Fuck that Summer Gas Options

[dauss]

So I usually fill up at the Shell at Slide and 82nd, because they have 93 octane gas. I go by there on Saturday, and now its 90 Octane. $0.10/gallon more for 87 octane to 89 octane, and $0.10/gallon more for 89 octane to 90 octane.

The switch has begun in DFW, though I'm not sure how much will be switched out here in Lubbock. E10/gasohol is back on in the summer to help reduce emissions. So I've been reading, and found this:

Gary Whitten, Ph.D., principal of Smog Reyes, a California-based firm that provides air-quality consulting and research, recently found that gasoline containing 10 percent ethanol: Reduces carbon monoxide emissions by up to 30 percent. Reduces fine particulate matter emissions by 50 percent. Such emissions pose a health threat to children, senior citizens and those with respiratory ailments. Reduces emissions of smog-forming volatile organic compounds by 12 percent. In addition, Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory operated by the University of Chicago, found that gas with 10 percent ethanol produced a 12 percent to 19 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming.
-drivingethanol.org

So with very liberal estimates on emission reduction stated here, so practically, the emission reduction will be no where near the 30% for CO and 50% for fine particulate matter. I'm not sure how many other cars this applies to, but I've been reading on motoring boards that they are getting about 15%-20% less MPG after they filled up with gasohol.

Ethanol: A Tragedy in 3 Acts

It started with Congress, which mandated that even more ethanol be used to extend the nation's fuel supply. From General Motors, an ad campaign called "Live Green, Go Yellow" gave America the impression that by purchasing GM vehicles capable of using E85 ethanol, we could help reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

What GM left out of its ads was that the use of this fuel would likely increase the amount of smog during the summer months (as the EPA's own attorneys had admitted in 1995) -- and that using E85 in GM products would lower their fuel efficiency by as much as 25%. (USA Today recently reported that the Energy Dept. estimated the drop in mileage at 40%.)

But one final setup for the public has gone unnoticed. At the Web site, www.fueleconomy.gov, which confirms the 25% to 30% drop in mileage resulting from the use of this blended fuel, another feature lets users calculate and compare annual fuel costs using regular gasoline to costs using E85.

But the government site's automatic calculations are based on E85 selling for 37 cents per gallon less than regular gasoline, when the USA Today article reports that at many stations in the Midwest E85 is actually selling for 13 cents per gallon more than ordinary gas. Using the corrected prices for both gasoline and E85, the annual cost of fueling GM's Suburban goes from $2,709 to $3,763. Hence the suggestion that truth in advertising should come back into play. Possibly GM could rename this ad campaign "Shell Out Green, Turn Yellow."

So, with gasohol, I'm paying more, I'm getting less power, I'm getting lower fuel efficiency, and all the consumers gets raped.

[jonathan83]

gotta love public transportation overseas. america's is practically non-existant.