job, but anyone can do this by creating a manual or electronic form to record their milage and/or gasoline consumption. If you know me, email me and I will send you an excel spreadsheet that is already set up and all you have to do is plug in the numbers. Set your own goals and expectations, and you will be surprised at what you can do. If you can reduce your milage and consumption by 10% you can save hundreds of dollars - enough to buy a really nice bicycle!

Why I am doing this

Hello everyone - I have a blog! I was not even sure I really knew what a blog was until I made this, but obviously it was not to hard to set up I am learning how to use this tool as I go. I hope to do the same thing with the way I consume petroleum, learn as I go. Listed below in bullet format are the reasons that I have entered blogdom:

• I am very concerned about the immediate future of our country and the future of mankind as they relate to the dependance on petroleum and the useage of petroleum
  
• I do think that it is healthier to have a positive outlook and doing something proactive rather than preaching and believing in a doomsday scenario
• I feel like I am ignorant about the situation as are most people and would like to use this tool as a way to educate myself and to educate others
• I want to share ways that we can all reduce the amount of petroleum that we use and still maintain a healthy and comfortable life

On this blog I will try to be careful and aware about the statistical information that I post as well as any other articles, charts, videos etc. Once again, I am not trying to scare everyone, but I do believe we all need to be informed and be proactive. I am not living in a tent growing my own crops so I am far from being perfect in regards to petroleum usage, but once again, every little bit helps and we all have to be realistic as to how far we will actually go to help change things.