Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Ford is Funny

I can picture W saying this:

"People got to have trucks," said Corinna Sadler, Internet sales manager at Frederick Motor Co. "We've got to do something to keep them in their trucks, and Ford's addressing it."

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=49481

Some interesting MPG tips:

"As a rule of thumb, each five miles per hour over 60 is like paying an additional 20 cents per gallon of gas," Mr. Harrington said.

In Cali prices, I'm paying about $4.40... every morning. ACK!

"Another tip is to avoid idling. Today's cars do not need to be warmed up like the vehicles in the past and no more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days is needed, Mr. Harrington said. "The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it," he said.

Something else I do wrong...

"Unneeded weight caused by using a trunk as an additional storage area also decreases mileage, Mr. Harrington said. "

Subwoofers don't count though, right?

THIS, my friends, is the future of science

When I first got this job sorting, categorizing and segregating chemicals, I thought "where do all these things come from?" Turns out, many of the strange chemicals that are used out there are byproducts of other reactions for things you would never think of. Everything we use, eat and apply is made through some kind of chemical process and those processes always have waste of some form. As society progresses and continues to have more and different needs, we have more and different manufacturing processes producing more and different types of waste. Tires, cosmetics, cleaning products, petroleum refining, everything has a unique waste product that can sometimes be put to work somewhere else. Even chocolate!!

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025546.000-chocolate-generates-electrical-power.html

OK so, wow, they're powering a fan but think about it this way: Let's say Hershey's has a factory, a big one, that makes all kinds of yummy, delicious confections. A mysterious salesperson comes knocking on the door and says "hey, my company has found a way to take the stuff you pay to get rid of and turn it into something you can sell." Several million dollars later, Hershey's has a low-cost hydrogen fuel pump for they're employees, a massive fuel cell stack to offset their electricity costs and a pipeline to sell hydrogen back to the energy grid. Utopian? I think not!

Monday, June 05, 2006

Slacking off...

Well, not actually... spent most of yesterday cleaning the car and working on the book. Last week was a MESS!! Glad it's over. On to the news...

Just when I thought I couldn't hate him anymore:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/31/politics/main1671380.shtml

The URL mentions politics and I mentioned hating a particular person. Could this be another ridiculous Bush move?

"...the tiny Industrial Technologies Program routinely saves the United States $7 worth of energy for each dollar it spends, proponents say. So, with energy prices spiking and President Bush pushing for more energy research, the ITP would seem a natural candidate for more funding. In fact, its budget is set to get chopped by a third from its 2005 level. It's one of more than a dozen energy-efficiency efforts that the Energy Department plans to trim or eliminate in a $115 million cost-saving move. "

ACK!!! Why?!? You cut a program that has an ROI of 7 times what is put in?? Here's why:

"the Bush administration is anxious to fund its new Advanced Energy Initiative, long-term research into nuclear, coal, wind, solar, and hydrogen power."

So, I can't be too pissed but, seriously, the total cut is $115m, how much is coming out of the ITP? Enough to make a difference? Something like this energy initiative needs (I can only assume) BILLIONS, not a couple hundred million, gimmee a break. This guy needs to go back to school. Wait a sec, do I see a hidden motivation? It's the usual sespect:

"When energy prices are high, you don't need to subsidize conservation efforts," says Jerry Taylor, director of natural resource studies for the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank. "These are subsidies that qualify as corporate welfare."

UGH!