Unless you live on mars you’ve probably noticed the soaring cost of fuel. A recent report from the Energy Information Administration projects that gasoline demand will drop in the U.S., but even so prices are still climbing. Why is it happening and why are diesel prices going up faster then gas? I’ve been looking into some articles to find some answers.

This blog post from Eric Johnson over at Desert Biofuels Initiative sums up what is going on with links to even more information.

According to the Energy Information Administration:

Based on projections of weak economic growth and record high crude oil and product prices, consumption is projected to decline by 190,000 bbl/d in 2008 [...] After accounting for projected increases in ethanol use, U.S. petroleum consumption is projected to fall by 330,000 bbl/d.

So if demand is falling, why are prices rising dramatically?

World oil consumption is projected to grow by 1.2 million bbl/d in 2008. Almost all of the growth in 2008 is expected to come from the non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, led by China, Middle East oil producing countries, and Russia, as well as Brazil and India [...]

more than offsetting any decline in demand in the US.

Bummer for us. Of course, it’s also great for us. Fuel prices are starting to more directly affect individual driving decisions, consumer vehicle preferences, and therefore auto manufacturer’s vehicle production. Business Week reports:

Ford Motor (F) is cutting its production of its one-time cash cows, pickups and SUVs, to instead increase production of smaller and more fuel-efficient cars.

And the New York Times reports:

With technical and environmental hurdles overcome — and facing tougher mileage standards that call for a 35 m.p.g. average by 2020 — automakers are rushing in with clean-diesel cars.

Nice.

[Desert Biofuels Initiative]

While it is great we’re going to be seeing new clean diesels on the market soon with higher MPGs than most gasoline cars are they going to be a success? As of this writing Diesel is around a dollar more per gallon than regular unleaded and its price is rising faster than gasoline. Gasoline and diesel are made from the same raw ingredient. So why is this happening? Here’s a good article explaining why from the New York Times.

“U.S. overall petroleum demand, including demand for gasoline, has flattened,” he said. “However, in the U.S., demand for diesel has remained strong.”

He added: “This follows a long-term trend here and around the world. Over the past five years, U.S. demand for highway diesel has been rising at triple the rate of gasoline.”

Part of the American demand for transportation fuel is met by refineries in Europe, a link that usually helps keep prices down. But demand for diesel is rising in Europe as passenger car ownership and use there grow; many of those newly purchased vehicles are diesel-powered, a choice that had been encouraged by tax policy there.

As a result, production at European refineries is geared toward processing crude oil to meet the demand for diesel. That produces surplus gasoline, which the refineries export to the East Coast of the United States, experts said. That does nothing for diesel supply here.

A related problem is that while American demand for gasoline and demand for diesel are fluctuating separately, the supply is linked.

Each 42-gallon barrel of crude oil yields about 19 gallons of gasoline, according to the Energy Department, and about 10 gallons of diesel fuel and heating oil combined. (The two are chemically similar.) Refineries can crack the big hydrocarbon molecules found in the heavier part of the crude oil feedstock into diesel, gasoline or other products, and thus have some flexibility, but there are limits to how much the ratios can be adjusted.

Read the full article at [nytimes.com]

Maybe it is time to start home-brewing biodiesel like I suggested in a earlier article on this site, but be sure you have a secure source of free or cheap used oil. It seems that demand for this waste product is on the rise and some home-brewers are stooping low and are stealing it. Check out this article over at msnbc.com about biodiesel pirates stealing used cooking oil.

SAN FRANCISCO - A few years ago, drums of used french fry grease were only of interest to a small network of underground biofuel brewers, who would use the slimy oil to power their souped-up antique Mercedes.

Now, restaurants from Berkeley, Calif., to Sedgwick, Kan., are reporting thefts of old cooking oil worth thousands of dollars by rustlers who are refining it into barrels of biofuel in backyard stills.

“It’s like a war zone going on right now over grease,” said David Levenson, who owns a grease hauling business in San Francisco’s Mission District. “We’re seeing more and more people stealing grease because it lets them stay away from the pump, but it’s hurting our bottom line.”

Full article at [msnbc.com]

Do you think this might end up being good for us? Is it going to drive Americans to conserve and innovate to find a solution? I think it might, and can’t wait to see where we go from here. What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.

Gasoline is nearly $4 a gallon and isn’t likely to go down anytime soon. Here’s some tips from Ecomodder.com’s Benjamin Jones on getting more miles per gallon out of the car you already have. Benjamin’s article is currently featured on Popular Mechanic’s site.

10 Quick Fuel Efficiency Tips to Beat the Gas Crunch

The summer season of highway hell has officially arrived—and $4/gallon prices at the pump certainly aren’t making life on the road any easier. As the next generation of hypermilers develops new ways to hack your car’s fuel economy, our guest MPG geek breaks down the vehicle mods, driving habits and common-sense fixes you need to know to max out your tank.

[PopularMechanics.com]

His #1 tip is monitoring your gas milage in real time and suggests doing this with a Scangauge if your car doesn’t already have a MPG gauge. Scangauge is a Mesa Arizona company and makes a great tool to monitor your car’s performance. I’ve had one myself for a couple years and it has done wonders to get me to drive in a way to get more miles per gallon out of my car. When I’m driving and can see my MPGs go down the faster I drive it turns into a real motivator to go the speed limit or even slightly slower. Once I’m driving above 55 the MPGs really start taking a dive and with the price of fuel I really want to get the most out of a tank. Without this tool I might know that my car isn’t getting the most out of a tank when I drive fast, but if I’m not seeing it in real time it is easy not to care as much. Check out article linked above for some other great tips at saving fuel.

Maybe we won’t have to wait until 2010 to get a car that doesn’t run on gasoline. The Th!nk City electric car is going into production in the US and should be popping out cars soon. The perfect combo might be solar panels for your house and this electric car for your commute.

This could be it: the Th!nk City electric car, a four-seater with 110 mile range and top speed of 65 mph, priced under $25,000, made from 95% recyclable materials, and available in the U.S. in 2009.

The Th!nk City electric car is the product of Norwegian firm Th!nk Global, an auto manufacturer backed by Silicon Valley funding who has plans to assemble the cars in Southern California. In contrast to Tesla’s limited release of 300 cars per year, the Th!nk City is designed for mass production to the tune of 30-50,000 units within a few years. Th!nk already produces about 10,000 of these cars in Europe annually. [Gas 2.0]

Th!nk’s Website.

I recently sent some questions via email to Casey Brooks (Marketing/Media Relations) over at Arizona Green Dining to learn more about what they do. Arizona Green Dining collects waste vegetable oil from restaurants here in Arizona and their partners Az Biodiesel recycle it into biodiesel. Here’s what he had to say:

Q) What criteria do you use to classify a restaurant as “green”?

The most significant and quickest impact a restaurant can make to the local environment is to have their used fryer oil be recycled into clean burning biodiesel. This is a abundant local renewable resource that can make a significant impact on the air we breath in Arizona. And for the restaurant it is the easiest transition to make the biggest impact on the environment.

Q) How do you use the waste oil you receive?

Our partners Az Biodiesel recycle the waste oil into clean burning low emissions biodiesel fuel to only be sold here in Arizona. For every gallon of biodiesel that Az Biodiesel makes it will take away 16 pounds of co2 emissions out of the skies in Arizona.

Q) What would happen to the waste oil otherwise?

Some of the waste oil that is too polluted to be recycled into biodiesel fuel will be used for feed stock here in Az. But unfortunately most of the used oil is being shipped out of state or even out of the country. Used waste oil is a commodity and some oil collection companies are selling it to other biodiesel manufacturers in other states. Our partners at AZ Biodiesel have committed to use the oil for biodiesel fuel to be only sold here in Arizona. Its a resource that should be utilized here in Arizona and not shipped elsewhere.

Q) What is the benefit to the restaurants, consumers, local economy, environment, and what is the benefit to az green dining?

The benefit to the restaurant is that they can take advantage of the advertising campaign that Az Green Restaurant org. has launched to increase business into these participating locations. People these days tend to favor businesses’ that are doing their part in helping the environment, so the restaurants can also benefit by promoting themselves as a environmentally friendly establishment (that should also increase their business.) The consumers benefit knowing they are actually helping out the local environment by dining at these establishments. And the consumers also benefit from the cleaner air. To the local economy: Creating jobs in biodiesel processing, fuel distribution, equipment maintenance, and many other collateral business’ associated with any industry and this is just the beginning of a new local industry. Glycerin by product is reducing costs at local water treatment plants.
AZ Biodiesel maintains the cleanliness of the restaurants oil collection area and environmentally clean accidental spills and try to use as many “recycled” collection systems (used, high quality, easy pour, fluid visible, barrels) as possible.

Q) Is the biodiesel that is produced from this oil going to be available to the general public?

Absolutely.
From the commercial supply our target market is the school bus system first and foremost. But, we definitely want to make available to all the individuals that want to be environmentally friendly. Its the community effort that will determine the size of the success and our potential to use as much local resources as possible. Its all about the public and I think people would agree on the commercial side that school bus’ first makes sense.

Q) Will any of the biodiesel be shipped out of state?

NO

Q) What is done with the byproducts of biodiesel production?

Currently, the city of mesa uses it (for free) in their water treatment plant to increase the “energy” produced. Glycerin is like a food for the microbes they grow to consume the solid waste. This will save mesa a lot of money, we expect, and we feel is the true “community benefit” that should come from it. We aren’t interested in making every nickel by selling glycerin when the community should benefit as this is really a community effort.

Q) Anything you would like to add?

Please help clean the skies in Arizona but supporting local restaurants that donate their used fryer oil to be recycled into clean burning biodiesel by visiting www.azgreendining.com

WVO Storage Tanks at Az Biodiesel - Biodiesel Mixing tanks at Az Biodiesel

Az Biodiesel should be opening soon, they have already passed ASTM specifications on their biodiesel and are currently waiting for an EPA certificate.

What else can restaurants do to be more stustainable?

• Serve dine-in customers with reusable, washable plates, cutlery, utensils, and glasses.
• Serve take-out customers with biodegradable packaging, cutlery, and utensils. Eco-Products
• Watch their energy usage. I can think of many places where it’s so cold you need a jacket to dine-in.
• Watch their water usage. Don’t unnecessarily waste water.

The Automotive Service Association of Arizona has been approved by the The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to certify Arizona service locations as green. Auto shops already have certain environmental standards they must meet, but the shops certified as green go above and beyond what is required. To become certified shops must complete a checklist and score at least 300 points. This checklist covers areas such as cleaning, degreasing, energy conservation and require shops to use low hazard, low-pollution solvents or water-based cleaners, recycle waste fluids and oils, use energy-efficient lighting and A/C to name a few. To see a list of shops certified green and to see the checklist head over to ASAAZ.info.