The Conservation Report

American consumption is decreasing, and consequently, oil prices and the trade deficit are falling. Personally, I believe the best thing any American should have done to prepare for the current financial crisis, and can do now, is save.

Drivers in the south and parts of the eastern seaboard of the United States are pulling up to gas stations only to discover dry pumps. Some factors resulting in shortages include the consequences of Hurricane Ike and rumors of gas shortages, which results in panic buying. Some gas station owners are taking advantage of the panicked market by gouging prices. However, states are fighting price gougers. Some areas reporting shortages include:

1. Alabama: “Alabama AAA spokesman Clay Ingram said people were still lining up at the pumps Friday with more panic buying, but on a smaller scale.”
2. Georgia: “Several Albany gas stations are without gas again this weekend.”
3. North Carolina: “Schools across North Carolina are having trouble finding fuel for buses – at any price.”
4. Tennessee: “Authorities in Nashville estimate three-quarters of the Tennessee city’s gas stations ran dry after rumors of a shortage spread.”
5. Virginia: “Now gas stations in Central Virginia are battling supply problems, many of them running out of gasoline all together.”

Report gas gouging: DOE’s Gas Price Watch Hotline

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AGRICULTURE: Birds Best Hope for Pest-Ridden Coffee Crops?

AMERICA: Making America Stupid

ARCTIC DRILLING: Drilling in the Arctic Refuge: The 2,000-Acre Footprint Myth: Oil development would stamp a spiderweb of industrial sprawl across the whole of the refuge’s 1.5-million-acre coastal plain.

ARCTIC MELTING: Arctic Sea Ice Drops to Record Levels

AUTO INDUSTRY: BMW leaps ahead on new car CO2 emissions, others still stalling, GM Takes Its Case to the People, The 65 mpg Ford the U.S. Can’t Have:Ford’s Fiesta ECOnetic gets an astonishing 65 mpg, but the carmaker can’t afford to sell it in the U.S.

BEES: Roadsides Helping Bees Thrive, Apples and pears at risk due to dramatic decline in the honeybee, experts warn

BICYCLE COMMUTERS: Real Estate Agents Cater To Bicycle Commuters

BIG OIL: Exclusive: More on the Interior Department’s Sex and Oil Scandal

BIOFUELS: Tequila endangered by switch to biofuels

CARBON SEQUESTERING: Green Cement is Carbon Neutral, Sequesters CO2 from Power Plants

CHINESE CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES: Elephants Decimated in Congo Park; China Demand Blamed

CLIMATE CHANGE: Sponges Feel the Heat From Climate Change

COAL: It’s the Coal, Stupid, Scrubbing King Coal: How come energy companies are gaga over alternative fuels? First off, define “alternative.”

COMPOSTING: How to Create a Dirt Cheap Compost Bin with a Garbage Can

DEFORESTATION: MTV Cuts Down Rainforest for Reality TV Show

DESALINATION: Desalination Closer to Reality in California

DEVIL FACIAL TUMOUR DISEASE (DFTD): Tasmanian Devil Cancer Worse

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: BMW confirms electric city car

ENERGY: U.S. Could Cut Fuel Use 50% by 2035, Wiggling Plastic at River Bottom to Generate Electricity, Massive floating generators, or ‘eco-rigs’, to provide power and food to Japan, Hawaiian Coal-Fired Plant Being Converted to Burn Biomass, Google search finds seafaring solution, Paint it white: Cool roofs save cash and carbon, New experimental homes will heat themselves, Researchers Developing the “Internet for Energy”, CleanTech Group to build $227 million waste to fuel plant in Indiana, Chicken Manure to power 90,000 Homes in the Netherlands!

ETHANOL: Mechanics see ethanol damaging small engines: Fuel blend, already implicated in high food prices, linked to rise in repairs

FISHERIES: Alaskans Choose Mine Over Fish

FUEL ECONOMY: 84% of Brits rate fuel efficiency #1

FUEL PRICES: Waving Goodbye to the Bus: As fuel prices rise, some districts are updating an old method of getting children to school.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: New Geothermal Technology Could Tap 120,000MW of Energy

GLOBAL WARMING: 5 Diseases that are Thriving Thanks to Global Warming, Earth Hotter Now Than in Past 2,000 Years, Study Says

GREEN: Both Conventions Touted as ‘Green’ Events, 10 Greenest Presidents in U.S. History: Which Leaders Fought to Protect the Environment?

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: California’s 220 MPH High-Speed Train Will Be Emissions-Free

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Paris Preview: Officially Official, Honda’s new hybrid is the Insight!, Toyota Prius owners can double their mileage by ordering a kit that converts their vehicle into a plug-in hybrid, Consumer Reports says that some hybrids do pay off - quickly, For Gustav-Level Outages, Cities Tap Hybrid Buses for Power, Honda Reveals New “Insight” Prius Killer, NYC gets hit with lawsuit over “unsafe” hybrid taxis, Berlin Hearts Electric Smarts

LANDFILLS: GM plans to dump use of landfills

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS: “Pristine” Reefs Part of Planned Marine Reserve

NEW SPECIES: New Giant Clam Found; May Have Fed Early Humans, New Catfish Species Found

NUCLEAR POWER: Another “Incident” at French Nuclear Plant

PHEV: Toyota launches plug-in Prius hybrid in UK

POPULATION GROWTH: Scientists: Save the planet—have fewer kids: As rising populations strain a warming planet, a British journal suggests having smaller families

REDISCOVERED SPECIES: Tiny Frog, Believed Extinct, Found in Australia

SALMON: Snapping Salmon: A Biologist’s Underwater Passion

SMART CAR: NYC garages grant smart for two cheaper parking rates, Vegas HUMMER dealer switching to SMART

SOLAR: COULD SOLAR HIGHWAYS POWER OUR CITIES?, SOLAR TREE by Vivien Muller

TAILPIPE EMISSIONS: California Moves on Bill to Curb Sprawl and Emissions

TRUCKING INDUSTRY: Trucking industry pushes for cleaner fleet, improved funding for nation’s infrastructure

WATER AVAILABILITY: Sun Used to Purify Water

WETLANDS: Iraq’s ‘Garden of Eden’ May Get Global Protection

WHALING: 4,000+ Japan Whale Harvest Not Justified, Experts Say

WIND POWER: Groundbreaking Energy Ball Wind Turbine for Home Power, Offshore wind farms may line U.S. coast

WTF?: THINGS THAT EXIST: High Heels For Babies

ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVATION: Too Few Asian Vultures in Captivity to Save Species?

This interactive graphic from Portfolio.com illustrates what other countries and territories pay per-gallon for gas (as of May - August 2008, depending on the country). According to the numbers, America is still a spoiled country.

Africa 
1. Libya: $0.50
2. Madagascar: $5.97
3. Zambia: $9.88

Asia

4. China: $3.40
5. Hong Kong: $8.05

Europe

6. Italy: $9.09
7. Norway: $9.95

North and Central America

8. Cuba: $3.75
9. Panama: $4.13
10. United States of America: $3.73

Middle East

11. Saudi Arabia: $0.45
12. Turkey: $11.18

South America

13. Bolivia: $1.95
14. Brazil: $6.38

Go here to see what other countries and territories are paying per-gallon for gas.

The Coca-Cola Company is converting some of its trucking fleet into hybrids. Their “new trucks are estimated to lower fuel consumption by 37 percent and emissions by 32 percent — solid figures to impress the growing number of people who are demanding a reduction in greenhouse gases.” From the MiamiHerald.com, FL:

The hybrids are intended for heavy use in metropolitan markets, where they will rely on electric power up to 30 or 35 mph. Over that speed, the diesel engine kicks in, said Jose Brito, a truck specialist with the Coca-Cola distribution center. Batteries charge when the driver steps off the gas or during the braking process.

Coca-Cola has been working for five years with Eaton, a Cleveland-based industrial manufacturer, to design and develop the hybrid trucks, including a special transmission and the technology to shift between electric and diesel power.

The doors and back of the red trucks announce their hybrid status, with a large, green, old-fashioned Coke bottle on the back and a slogan to emphasize that the company is “working together for a Clean Environment.”

BIODIVERSITY: More bird species means fewer West Nile cases

BIOFUELS: Secret report: biofuel caused food crisis: Internal World Bank study delivers blow to plant energy drive

CANARY IN THE COAL MINE: Penguin woes signal trouble at sea

CARBON: NYC to spend billions to cut greenhouse gases

CLIMATE CHANGE: Welcome to the climate insecurity generation, Grasslands hold up to climate change, California plants squeezed by climate change

CONSERVATION: Nature reserves attract humans, but at a cost to biodiversity, Nature 2.0: Redefining conservation

DAMS: Aral Sea revived by dam

ENERGY POLICY: American energy policy, asleep at the spigot

EXTINCTION: Orang-utans ‘on fast track to extinction’

FISHERIES: Lobsters, crabs, squid, and other invertebrates are becoming more common while populations of bottom-feeding fish are plummeting, according to a long-term trawling study of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay

FOOD: Ugly veggies to ease food crisis?, Taking bite out of banana mess

FUEL ECONOMY: Even modest increases in MPG can equal big gas savings

FUEL PRICES: NYC taxi drivers demand $1 fuel surcharge: Bloomberg Administration opposes idea; union threatens its own unspecified opposition

G8 SUMMIT: Environmentalists unhappy with G8 emissions goal, Environmentalists dismiss G-8 emissions target, Summit that’s hard to swallow - world leaders enjoy 18-course banquet as they discuss how to solve global food crisis

GLOBAL WARMING: Penguin chicks frozen by global warming?, Blocking sun not feasible warming solution

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: NYC to spend billions to cut greenhouse gases

HEALTH: Mississippi is the fattest state in the Union

INVASIVE SPECIES: Penguins strangled by invasive grass

MADAGASCAR: Madagascar hopes tourism saves ‘Noah’s Ark’

SCIENCE: Extreme rain grows mountains, Ancient ice sheets fell like dominoes

SOLAR: NanoMarkets predicts thin-film solar cell industry will produce more than 26 gigawatts by 2015, Meet the steel-melting solar mirror

WATER POLLUTION: Olympic sailors facing polluted waters

WILDFIRES: California grid urges conservation amid heat and fires, With resources tight, Californians take on wildfires themselves

WIND POWER: Oil billionaire Pickens puts his money on wind power

WTF?:: Restaurant: Man who died had ordered crab meat: No criminal charges will be filed, but investigators have suggested a mistake occurred

I can easily bike and walk since I live in a city, so I don’t have to worry about purchasing fuel to get to school or work. As a result, I save money, and I can afford to do most activities that more and more Americans are being forced to scale back. Furthermore, if I were a family man with kids, husband, or wife, in addition to a commute, I would defiantly purchase a fuel-efficient car to drive, because it is responsible to do so. Actually, being a cognizant and proactive person, I would have purchased a fuel-efficient car long before the problem began to dominate my life.

People argue that they feel safe in an SUV. However, the safety argument is a farce, because the false sense of security is easily disproved or made apparent by the many individuals and families that do drive fuel-efficient cars.

SUVs are simply irresponsible, and we need to be more cognizant of what we want to leave future generations, including our children. Some of my legitimate worries include: Depleted, irresponsibly used, or squandered oil reserves in addition to an atmosphere full of greenhouse gases. Our future generations will inherent these environmental, social, and political maladies if we are not proactive in our decision-making.

It is our duty to leave future generations a healthy civilization and environment. High energy prices give rise to desperation and crime. Currently, people are siphoning fuel from cars, fueling stations and even boats. Not surprisingly, people are trading sex for fuel. Government workers are not even immune from temptation (considering all the record keeping and oversight I noticed while working twice for the federal government), since public workers have been caught stealing fuel from the state and taxpayers. Additionally, a “firefighter [has even been] accused of using a fire station account to purchase gas for his personal vehicle….”

We must preserve our natural resources and improve environmental quality because these issues are directly related to social unrest and threaten our democracy. However, we politicize environmental and social issues, but more Americans are realizing that themes of environmentalism such as living in a cleaner environment, using renewable resources, and preserving nature and its natural resources are indispensable. As a result, more people are realizing that environmentalism should not be casually written off as an uninformed agenda or irrational ideology.

AIR POLLUTION: Smog in Beijing five times over safety limit as Olympics nears

ANIMAL WELFARE: Hundreds of endangered monkeys are being taken from the African bush and sent to a “secretive” laboratory in Iran for scientific experiments

AUTO INDUSTRY: GM, Ford, Toyota plunge as buyers reject big trucks, June car sales plummet for nearly all automakers: Car sales down almost across the board for June; GM hangs on to title of US sales leader, U.S. auto sales hit 15-year low, GM may sell mini-cars to fuel-conscious U.S. buyers

CLIMATE CHANGE: Midwest floods show signs of global warming, Insurers criticized for new rate models

FOOD: Salmonella outbreak blamed on tomatoes might have been caused by tainted jalapeno peppers, Some food from Mexico to face testing

FUEL PRICES: Countdown to $200 oil: International Energy Agency says current prices justified…, Oil heads past $145 for 1st time; pump cost up too: Oil surges to new highs above $145 a barrel; US pump prices at record near $4.10 a gallon, Group asks for divine intervention to ease oil prices, As gas prices soar, elderly face cuts in aid

GUERRILLA GARDENING: Guerrilla gardeners dig in to beautify Los Angeles

NASA: Phoenix scientists soon will analyze Martian ice

NATIONAL MAXIMUM SPEED LAW: Senator asks if nation’s drivers should slow down

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Good news for McCain: Support for offshore drilling spikes, Insurers criticized for new rate models, Companies begin quest for oil and gas off Florida coast

OIL COMPANY PROFITS: Should the government impose a cap on oil company profits?

PARALYTIC SHELLFISH POISONING: NOAA issues new red tide advisories, Red tide prompts limited shellfish closures

RECOMMENDED RECIPE: Calamari pasta

WILDFIRES: California wildfires strain state’s resources

WTF?: Leona Helmsley’s multibillion-dollar estate may go to dogs, Man flying lawn chair lifted by helium balloons

ARTIFICIAL REEFS: Are artificial reefs good for the environment?: Proponents say they replenish the ecosystem. Some scientists aren’t so sure

ATOM SMASHER: Smashing the universe’s mysteries, “There’s good news this week for everyone who’s been fretting over whether the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will end up destroying the universe.”

AUTO INDUSTRY: MERCEDES are aiming to end the need for filling your fuel tank with petrol or diesel within just SEVEN YEARS

BIOFUELS: Mozambique’s better biofuels, “Ireland could become a key player in the production of biofuel from seaweed…”, Coal plants and algae fuel…symbiotic?

CARBON FOOTPRINT: Airports, long an eco-nightmare, slowly clean up

CIVILIZATION: “Uncontacted” Amazon tribe actually known for decades

CLIMATE CHANGE: Exclusive: No ice at the North Pole: Polar scientists reveal dramatic new evidence of climate change, North Pole may be ice free for first time this summer, Climate-change satellite launched, Greenland ice shows rapid climate flips

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Aeon to offer accelerated EV charging at malls

ENVIRONMENTALISM: “Environmentalism is not a [sic] ethos but a design quirk.” REALLY? Environmentalism is an ethos.

FLAGSHIP SPECIES: Canadians argue for polar bear hunt

FLOODING: Levee breaks, threatening eastern Mo. homes, What to do with all the sandbags?

FUEL ECONOMY: U.S. drivers should think in gallons per mile, Gallons per mile would help car shoppers make better decisions

FUEL EFFICIENCY STANDARDS: Mazda to cut fuel consumption 30 percent by 2015

FUEL PRICES: Cops slap speeders with fuel surcharge, Oil drives plastic companies out of business

GREEN: Germany ‘is world’s greenest country’

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: First picture of £4billion glass tower that could save - but dwarf - Battersea Power Station

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: PBS falls for debunked Prius/Hummer story

IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER: Some searchers still expect to see ‘Lord God bird’

JUSTICE: “A millionaire who inflicted years of abuse on two Indonesian housekeepers held as virtual slaves in her Long Island mansion was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison.”, If it was torture in Mississippi, then it’s definitely torture, right?

NANOTECHNOLOGY: New nanopaper is stronger than iron, still made of wood

NASA: Alkaline soil sample from Mars reveals presence of nutrients for plants to grow

NEW SPECIES: Top ten new species of 2007 named

OIL: Don’t blame the oil ’speculators’, Why oil prices are so high, Are they really oil wars?, To lower oil price, boost the buck?, Oil reaches $142 on view dollar will keep falling, Oil and gas prices peaking?

POLITICS: Mr. Bush, lead or leave

WHALING: Japan holds whale activists without charge

WILDFIRES: California forest fire moving closer to Big Sur, Californians warned of smoke threat as 1,000 fires burn

WIND POWER: Wind farm to be built off Delaware shore

Remember this nugget from President George W. Bush?

Plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius + solar panel attached to the roof + a bigger battery in the trunk - rhetoric = a versatile car that gets 100 mpg.

I doubt that anyone who criticizes a Toyota Prius drives a 1994 Geo Metro XFi. The arguments against the Toyota Prius have always been dubious and sometimes bluntly wrong (like the study that claimed the Hummer does less environmental damage than the Toyota Prius). Even the road tests that put a Toyota Prius against a diesel engine car are somewhat dubious and the results do not necessarily put the Toyota Prius as a loser. The Toyota Prius still wins under city and traffic conditions and isn’t too far behind in performance in highway type driving. Furthermore, given that Homo sapiens is officially an urban species – city and traffic driving in most areas are becoming more common. People can manipulate data and statistics to craft almost any outcome they want.

Companies, conservative think tanks (unfortunately and most detriment to real thinkers of society it seems like anyone or any institution can be a think tank), or pundits have written and released all of the highly negative reports or claims that I have seen. However, I want to see legitimate science on the issue. “I want you to show me the receipts Diane, Show Me The Receipts!”

The controversial CNW Marketing Research, Inc., made false claims and tried to pass those claims as science. The research think tank claimed a Hummer could run for more than 300K while a Toyota Prius barely lived beyond 100K. Bloggers and the media picked up on the report and used it to nail the Toyota Prius to a cross. However, the report turned out to be flawed. Ford Escape hybrids running in NYC have surpassed 175K miles of service and have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel costs. Additionally, hybrid taxicabs are hitting the 200K and 300K-mile mark and beyond – without battery replacement being an issue. Like all car batteries a recycling program exists for hybrid car batteries via a bounty.

Certainly, the Toyota Prius isn’t perfect or infallible but it does represent something beyond the inefficiency we live amongst at the moment. The Toyota Prius sends a political statement about the environment and rising energy prices. Cynics claim that Toyota Prius drivers are snobs or ill informed environmentalists. However, the exact opposite is true. I believe that hybrid technology will continue to evolve more efficiently thanks to early adopters of the technology and Toyota’s ingenuity.

Additionally, the versatility and utility (i.e., solar integration) of the Prius has been known for some time. Hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are versatile and can be integrated with solar systems, used as a generator for your home and can be converted into a PHEV now. Versatility fights economic waste and it is what markets appreciate. The early adopters of hybrid technology are supporting an evolving market for better hybrids, more efficient cars, and new technologies.

On the Net: Frequently Asked Questions | Hybrid Cars
On the Net: Toyota unveils plans for more fuel-efficient hybrids, revolutionary car battery
On the Net: Lab drives car to 100 mpg: NREL makes tailpipe dream a reality with battery-boosted Prius

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse me or my work and their image is protected under an attribution license.

Chrysler’s fuel promotion program is too good to be true.

I do not believe it is good policy to lower fuel prices. With help from the markets Americans will adapt. However, governments must be proactive and provide relief by making wise policy decisions that address the problem(s) and not exacerbate them.

Oil is a nonrenewable resource that will not remain in large quantities or easily accessible forever so the future price of diesel or gas could theoretically be almost any amount. Although current high gas prices hurt Americans, the lessons learned are priceless. Changes in behavior that promote conservation or obtaining energy from renewable or alternative sources will benefit our country in the future. Our children should inherit a proud landscape and not more problems. From The Weekly Standard:

The right question would have been, “Is it good policy to lower gasoline prices?” The right answer is “no.”

Higher prices seem to be persuading Americans to use less gasoline, witness the increased use of mass transit reported in many cities around the country. Lower gasoline prices would encourage Americans to drive more, use more of the cheaper gasoline, emit more pollutants, and increase the demand for crude oil. So regimes hostile to the United States would sell us still more oil. Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, whose government owns some 8,000 Citgo gasoline stations in America, must be astonished to learn that leading American politicians are eager to increase his revenues so that he can step up his propaganda campaign against America. And the Saudi financiers of jihadists and of the Wahabbi mullahs who fuel anti-Americanism would be pleased to have a few extra hundred million. So would Vladimir Putin. Better that, figure our politicians, than to take the political risk of increasing taxes on gasoline, reducing demand, and getting to the consumers’ wallets before OPEC and its allies do.

Hilarious.

Price and availability will force gas-guzzlers off the road. Price at the pump will also force people to use more reasonable means of transportation. The consumption of oil should go towards certain industries, which are deemed necessary like the airline industry, or towards humanitarian efforts. Allowing people to purchase too much car or too much house accelerates entropy or the loss of nonrenewable resources. It should be mandatory that people drive small cars when public transportation is not available. Strategically, it is a smart move. Given that oil is a nonrenewable resource and so much of the world’s civilization relies on its continuance, I am surprised that corporations and governments have not responded sooner to peak oil concerns. Also, do not forget climate change. From The Boston Globe:

Americans are turning away from the boxy, four-wheel-drive vehicles that have for years dominated the nation’s highways. Sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks - symbols of Americans’ obsession with horsepower, size, and status - are falling out of favor as consumers rich and poor encounter sticker shock at the pump, paying upward of $80 to fill gas tanks.

The sale of new SUVs and pickup trucks has dropped precipitously in recent months amid soaring gas prices and a weakening economy: SUV sales for the month of April alone fell 32.3 percent from a year earlier and small car sales rose 18.6 percent. This fundamental shift comes against a backdrop of relentless gas increases, and growing concerns over the environment and US oil consumption, according to auto analysts and car dealers.

“The SUV craze was a bubble and now it is bursting,” said George Hoffer, an economics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University whose research focuses on the automotive industry. “It’s an irrational vehicle. It’ll never come back.”

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Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse me or my work and their image is protected under an attribution license.

I highly recommend this Diane Rehm Show on rising oil prices and the gas tax moratorium. An expert panel tackles the possible affect the gas tax moratorium will have and how the savings are minimal or arguably nonexistent and can result in more costs to Americans. I have provided some highlights from the panelists and themes discussed but the discussion goes much deeper and I recommend you listen to the discussion to gain or reinforce your perspective. One panelist who drives his scooter to work, drove his scooter to the Diane Rehm Show.

Themes

Highlights
Diane Rehm

Neil King, Jr.

From Roger Diwan

Mark Cooper

See more Recommended Diane Rehm Shows

Image by Buck Denton