Fresh Loaf

About 14 seconds in. Wait for it.

After the jump, some background about the video from the Clean Air Campaign.

(more…)

Bookmark It

In the new book $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better, Christopher Steiner predicts that the roller coaster ride of petrol prices will eventually become one long, cash-gobbling incline. (If this premise sounds eerily familiar, then you might have listened to Marketplace last night. Steiner was a guest.)

The change will be painful, he says. Big-box stores that rely on inexpensive goods shipped from afar will lose their grip on the marketplace. Residents will return to live in dense cities, turning the suburbs into what the cities were during white flight. Regional air travel? Too expensive and inefficient. Interstates will…well, who knows. I remember hearing something like “will become overgrown with weeds,” but I think that’s already happening.

But growing pains and another economic collapse aside, the shift won’t be all that bad. Fuel prices will become so unbearable, Steiner writes, that we’ll walk and bike more, plan more dense communities, and know our neighbors. We’ll be healthier and happier and live in a cleaner environment.

Forbes Magazine has adapted some chapters of the book. After the jump, some excerpts I noticed about Atlanta.

(more…)

Bookmark It

Jim Galloway posts that yesterday’s release of 900,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve wasn’t thanks to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s efforts. It was just well-timed and concurrent with a request from refiners.

The AJC muckracker passes ob a statement from a U.S. Department of Energy spokesman:

“DOE approved an additional release of up to 900,000 barrels of crude oil from the SPR to two refiners who submitted requests. This was a concurrent request made by the individual refiners that echoed what the Governor was asking for. The 900,000 barrel SPR release was not in direct response to the Governor’s request.

“We appreciate the Governor’s concern about fuel supplies in the United States. As he noted, emergency oil exchanges from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are an important tool to mitigate supply constraints. Following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, DOE released over four million barrels of SPR oil for this purpose, and stands ready to quickly assist in response to additional refinery requests.

Bookmark It

Turns out Gov. Sonny Perdue’s got some pull up in Washington, D.C.

Per the governor’s request, the U.S. Department of Energy says it’ll open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the Gulf of Mexico to help ease Georgia’s gas shortage.

“Today the Department approved an additional release of up to 900,000 barrels of crude oil from the SPR for two refiners that have not been able to obtain adequate supplies due to the ongoing disruptions,” Secretary Samuel Bodman wrote to Perdue. “With this additional release, the total amount provided from the SPR to refineries will be approximately 5.7 million barrels since September 3, 2008.”

The state Department of Revenue has also granted waivers to out-of-state haulers without a Georgia motor-fuel licenses to deliver gasoline into the state. Diesel goes first to first responders, school systems experiencing low supplies, and agriculture centers.

Bookmark It

Gov. Sonny Perdue has asked Pres. Bush to release crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (Click here to view the letter to the president.)

“As President Bush and Congress work on a plan to rescue our financial markets, I urge them to also focus on our fuel shortage in the Southeast,” Perdue said in a release. “As refinery capacity is returning to pre-hurricane levels, I believe a surge in crude from the Reserve would bridge the gap until full production resumes and lessen the impact of shortages on the daily lives of our citizens.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 57.4 percent of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is out, a slight improvement from Friday. Three refineries re-opened over the weekend; two refineries remain completely shut down. Oil is on the way, they say.

Keep us posted, governor. In the meantime, Georgians will continue to keep each other informed via Twitter.

Bookmark It

Christa at Pecanne Log points us to Ted Ullrich’s “Localize Your Life” project, a photographic examination of a city with little fuel. Ullrich is a member of local creative agency the Epidemik Coalition.

(Screenshot from Ullrich’s Flickr)

Bookmark It

Gov. Sonny Perdue wrapped his arms around each and every one of us today and activated a law that penalizes retailers who gouge consumers on the price of gas and other products.

“The threat of Hurricane Ike has disrupted the production of distribution of gasoline, which will have an effect on prices,” said Perdue. “However, we expect the prices that Georgians pay at the pump to be in line with the prices retailers are paying. We will not tolerate retailers taking advantage of Georgians during a time of emergency.”

If you suspect a retailer of price gouging, call the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs at (404) 651-8600 or (800) 869-1123.

Bookmark It

Some tips courtesy of Conserve Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue’s newest initiative aimed at educating Jaw-juhns of the many ways we can create a more sustainable state.

• Drive sensibly: Speeding, rapid acceleration (jackrabbit starts), and rapid braking can lower gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds. Drivers can save up to 80 gallons of gasoline ($302) by driving sensibly on the highway. Around town, sensible driving can save five percent, up to 30 gallons of gasoline ($113).



• Choose the right vehicle: If you own more than one vehicle, drive the one that gets better gas mileage whenever possible.

• Reduce trunk loads: An extra 100 pounds in the trunk cuts a typical vehicle’s fuel economy by up to two percent. Removing an extra 100 pounds of unneeded items from your trunk can save up to 12 gallons of gasoline per year ($45).

• Decrease speed: Gas mileage usually decreases rapidly over 60 miles-per-hour (mph). Each five mph over 60 equates to paying an additional 20 cents per gallon for gas.

• Avoid idling: Idling gets zero miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas while idling than cars with smaller engines.

• Inflate your tires: Keeping tires properly inflated improves gas mileage by approximately three percent, saving up to 20 gallons of gasoline ($75).

• Tune up: Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of four percent, saving up to 25 gallons of gasoline ($94). Fixing a faulty oxygen sensor can improve mileage by as much as 40 percent (saving up to 250 gallons or $945).

• Select the right oil: Using the manufacturers recommended grade of motor oil, including refined motor oil, improves gas mileage by one to two percent, an annual savings of more than $40.

These are all well and good. But like a bunch of Ritalin-fueled cleaning ladies, we can do more. From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenwheatley, I offer the following tips:

• Check the A-TRAIN Trip Planner, the online navigation tool that’ll literally show you the path to the city’s transit options.

• If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, buy a hybrid. Or one of those tiny, funny looking cars. The AJC says people will giggle. If you’re shy it might help you make friends. Energy-supply crunches are great ice breakers!

• If you live intown, ride a bike. If you live along transit intown but want something that’ll get to those in-between spots, think about a Segway. Or get a scooter. A co-worker here says his meep-meep machine gets 70 miles a gallon. Yes, it only has one gallon, but that’s roughly $4 a week to get him to work and back home.

“But wait, Mrs. Frankenwheatley!” a voice cries out from the smog. “Public transit doesn’t serve my area! I don’t have the money to purchase a hybrid! People throw cans at me when I ride a scooter!”

Well, then click here to find your local elected official and tell them how you feel. Be sure to ask those who are running for election as well. Tell ‘em you want tax incentives and rebates. Make it clear what you want in terms of transit. Heck, maybe you want them to drill for oil — although come on, really? But get involved. Give them your ideas and hold them accountable. And don’t forget to vote.

(Fictitious gas-station sign created at Atom Smasher)

Bookmark It