Al Gore: Ditch fossil fuels in one decade or else

Powerpoint junkie, opera inspirer and Nobel-winner Al Gore said on Thursday that Americans must abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within a decade, because what America is doing now doesn't work.

“We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet,” Gore said. “Every bit of that’s got to change.”

Instead, he said, within 10 years America must "rely on the sun, the winds and other environmentally friendly sources of power, or risk losing their national security as well as their creature comforts," the New York Times reports. To make it happen, Gore called for "the kind of concerted national effort that enabled Americans to walk on the moon," the paper said.

Gore called for taxing carbon dioxide production, with an accompanying reduction in payroll taxes. “We should tax what we burn, not what we earn,” he said in his speech, which you can see here -- after he offers some odd shout-outs to the Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.I.Am. and Libertarian candidate Bob Barr:

--Craig Pittman

Hydrogen highway: it's a long, hard road ahead

Remember when California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger kept talking about a hydrogen highway so he could combat global warming and still drive a Hummer?

Well, although several manufacturers are hooking up Hollywood stars with hydrogen-fueled cars, and they're apparently (pardon the pun) a gas to drive, if you thought that the Hydrogen Highway would open sometime soon, well...sorry, but there will be some delays. Oh, and it turns out the Hydrogen Highway is a toll road.

A new study released today by the National Academies of Science spells out the bad news. The only way switching to hydrogen-powered cars would have much of an impact on greenhouse gases is if they took over a large share of the auto market. But the NAS report says the maximum practicable number of hydrogen vehicles that could be on the road by 2020 is 2 million.

Not until 2023 would the total cost of fuel cell vehicles, including the cost of hydrogen fuel over a vehicle's lifetime, become competitive with conventional vehicles. At that point, the number of hydrogen vehicles on the road could at last grow rapidly, to nearly 60 million in 2035 and 200 million by 2050.

And who's going to pay for the cars until the price drops? "According to the committee, government support via strong policy initiatives as well as funding would be needed until at least 2023," an NAS press release says. "The cost to the government would be about $55 billion between 2008 and 2023; private industry would be expected to invest $145 billion over that same time period."

[St. Petersburg Times photo by Stephen J. Coddington]

Offshore drilling splits GOP lawmakers

The high price of gasoline has cracked the once solid wall of antidrilling sentiment in the Florida Legislature.

"I'm tired of spilling blood in the Middle East for oil," said Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, a drilling proponent whose son is a Marine. "If we're going to protect our nation, you've got to protect resources."

Pruitt was one of a half-dozen prominent Republican lawmakers who told the St. Petersburg Times they would support offshore drilling now. Among those opposing it, though, stands one mighty powerful lawmaker: incoming House speaker, Rep. Ray Sansom of Destin, a town famous for its pristine white beaches, and thus a place where the beach IS the economy.

"I earned the title of 'the Sandman' for protecting our white fluffy beaches to attract tourism," Jones said. "Drilling for oil is dirty and nasty and not economical. I don't care if McCain is president. That wouldn't change my mind one bit."

The tension among the Legislature's Republican majority promises a tense debate should the federal government lift its offshore drilling moratorium in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and leave the issue up to states. Last month Gov. Charlie Crist backed such a plan by Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee.

[Photo courtesy Destin Area Chamber of Commerce]

--Jennifer Liberto and Steve Bousquet

The quest for greener air travel

Airlines are looking to find ways of cutting their fuel costs and reducing carbon emissions. The New York Times describes the scene at the Farnborough annual Air Show in Britain, including one display of a tank of green algae,  considered a potential new source of  jet fuel. Pratt & Whitney is also displaying a new engine that uses less fuel, is quieter and noise and releases less emissions.

(Photo of the tail of an Airbus 380 by The New York Times)

- David Adams

Bush greenlights drilling offshore, pressures Congress to follow suit

Look out Florida beachgoers -- President Bush is announcing today that he's lifting a longstanding executive order first imposed by his father in 1990 banning offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere along the nation's coast.

The move won't lead directly to new rigs sprouting off Caladesi Island, of course. Instead it's "aimed at stepping up pressure on Congress to end the prohibition it imposed in 1981," the Washington Post reports.

In a speech last month, Bush called for ending the 27-year-old ban on drilling for oil and gas on the outer continental shelf, "arguing that the country needs more domestic energy production to help reduce dependence on foreign oil and ease upward pressure on gasoline prices," the Post reports. Congress disdained his advice, so now he's charging ahead and hoping Congress will follow, his press secretary explained.

"This proposal is something you'd expect from an oil company CEO, not the president of the United States," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Environment Committee, told the Associated Press. "The president is taking special-interest government to a new level and threatening our thriving coastal economy."

Of course, with gas topping $4 a gallon, Floridians may disagree. As one Louisiana resident told USA Today recently, ""It's OK to have an ugly spot in your backyard if that spot has oil coming out of it."

[Photo of Caladesi Island by Jim Damaske, St. Petersburg Times]

--Craig Pittman

Smart Car carpooling: It helps if everyone is reeeeeally friendly

How do you cram 15 people into a Smart Car? Well....

It helps if everyone involved is reeeeeeally friendly. --Craig Pittman

Gas too expensive? No problem -- if you've got hidden gas tanks and fake credit cards

Five Orlando men who gassed up their pickup trucks at a Gibsonton Wal-Mart Supercenter last month may have found the perfect way to avoid paying too much for fuel.

According to the authorities, they used hidden tanks in their trucks so they could take up to 1,000 gallons of diesel at a time, which they could then resell.

The hidden tanks held 1,000 gallons, so officials figure that the men's profit per load topped $4,000. And how did they plan to pay for all this?

"They used counterfeit credit cards," said Maj. Bob Johnson, enforcement chief at the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, told the St. Petersburg Times. "One guy had 47 cards on him."

As you might suspect, state officials are now warning everyone that the rate of fuel theft appears to be increasing. So guard that gas tank!

[AP photo]

--Craig Pittman

Sex for gas? Yes, prices are finally that high

The cops had staked out the Days Inn on June 27, hoping to catch women trading sex for money.

Instead they nabbed a Kentucky woman who was trading sex for...a $100 gas card from Speedway.

"Angela R. Eversole, 34, of Fort Wright, Ky., is accused of prostitution and doing business without an occupational license," says the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Kenneth A. Nowak, 50, of Avon, Ind., told police they met at the hotel Friday night for a sexual liaison, according to the arrest report. The report says he paid her with a $100 gas card and other gifts."

“When people are selling their bodies for gas, that’s pretty sad,” said Ken Easterling, chief prosecutor in the Kenton County Attorney’s Office. (Of course what's worse is that the gas card is worth maybe 25 gallons. That's what, one and a half fill-ups? Two at the most.)

We'll leave the smutty jokes to the folks at Fark, but for the couple's mug shots and copies of the actual arrest report, go to The Smoking Gun. That said, one last thought: If she had applied for an occupational license, what would she have listed as her job? Oil trader?

[AP photo]

--Craig Pittman

McCain's energy policy flips and flops; top aide says he's just pragmatic

The Los Angeles Times takes a long look at presidential candidate John McCain's votes on energy issues over the years and finds that "the Arizona senator has swerved from one position to another . . ., taking often contradictory stances on the federal government's role in energy policy."

Specifically:

*"At times he has backed measures to ease restrictions on oil drilling off the coast and in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Other times he has voted to keep them. He has championed standards to require that automakers make vehicles more fuel-efficient, yet opposed standards to require that utilities use less fossil fuel by generating more power from renewable sources, such as wind and solar.

*"McCain has rejected federal tax breaks for renewable energy producers, but backs billions of dollars in subsidies for the nuclear industry.

*"He has criticized corn-based ethanol for doing "nothing to increase our energy independence." Yet while campaigning in 2006 in the Midwest corn belt, McCain called ethanol a 'vital, vital alternative energy source.' "

A senior policy advisor to the Arizona senator explained that his changing positions simply reflect a pragmatic approach to governing. "Sen. McCain is interested in getting results," he said.

[AP photo of Sen. McCain giving speech on energy in Las Vegas June 25]

--Craig Pittman

Lower your electric bill today

With rates on the way up for utilities throughout the state, there's only one sure way to lower your bill: use less electricity.

• Set your thermostat between 78 and 80 degrees, or higher if you're comfortable. When you leave the house, turn it up by 5 to 7 degrees instead of turning it off.
• Close drapes, blinds and shades in the hottest part of the day.
• Use ceiling and portable fans to keep air moving. Ceiling fans can make a room feel 2 degrees cooler.
• Unplug "vampires." These are cable boxes, televisions, phone chargers, iPod charging stations. All of them draw power even then they are not charging a device, and even when they are in sleep mode. These devices can add as much as 10 percent to your power bill. You can also put the devices on power strips, and turn the strip off when the appliances are not in use.
• Turn your computer and monitor off. Screen saver modes save NO power. Sleep modes continue to draw electricity. With most computers, powering your computer on and off does not wear it out. There is more wear and tear on electronics from heat stress of constantly running.
• Change to compact fluorescent light bulbs. The energy-saving light bulbs use about a third of the energy of incandescents.
• Put off the flat screen television purchase, or unplug the one you have when it is not in use. Many flat screen televisions can use as much power as an energy-efficient refrigerator.
• Turn off lights when you leave the room.
• Consider "zoned" air conditioning systems that allow you to cool only the rooms you are in, or a small window unit to cool only the rooms in use.
• Get a clothesline. It's hot out. Let the heat dry your clothes. A dryer uses lots of electricity, and adds heat to your house that your air conditioner has to work against. Florida law says homeowners associations can't ban clotheslines.
• Check with your utility about home energy audits that can see where you are wasting electricity. Some utilities also offer rebates on energy-saving devices like thermal wraps for hot water heaters, or solar thermal hot water installation. (Both Tampa Electric and Progress Energy offer audits and other programs.)

If you're having trouble paying your bill, there is help.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Gas prices force schoolbuses to park, deputies to stop patrols, other government cutbacks

The ripple effect of rising gas prices is hitting municipal governments pretty hard. Already rocked by the housing market collapse and its effect on property taxes, city and county governments across the country are now facing even bigger budgetary woes because of the impact of paying for gas too, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"The El Paso County Sheriff's Department in southeastern Colorado has ended car patrols of its 2,000-square-mile jurisdiction. One Ohio sheriff is putting his deputies into golf carts. Stillwater, Okla., has stopped mowing the grass on nearly half of its parkland. Cleveland is remapping its trash pickup routes to cut costs," the Times reports.

"In suburban Seattle, the Northshore School District has cut eight bus routes, requiring some students to walk farther to get to their stops...In St. Joseph County in Indiana, the library system is facing major cuts and has decided to park its Readmobile for most of the summer."

"I know it's a step backwards," El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa told the paper, explaining why his deputies will now only respond to calls for help instead of patrolling regularly. "But when the dollars aren't there, they aren't there."

[St. Petersburg Times photo by Brian Tietz]

--Craig Pittman

White House: Greenhouse gases?! Don't open that e-mail!

This may be the funniest story of the day: According to the New York Times, when the EPA sent the White House an e-mail that contained the agency's formal conclusion (after years of lawsuits) that greenhouse gases are in fact a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, the White House Office of Management and Budget simply REFUSED TO OPEN IT.

That way it didn't exist -- sort of the electronic equivalent of putting your fingers in your ears and singing, "La-la-la-la!" so you won't have to hear something you don't want to hear. Presumably if the EPA had tried to hand-deliver it, the Secret Service would've tackled the messenger and wrestled him to the ground.

"The document, which ended up in e-mail limbo, without official status, was the E.P.A.’s answer to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that required it to determine whether greenhouse gases represent a danger to health or the environment," the Times reported. "This week, more than six months later, the E.P.A. is set to respond to that order by releasing a watered-down version of the original proposal that offers no conclusion...

"Over the past five days, the officials said, the White House successfully put pressure on the E.P.A. to eliminate large sections of the original analysis that supported regulation, including a finding that tough regulation of motor vehicle emissions could produce $500 billion to $2 trillion in economic benefits over the next 32 years."

[Photo: Government Printing Office]

--Craig Pittman

McCain's Clean Car Challenge gets a $300K push; meanwhile Obama's advisers are tied to ethanol

Republican candidate John McCain is giving a speech today to issue a "Clean Car Challenge" to automakers, according to the Associated Press. If they produce a zero-emissions vehicle, a McCain administration would push to give buyers $5,000 tax credits, he promises.

Also, he says his administration would offer a $300 million prize for development of a new, more powerful battery for hybrid vehicles that surpasses current technology. The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country, "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State University in California.

Meanwhile the New York Times is reporting that his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, has close ties with the ethanol industry. One of his national campaign co-chairmen, former Sen. Tom Daschle, sits on the board of three ethanol companies. And his lead adviser on energy and environmental issues, Jason Grumet, came to the campaign from the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan initiative associated with Daschle and former Sen. Bob Dole, another advocate of ethanol.

The two candidates sharply differ on ethanol, with McCain calling for an end to government subsidies while Obama would continue them.

--Craig Pittman

[Associated Press]

Offshore drilling = kiss your clean beach buh-bye

Stephen Leatherman has seen every kind of beach in America, and he really likes the ones in Florida. The man known as Dr. Beach usually ranks them among the prettiest in America. This year he picked Pinellas County's own Caladesi Island as No. 1.

If oil companies start drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, that's likely to change. "We've got some of the finest, whitest sand in the world," said Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University in Miami. "Oil doesn't seem to go with that. … This could lower the value of our beaches."

Where there's offshore drilling, the beaches suffer, and so does the water. There are spills large (like the fiery Ixtoc blowout that dumped 3-billion barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 1979, pictured here) and small, as well as a plethora of pollution. Oh, and all those fish swimming around the derrick? Don't eat 'em.

Here's the full story about the consequences of offshore drilling from today's St. Petersburg Times, and here's one about Gov. Charlie Crist's about-face on the issue, and here's an excellent examination of whether all this will have any impact at all on rising gas prices.

[Photo of Ixtoc oil spill from NOAA]

--Craig Pittman

Dump the pump day

Happy Dump the Pump day!

By now we all know the spiel of rational factoids that TBARTA is using to convince us to ditch our cars and hop on a proposed regional transit system: public transportation saves gas, pollutes less and saves commuters money. But what about the less tangible reasons to step out of your car in this auto-centric corner of the world? Here's a few: public transportation may make you smarter, more attractive and get you more dates.

Top five frivolous reasons to try the train:

Gas prices hurt housing sales; sprawling suburbs may not make comeback

Rising gas prices may be the latest ailment afflicting the housing market, reports today's Los Angeles Times.

Southern California home prices plunged 27% in May from a year ago, but fell "even more precipitously in distant suburbs," the paper reported. And thanks to higher gas prices, those sprawled-out 'burbs may not ever climb back, according to Christopher Leinberger of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

"Under the old model we have lived with for the past 50 years, you could drive away from major employment concentrations until you could qualify for a house because cheap energy costs made it possible," Leinberger told the paper. "Now as energy prices go up, the housing prices out there on the fringe take a major hit."

One real estate agent told the paper that most people were better off buying a home within an easy commute of work anyway because gas is not tax-deductible, but mortgage interest is.

Of course, as our keen-eyed real estate reporter Jim Thorner pointed out last month, "In the Tampa area, suburban home prices stink because that's where every speculator and his cousin were playing real estate tycoon."

[Photo: Getty Images]

--Craig Pittman

Obama: Energy key to his economic plan

The heart of Sen. Barack Obama's economic plan is to spend $15 billion a year for 10 years on energy technology, according to an interview he gave the Wall Street Journal today. That technology would focus on wind, solar, and nuclear energy.

That $15 billion "would be funded by revenue collected from a separate Obama proposal to cap greenhouse emissions through a system of trading pollution permits," the Journal reports. "Sen. Obama would auction those permits to producers of carbon dioxide, such as electric utilities, and figures the sales would yield about $100 billion a year. Most of that would go to consumers as rebates on utility bills, he said."

In addition, the Democratic presidential candidate told the Journal, he would set up an "infrastructure reinvestment bank" that "would finance $60 billion in high-speed railways, improved energy grids and other projects over a decade."

The Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain, is less enamored of government intervention in the energy market. He has taken to saying Sen. Obama would represent "Jimmy Carter's second term," says the Journal. But Obama told the Journal that large-scale government intervention in the energy market is necessary. While McCain argues that venture funds are investing heavily in energy technology, Obama contends there is a gap in funding between innovation and commercialization that should be filled by Washington.

"You have this point in time when things haven't quite taken off yet and still entail huge risks," he said.

[Photo: Getty Images]

--Craig Pittman

Jamie Lee Curtis to get one of first hydrogen-powered Hondas

Honda has begun the first commercial production of a zero-emission, hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicle -- and among the first ones to take delivery will be actress Jamie Lee Curtis ("Trading Places," "A Fish Called Wanda," "Halloween" etc.) will be among the first to take delivery.

The four-seater, called FCX Clarity, runs on electricity produced by hydrogen, and emits water vapor, reports the BBC. "Honda claims the vehicle offers three times better fuel efficiency than a traditional, petrol-powered car.

Honda plans to produce 200 of the cars, which are initially available only to lease, over the next three years. The cars will become available in July, and the first five customers are all based in southern California because of the proximity of hydrogen fuelling stations, Honda said.  (Giving one to Curtis is part of a continuing trend of automakers giving preference to Hollywood stars when passing out the latest new green technology, says the Los Angeles Times.)

One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of wider adoption of fuel-cell vehicles is the lack of hydrogen fuelling stations, the BBC noted. "Critics also point out that hydrogen is costly to produce and the most common way to produce hydrogen is still from fossil fuels. Analysis of the environmental impact of different fuel technologies has shown that the overall carbon dioxide emissions from hydrogen powered cars can be higher than that from petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.

--Craig Pittman

[Photo by AP]

 

Revolutionary new Cyclone steam engine -- could it replace the internal combustion engine?

Since this blog began nearly two years ago we have been constantly on the look out for interesting new technology that might contribute to the search for alternative sources and methods for producing energy.

Here's an original one, with seeming commercial potential, I read about this morning in The Miami Herald.

It's called the Cyclone engine. Its inventors, Cyclone Power Technologies, are based in Pompano Beach. Its inventors say this revolutionary new engine is cleaner and more efficient than the internal combustion engine. It can run on any liquid or gaseous fuel, including (ethanol, biodiesel or propane), and uses water instead of motor oil as a lubricant!

Instead of a typical combustion engine ignited by sparks, the Cyclone operates like a super-charged steam engine. Fuel is combusted by a centrifugal, or cyclonic, motion, allowing the fuel to burn more efficiently. Heat is used to generate high-pressure steam to drive the engine.

The result is a highly efficient, cleaner burning engine, the company says. It has patented the technology and has won important engineering awards, as well as a contract from a big defense contractor, Raytheon.

Click here to read the article in The Miami Herald.

David Adams

Heating oil prices shooting higher too; no more advance contracts

Sure the calendar and the thermometer say summer's coming, but the rising price of oil is affecting more than just the cost of your morning commute. The price of heating oil  -- yes, heating oil for the winter -- is already hitting record highs as speculators rush to lock in contracts, Reuters reports.

As of 1 p.m. Thursday, the price of a gallon of heating oil for December hovered at just more than $4, after reaching a record high price of $4.07, according to New York Mercantile Exchange data. Last winter, the average price was $3.85, Reuters says. But analysts warn that this year prices could reach $5.

Distributors are recommending that customers lock in to 12-month contracts, but companies are increasingly unwilling to sell them. Clemons Fuel Oil in St. Petersburg, for example, no longer offers advance contracts. They only sell to customers at that day's price.

"Trade associations say pre-buy programs traditionally offered by dealers in May and June to lock in prices for consumers are nowhere to be found as oil prices continue to shatter record after record as part of a six-year rally," says Reuters.

    [AP photo]

--Andrew Dunn

China-Cuba oil drilling is a myth, says Sen. Martinez; pro-drilling GOP leaders keep peddling the story as true

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida, took to the Senate floor today to try to put the kibosh on a growing myth on Capitol Hill, being spread by members of his own party: That China is drilling for oil and gas just 60 miles off Key West, closer to Florida than American companies can drill.

"China is not drilling off the coast of Cuba," Martinez said. "Reports to the contrary are simply false. They're rumors, akin to urban legend."

The China argument is a favorite of pro-drilling forces on Capitol Hill who don't like federal restrictions on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. With gas prices over $4 per gallon, Republicans again are trying to open up more of nation's coasts to drilling.

'Together' campaign promotes ways for consumers to beat climate change

A campaign to help consumers find easy ways to flight climate change is being launched in the US on Thursday.

The Together campaign is being adopted by several major cities, including New York, Miami, Boston and Seattle, and has the backing of leading American companies (JP Morgan Chase, Target).

The idea, which was launched last year in Europe by The Climate Group, is to promote the most environmentally friendly products and encourage green practices. This includes getting consumers to drop paper catalogues, and switch to efficient shower heads that cut water use.

Since its launch last year it has helped consumers cut 522,00O tons of carbon dioxide and saved them over $200 million on household energy bills, according to The Climate Group.

Click here to read more.

- David Adams

GOP sides with oil companies, against Democrat plan to roll back Big Oil tax breaks -- and against breaks for alt-fuels

A Democrat-backed bill that "would have rolled back some $17 billion in tax breaks and pressured major oil companies to invest in new energy sources by hitting them with a windfall-profits tax if they did not," says the New York Times, failed to get enough votes in the Senate today to move forward.

"The package also would have instructed the Justice Department to pursue members of OPEC for alleged price fixing and required oil traders to put up more cash on futures exchanges to address speculation, which many observers believe is contributing to the unprecedented run-up in world crude oil prices," the Washington Post reports.

"Republican opponents of the oil-tax measure have argued that higher taxes on the oil companies would backfire, driving up gasoline prices and discouraging new domestic oil production and exploration," the Times reports. "If the bill were approved, the American people 'will get exactly what they don’t want,' said Senator Pete Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, who predicted higher prices and more reliance on imports."

Instead Republicans want to "increase environmentally safe exploration of untapped oil resources in the United States" -- i.e., drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Meanwhile, in a separate vote, Senate Republicans blocked consideration of legislation that would extend tax breaks for wind, solar and other alternative energy sources.

       [AP photo]

--Craig PIttman

Gas is up, driving is down, greenhouse gas is down -- but so is traffic at the Kwik-E-Mart

Federal officials are saying greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. fell by 9 million metric tons for the first quarter of 2008. The reason: high gas prices are making everyone park the car and figure out some other way to get around.

The feds are reporting the first decline in miles driven on U.S. roads since 1979, according to a story today in the Washington Post.

Th e Federal Highway Administration, "estimated vehicle miles traveled on U.S. roads for March fell 4.3 percent, or 11 billion miles, compared with March 2007," the Post reports. "It was the first time that March travel on public roads fell since 1979 and the biggest yearly drop for any month in history."

As a result, "business at roadside convenience stores has slowed," the Post reports. MasterCard says it's seen a 4 to 5 percent decline in gasoline purchases.

Don't look for relief any time soon. Reuters  reports that the latest federal guesstimate is that gas should peak at $4.15 a gallon in August. But this is from the same agency that predicted it would peak at $3.73 a gallon in June.

"Nationwide, about 8 percent of Americans say they have changed their commuting patterns and are taking public transportation," the Post reports.

[Image taken from The Simpsons.]

--Craig Pittman