How to Monitor Oil Prices Online

There are a number of reasons why someone would need to easily monitor current oil prices. Monitoring Current Oil Prices for Home Heating When it comes to heating your home, the timing of when you buy your oil fillups is critical. Oil prices change substantially depending on the current temperatures and weather in the market where your buying. When the winter temperatures in the Northeast begin to drop, oil prices are very quick to respond accordingly. This is especially true after a long summer where gasoline consumption has been especially high.

In order to meet this summertime need, refineries put oil production and storage on hold in order to meet that demand. When winter temperatures arrive and the demand for home heating oil rises, so do the associated oil prices. This is why many homeowners could benefit greatly from monitoring current oil prices.

Investing in Oil

Another group of consumers who have a need to monitor current oil prices are investors. While crude oil investors certainly have a tremendous need to know the current state of oil prices, investors who are interested in other related industries also have a need to monitor current oil prices. Oil consumption influences many products across a number of large industries. Petroleum is used in plastic, industrial chemicals, and of course fuel that's used to operate large fleets of vehicles. Anything that depends on petroleum is going to react to changes in market oil prices.

Planning Spending

Anothe reason many consumers may need to monitor oil prices is to plan vacations, create shipping schedules, or to strategically plan any other transportation expenses. Individuals and businesses could potentially save a great deal if they monitor oil prices closely and only conduct significant transportation or travel activities during the time when oil prices are especially low. This can also be accomplished by tracking seasonal trends in oil prices and planning activities accoring to which season traditionally has the lowest oil prices.

How to Monitor Current Oil Prices

The obvious place to monitor current oil prices is online. There are thousands of online sources that display the current market price of crude oil. In fact there are even entire websites devoted to crude oil news and discussing anything that could potentially have an effect on the price of crude oil. To learn more, simply conduct a web search for "current oil price" and you'll find many web pages which offer a realtime display of the price. Another excellent resource is CostOfOil.net which provides all kinds of information and resources about the current price of crude oil, including realtime display widgets.

Read More...

Wind Power--The Best Green Energy Source

Electricity produced by wind turbines is green power in that it causes no environmental pollution. No greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change are produced either. Wind power generation can be on a large scale,which is the case with most commercial projects,or on a small scale as with home owner turbines.
Wind is the cheapest form of renewable energy without a doubt. Solar energy is also clean,green,power but is more expensive and limited in output. Solar panels are presently expensive in relation to the power they can produce. Nuclear energy supplies a lot of the power requirements in some countries,notably in Europe.


There is however much public opposition to building new nuclear power plants.


In the USA natural gas is the biggest form of new energy production. Wind power is the next in line. In 2008 wind turbines will produce about 1% of the United States power needs. Around 30% of new energy production installed in 2007 was wind power.



Many consumers now realise that green energy must be our highest priority in future,if we are to minimise climate change and it effects. The trend to building fossil fuel powered generating stations must be reversed.



Home owners and farmers can help with the transition to clean power by installing small wind turbines to supply all or part of their electricity needs. These turbines can be purchased from a number of manufacturers and can be installed as a rooftop wind turbine or on a small free standing tower.



Commercial wind turbines are quite expensive in relation to power output. A better solution for many is to build their own low cost wind turbine. A good turbine can be built from auto parts and a few odds and ends at very low cost. Plans and instructions are available for this project.



Any excess power production can be sold to the power utility in many areas thus reducing the cost even further. Power can also be stored in batteries for use when the wind is too light. Even a light breeze will however produce power.



The average home owner can easily build a small wind turbine or several of them to supply part or all of the power required. All that is needed is simple tools and some auto parts and wood. Several can be built for the cost of one commercial wind turbine.



Not a bad business also for anyone who wants to make them for resale. The demand for a low cost turbine is there and can only grow in years ahead.



Why not build your own wind power turbine now and produce your own free green electricity. You will be doing mother earth a favor by reducing atmospheric pollution. This is an idea whose time has come.

Read More...

Free Home Energy Savers you May Do

We have learned from our educators that energy is neither created nor destroyed. But, this does not mean that it is free. Well, certainly it is fee but for us to use to safely, we need to pay the right cost. And if paying comes a small over what you have allocated on your monthly houseowner financial plan, there are things that must be done.
You has to realize how to conserve energy.



There are some actions that can be done to significantly lower down your electric bills. All you need are common sense & sensitivity on the things you may replace. It will be discussed below.





No cost home energy savers – As was said, with the use of common sense & sensitivity on your actions, you can cut down your electric bills without buying energy savers. Here are the ways to do it:





· Turn of the stereos, televisions, and lights when you leave the room or if you don't need them





Energy is wasted & money is spent ignorantly if these things aren't practiced. Certainly, some of us are aware that turning off appliances when not using then is important but many would still neglect the practice knowing that it would only price them small amount. Yes, it could be small quantity but if you're doing this in your entire life multiply that to the number of appliances you have in your house, you might be injudiciously spending hundreds of bucks.





· Switch off computer monitor when not in use





Exactly similar to your tv, your computer monitor consumes energy. & like your tv, you can want to turn it off while away from your computer.





· Maximise the use of your washing machine or dishwasher





Full load your cleaning machine and dishwashers. Grab note that you consume the same power without any connection to the amount of your wash loads. If in case you have few dishes you have to wash, you can constantly wash & dry them by hand. In this way, you have saved also energy but not just water and dishwashing soap. This also goes with few pieces of garmentses you have to wash. Another energy saver is the front load washing machine. Using this will save you 50% on water and 50% on energy. You can also wanna air dry your dishes as well as your clothes.





· Use cold water when washing your clothes





Total savings that wouldn’t price you a dime is when you determine to rinse your garmentses without using water heaters. Cleaning machines consume most of their energy warming the water that will be used.





· Refrain from using your microwave to thaw frozen meat





If you practice removing frozen meat from the refrigerator & thawing it in your microwave, you're wasting a big expense. In order for you to save, take out frozen meat hrs before you plan to cook it. You may immerse it in warm water do speed up the process.





· Do not put hot or warm food on the fridge





Let them cool down first. The fridge will consume much power in order that cool down these hot foods where in fact you can constantly avoid them.





· Do not use second fridge if needed





If you may squeeze all your “fridgeable” stuff inside 1 fridge, do so. A second refrigerator doubles your energy using up.





· Ensure that your home is sealed





If you're using warming system or air conditioning to heat up or cool down your home, make sure you that your home is totally sealed. This will make certain that the devices are used efficiently. Leakages will keep the heat from your house therefore will push the warming system for work more & consume more energy. This also goes with air conditioning system.





· Lower down the thermostat by up to the desired amount 7 degrees centigrade while not at house or while sleeping





This will keep your energy using up maximize. Be aware of that you don't need super cool air or extremely hot room while you're away or while you are sleeping.





Creating sure that you maximize this will keep you electric bill in your longed for figures. Follow it and see the difference.

Read More...

Green Energy-a Great Way to Save Cash

Did you know that you can save up to 80% on your energy bill by going green? In just a month you can start saving hundreds of dollars just by creating your own natural energy source. Now is the best time to start going green with the economy doing very bad. You have better things to spend your cash on than your energy bill.

Making your own natural energy source is relatively easy as well. You can create your very own solar panel or wind generator over a weekend. With the right guide and the right resources, making a natural energy source can be incredibly easy and fun.

Forget spending thousands of dollars on having a solar panel or wind generator installed. You can build your own renewable energy source for less than $50. And with that money you will be able to create an energy source that will pay for itself within a month.

You can even earn money from a reneable energy source by selling unused energy back to your utility company. Think about it. Energy is constantly being produced throughout the day. Do you really think you are going to need all of it? Making a natural energy source is a great way to save cash and earn it!

Once you get things going you will have yourself an automated source of income! For a cheap and effective guide on how to create your own natural energy source click the link below. The market of green energy is about to explode. Don't get left behind and pay the price. Go green and get cash right now!

http://www.squidoo.com/howtomakenaturalpower

 

Read More...

Peak Oil and the '08 Election

The headlines this month have been taken by the most insidious of America's vices: black gold. Oil futures are now projected to exceed $100 a barrel until 2016, and continue to sit comfortably near the $115-120 a barrel mark. Many different causes have been blamed for rising prices at the pump, ranging from massive speculation to supply instability in some oil-producing nations. However, one factor must surely be worrisome to most every American: oil companies haven't been getting enough of the stuff out of the ground.

Exxon Mobil's $11 billion quarterly profit disappointed Wall Street and investors alike, their shares falling 4 percent on May 1st. The largest oil company in the US has seen stagnant margins in most quarters since 2005 without being able to increase production. In fact, their overall production fell 10 percent. Demand in the US has also contracted 2 percent since the beginning of the credit crunch last summer, so Exxon's profits have been reaped in large part because of increasing price pressure on consumers, many of whom have looking to Congress for some relief. They may be looking for a while, as representatives have been less than forthcoming on bipartisan measures since they passed the economic stimulus package into law in February. 

The two Democratic candidates running for President have sharply contrasted on how to address record oil inflation. Both Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton and Republican Senator John McCain have endorsed the idea of temporarily removing the federal gas tax over the summer months. Their reasoning is that consumers will feel the pinch of driving costs most over the summer, which means some offset in price would be more appreciated. However, there is no guarantee that the tax break will reach consumer directly, as many other secondary industries besides the oil companies price their profits into gasoline. Senator Barack Obama has also criticized the two candidates, stating that they were "reading from the same political playbook." However, he hasn't offered forth an alternative.

It is therefore difficult to project how difficult it will be for hard-hit US consumers in the near term, much less come November. Ethanol conversion and use is another issue that will continue to influence price inflation, as greater demand for alternative fuels increases. Many economists already believe that the globe has reached peak oil, or the zenith of possible oil production. This means that energy will only become scarcer and more expensive, and the 18.5 cent federal gas tax will only be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to government intervention. Oil prices aren't going down by much even if such a tax break is implemented, primarily because demand from developing countries like China and India continues to grow. Indeed, their combined oil consumption outpaced that of the US for the first time in 2007. Some type of initiative between oil-producing nations will eventually have to be made to move towards more sustainable levels of consumption, but growing divisive political sentiments make it unlikely for anything major to happen until someone new is in the Oval Office.

Read More...

Global Warming As A US Election Issue

Heat waves, wildfires, droughts and flash floods are among the weather phenomena that will become more intense and frequent due to global warming. There is more in store, as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, primarily flowing from our tailpipes and smokestacks, build up in the atmosphere.

The consequences of not doing anything about global warming pale in comparison to the costs. It will cost the world less economically, in the long run, to wean itself from fossil fuels. It will prevent costly epidemics, natural disasters and possibly even wars spurred by the migrations of people fleeing climate-ravaged regions.



Potential solutions range from asking industry to reduce pollution, as President Bush did to little effect, to taxing carbon, as only a handful in Congress favor. In between are various strategies to encourage the use of renewable energy and 'clean coal',popularize efficient vehicle technology, boost building efficiency, manipulate the market to drive down the level of pollution, and prepare the nation's infrastructure for the changes to come.



Worldwide, emissions in 2050 must drop below 1990 levels by at least 50% - likely much more. That means the decisions made by the next president will be critically important, since industrialized nations will have to make steeper cuts to meet the goal. Until recently, the United States was the world's top carbon polluter (China now pollutes more), and it remains the world's per capita leader and the nation with the longest legacy of pollution.



What is a future president to do? Both Senators Barack Obama and John McCain agree that global warming is real, that humans are largely responsible, that unabated it is likely to have serious consequences and that the federal government should take an active role to reduce the threat. Both support a cap-and-trade regulation that would set nationwide limits on the amount of carbon that could be emitted and allot pollution allowances to individual plants and industries so that those that exceed their limits must buy credits from those that do not.



Here's where they differ:



Senator Barack Obama's Position on Global Warming is that he would aim to cut emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, in line with the scientific consensus for avoiding the worst consequences of global warming. His cap-and-trade regulation would also include an auction of all pollution credits (so no polluter retains the right to pollute for free), and he plans to use the money generated to pursue aggressive renewable energy and energy efficiency goals that would also, he says, create millions of new 'green collar' jobs.



Senator John McCain's Position on Global Warming McCain was an early champion of cap-and-trade in the Senate and last supported a 60% cut below 1990 levels of pollution, short of the goal articulated by the world's scientists. He would allot credits to existing polluters, rather than auctioning them off.

Read More...

The Conservation Policies Of Presidential Candidates

We all know our Earth is in serious trouble. If there is one person who can really turn around things in our country it is the president. With elections round the corner and a line-up of presidential candidates, don't all of us want to know who truly supports the green movement? Here's a run down on the top candidates and their perspective of the environment:



Hillary Clinton

She has been known for citing serious environmental hazards in all of her speeches. However, it wasn't until late 2007 that she actually drafted a comprehensive solution to the problem. This plan is essentially more like a cap trade mechanism which aims at reducing emissions by as much as 80%! A two-pronged approach focusing on investment and efficiency seems to be the primary strategy as of now. While the efficiency focus deals with elevating standards on vehicles, buildings etc. investment would focus on aspects like hybrids that are pluggable and also ensuring carbon seizures. Plans are also in the initial stages to form a NEC (National Energy Council) of sorts in order to segregate the responsibilities amongst agencies of the federal government. Clinton's plan is pretty similar to the other presidential candidate lineups. However, it remains to be seen if any real implementation happens.



Barack Obama

Barack has been seen touting the usage of liquefied coal at one point which earned him a black mark amongst the green movers. Throughout his campaign he did not really devote time to focus on aspects about the environment or energy. It was only later during October 2007 that he finally released a detailed plan on energy conservation. In addition to the cap trade system promoted by Clinton, Obama also cited an investment of 150 billion to facilitate more green employment opportunities. His detailed plan also enlists aspects on improving efficiency creating a smarter electricity grid system and promoting public transportation.



John McCain

John McCain has been one of the few presidential candidates to truly voice his opinion on global warming issues. In 2003 he brought out the Climate Stewardship Act which was produced in 2005 and yet again in 2007. This proposal also focused on cap trade mechanisms while also cutting down emissions by 65%. He believes fuel efficiency must be raised in a gradual fashion instead of taking dramatic steps to change the existing system.



Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader is an Independent but has managed to carve a name for himself as far as environment protection measures are concerned. In the initial days of his career he started a movement that aimed at getting consumer protection and environment laws passed in parliament. He was also instrumental in getting acts such as Clean Water and Clean Air passed. Till date Nader has voiced his opinion strongly against the funding in favor of nuclear supplies. In addition Nader is also strongly against industries that pollute the environment. He believes aspects like imposition of carbon tax will help protect the environment to a certain extent. He also advocates the usage of solar power as an alternative fuel source.

Read More...

We Can Break Oil Addiction Permanently

Oil prices have begun their rise into the sky. OPEC knows that oil reserves are falling and that demand is rising. OPEC has cornered the petroleum market. OPEC's prospects for jacking up oil prices without opposition are unlimited. Or are they?



Consumers cannot expect any help from drilling for oil on US soil. US oil companies have been raising prices in lockstep with OPEC.



Two onerous facts are still annoying the energy industry. OPEC must make sure that world economies do not collapse under the burden of excessive oil prices. The goose that lays the golden eggs must be kept alive. OPEC will carefully manage supplies and petroleum prices to maintain optimum cash flows coming, but will avoid studiously the collapse of world economies. Then there is another, more serious threat, which is more difficult to control by OPEC. It comes from the battered fuel users.



People are slowly awakening to the fact that the world is overheating and that the accelerating combustion of fossil fuel is the culprit. Combustion of fossil fuels in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas produces huge amounts of carbon dioxide. Only a small amount of this carbon dioxide is absorbed in oceans, lakes, and rivers. Most of it is accumulating in the Earth's atmosphere.



Carbon dioxide is a very stable chemical compound and stays for very long times in the atmosphere. It is also optically active. This means that it absorbs and emits thermal radiation. Heat transfer processes between Sun and Earth and Earth and Outer Space are being altered. As a result, the Earth is heating up.



Governments across the world must get together and make plans to stop fossil fuel burning as soon as possible. After all, ice melting is already leading to an unstoppable rise in sea levels and climate changes are being reported increasingly from all quarters of our world.



What can enlightened governments do to prevent unavoidable damages by coming climate events, which are caused by the overheating of our planet?



Modern energy supplies are exclusively based on three energy forms; electric power, heating gases, and liquid fuels. The technology for converting fossil fuel fired power plants and making them emission-free is widely available. Sufficient nuclear fuel can be mined or reclaimed and will last at least for another century. Windmills and submerged turbines can generate electricity from wind power and marine power. Substantial amounts of electricity can be produced by photovoltaic and thermal conversion of sunlight.



The future outlook for replacing coal and natural gas energy with renewable energies for electric power generation is bright. Costs of future electric energy supplies can likely be kept from escalating due to the low cost of nuclear fuels and the complete lack of energy costs for sunshine, wind, and moving water.



The outlook for suitable replacements of liquid fuel energy, on the other hand, is quite dismal. At present, there is one, and only one, potential replacement technology for liquid fuels on the horizon; the conversion of biomass into petroleum substitutes. Nature has converted biomass into petroleum before. We must now learn to imitate this process. We know how to apply heat, high pressures, catalysts, and chemicals. However, we do not know yet, how nature succeeded in converting carbohydrates in the form of biomass into clean and highly concentrated hydrocarbons.



The past history of converting biomass into viable motor fuels shows many failures. We have just witnessed another misstep. The US administration elected to subsidize the large-scale production of ethanol from corn. The energy yield from converting corn into ethanol is exceptionally low. Driven by a substantial subsidy of $0.51 per gallon of ethanol and by skyrocketing gasoline prices, demand for ethanol was artificially driven up and made ethanol competitive with gasoline at fueling stations.



Increased ethanol demand drove up the price of corn. Increased corn prices drove up the prices of many foods. Escalating food prices led to protests and riots worldwide. The apparent lesson is that the world cannot tolerate the direct competition between food and biofuel substitutes based on market prices. Instead, we must keep the growing of food crops completely separated from the farming of biomass for the production of liquid fuels.



Most importantly, the US must establish a new, autonomous agency that will develop processes for producing petroleum substitutes from biomass in less than a decade. Only by producing a high quality petroleum substitute can the world expect to stop global overheating and to contain skyrocketing oil prices. The production of an affordable petroleum substitute at $50 per barrel will preserve our fleets of automobiles, trucks, trains, ships, and airplanes. It will also preserve oil refineries. Inexhaustible liquid refinery feedstocks from biomass will give the oil industry an opportunity to replace high priced fossil petroleum reserves and to halt global overheating.



There is an excellent chance that the US can take the lead in developing this novel technology and reap unique benefits. But we must be vigilant about one fact; OPEC and energy industry interests across the world will fight such endeavor with all their unrivaled might.

Read More...

Effects Of Global Warming on Agriculture

The earth's climate has been relatively stable for thousands of years. We know intuitively that it is hot, humid, and rainy in the Amazon, and that corn grows well in the US Midwest. We know that at a particular altitude we should plant a crop during a certain week of the year because conditions for it are just right then. For most of our memory as humans, our climates have closely oscillated around predictable patterns, and this has allowed us to feed ourselves and flourish.



When a stable climate system is modified beyond its "tipping point," it gets out of balance and loses its equilibrium. While the system searches for a new set of patterns to stabilize around, variability and uncertainly are the norm. This, in essence, is the nature of the challenge that we are now facing.



Agriculture is one of the most weather-dependent of all human activities. It is ironic, then, that a significant percentage of greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. Fossil fuel-intensive agriculture is contributing to the creation of the unpredictable weather conditions that all farmers will need to battle in the not-too-distant future.



The Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s allowed us to increase yields by "borrowing" solar energy from the past in the form of fossil-fuel-based fertilizers and pesticides. When one adds in the oil used for processing and packaging foods and for refrigerating and shipping them long distances, it's easy to see how the food industry consumes about 20% of all the oil used in the US.



About 1% of the world's annual energy usage goes into the production of fertilizers. This might not seem like much, but it ties the price of food to that of natural gas, and will make food prices shoot up once energy supplies start to dwindle.



In the UK, food production and distribution account for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. The 18% is split fairly evenly between "on-the-farm emissions" (from farming activities) and "beyond-the-farm emissions" (from transportation and processing activities, etc.).



While we've all gotten used to carbon dioxide being the bad boy on the global warming block, agriculture's greenhouse-gas contributions include healthy shares of methane and nitrous oxide, both of which are more potent than CO2.



Finally, while production and transport of chemical fertilizers and pesticides lead directly to creation of greenhouse gases, use of these chemicals also does so indirectly by reducing farm soil's capacity to store carbon.



So, what to do? Go organic! United Kingdom's Environment Secretary notes that, in many cases, organic agriculture produces fewer greenhouse gases than conventional equivalents. There's a catch, though. Organic food transported long distances is NOT helpful. So, go organic AND local.



We are already seeing some climate changes that may be indicative of what's to come for agriculture:



1) Maple syrup production in the American northeast is suffering. The climate in which maple trees thrive is expected to move about two degrees (of latitude) north to Canada. Maple syrup production is already down by about 10% because of warmer and shorter winters.



2) The southwestern United States is already experiencing a lack of water - without water for irrigation, this area is too dry for large-scale agriculture - and serious desertification is expected to happen within the next few decades. Conditions similar to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s are expected to be the norm in the area by the 2030s.



3) All over the country, we are seeing earlier bird migrations and northward shifts in the ranges of crops and pests.



4) We're also seeing increased peaks in spring run-off from glacier melt and snow-fed rivers.



Global-warming-related changes will affect the future of farming in myriad ways. Here are some examples:



1) The snow pack in California's Sierra Mountains has been gradually declining for the last 50 years, and the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report says that it could ultimately be reduced by 60% to 90%. This will result in a very serious lack of water for Central Valley farmers during the summer months. Southern California will be particularly hard hit.



2) A Colorado State University study shows that warming will cause Colorado's grazing lands to become less productive.



3) Florida is expected to get heavier rains and flooding, which will be hard on citrus and other crops.



4) Most importantly for the US economy and for the "mainstream" industrial food system, which is primarily "corn-fed," the latest climate models predict that it might become too hot and dry to grow corn in what is now called the Corn Belt.



Scientists believe that higher carbon dioxide levels and temperatures may actually increase yields slightly - as long as the temperature increase is no more that a few degrees C. Beyond that, the warming effect dominates and crop yields decrease. Keeping in mind that, so far, observed global warming effects keep surpassing scientists expectations (in a bad way), it seems likely that rising temperatures in farming regions will wreak havoc on crop yields.



Less availability of irrigation water due to warmer temperatures will also be a big negative for dry areas. Many of our most productive farming areas depend heavily on irrigation. Further, there is a local cooling effect in irrigated areas (from evaporating water) that moderates temperatures, helping crops survive withering summer temps. Thus, less irrigation will exacerbate global-warming-driven temperature increases in water-short areas. And remember - 40% of the world's food supply comes from the 2% of land that is dependent on irrigation.



On the other side of the water issue, global warming is expected to increase "severe weather events." That will be another blow to global agricultural output.



Globally, yields for many of the world's main staple crops are bound to decline. A study by researchers at the Lawrence picture of parched corn Livermore National Labs and Stanford University compared yields for the world's six main staple crops - wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, barley and sorghum - and found a 3% to 5% decline for every one degree of temperature increase. Those six crops account for at least 55% of non-meat calories consumed by people, and more than 70% of the world's animal feed. The IPCC's latest report estimates an average warming of between 3 and 11 degrees by the end of the century.

Read More...

Electric Cars: Plug in Today!

Call it an electric vehicle (EV) or call it a battery electric vehicle (BEV), but a rose by any other name would still smell sweet if it utilized green technology. Electric cars flourished in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but limitations like low top speeds helped seal their fate. Advances in manufacturing processes of internal combustion engines, the starter motor, increased mileage ranges, and cheaper gasoline production methods all helped to nudge electric cars off the road. Of course there are those who say that big oil was behind the defeat of electric cars. There has been some credence given to these sorts of claims by the fact that GM had developed an electric cars in the 1980's only to have it shelved after pressure from oil companies. With emissions from 600 million vehicles contributing to global warming, hybrid electric cars are the probably the next best alternative we have. Yet companies like Tesla have put pure electric cars back on the map. Not only are they beautiful to look at, they are a pleasure to ride. As time goes on more and more car companies will move first to hybrids, but then ultimately to fully electric cars.



Where are all those electric cars?



A completely electric car doesn't yet exist for mainstream commercial use. There is a neighborhood class of electric cars, or personal electric vehicles (PEVs). While the battery can recharge overnight while you sleep, a 30 to 40 mile range isn't likely to sit well even with the little ole' lady from Pasadena.



What about Hybrid Electric Cars?



The practical solution for now is electric hybrids that utilize two fuel sources. Gasoline-electric cars are a cross between a gasoline-powered car and an electric car, and a mild electric hybrid has enhanced performance as a first priority and fuel economy second. 



The Chevrolet Volt, scheduled for production in 2010, is an extended-range electric hybrid car that will use gas or E85 ethanol. Its battery can be recharged while driving, and its estimated driving range is 640 miles. A full electric hybrid pursues optimal fuel economy, and cars like the Toyota Prius Hybrid and the Honda Civic Hybrid fall within this latter category. Since all electric hybrids use some gasoline, it is a compromise, but reduced emissions and minimized shortcomings of the electric car are a start, yet far from the ideal vision of a complete clean fuel car.



Hybrid electric cars also allow for the transition in terms of infrastructure to fully electric propulsion system. Hybrids just might be around until enough electric and /or battery stations are around in order to keep charging the fleet of electric cars. Ultimately as new sources for primary energy (like wind and solar) come on board a greater incentive for manufacturers and consumers to develop and buy pure electric cars may in fact occur. One can only hope as the world faces dire predictions of peak oil and global warming that these vehicles and infrastructure can be developed and built quickly and inexpensively.

Read More...

Do You Have The Proper Tools to Build An Electric Car?

There are many places that you can find electric car conversion kits. What is an electric car conversion kit? Well, it is a set of equipment and parts that will allow you to make your gasoline powered car into an electric car. Many specialty car places carry electric car conversion kits or you can find them readily available online.



You will first have to make sure that having an electric car will fit your needs. Before you go out and spend a lot of money on an electric car conversion kit, you will want to be sure that an electric car will mesh with your lifestyle. There are a lot of things to consider before you go green.



The average conversion for an electric car has a realistic range of 30 to 100 miles in everyday driving conditions depending on the type of batteries you have and the weight of the vehicle. If your commute is more then 35 miles one way in very hilly terrain an electric car may not be a good idea. However, if your commute is on average terrain and is about 20 miles each way an electric car is perfect. If you are a two car family and one car is usually used for short trips you may want to consider an electric car.



You will want to have easy access to be able to charge your car. When you charge an electric car, you will plug it in at night and then be good to go in the morning. Do you have an acceptable electrical outlet in or near your garage? If so, then an electric car will be very good for you.



Do you have the proper tools to build an electric car? With conversion kits available today most people with basic hand and power tools can do the work themselves. Some tasks can be contracted out such as welding. The only special tools you will need are a torque wrench, cable crimpers, and an engine crane, all of which can be rented.



However, if you are not really good with engines and mechanics, once you get your electric car conversion kit, you may want to contract the services of an experienced mechanic. These people know all the components of a car and are able to accurately determine where changes need to be made in order to convert your vehicle to an electric car.



Once you know that you want to make the change, go out and buy your electric car conversion kit. Then, once it is done, you will know that you are doing your part for the environment as well as for yourself.

Read More...

Will Ford Produce A Fully Electric Car Instead of Hybrid Cars In The Near Future?

While the Ford Motor Company is one of the largest car manufacturers in the world, they have long been reluctant to get into the electric car market. However, they did manufacture, market, and sell an electric car in an attempt to meet the consumer demands for a cleaner car that will produce less pollution and emit no greenhouse gases. Ford responded with their own version of the electric car.



The Think City electric car was produced by Ford several years ago, and many people took advantage of this pollution free, energy efficient vehicle. However, the United States has very strict standards when it comes to the safety of the vehicles on Americas roads. Unfortunately, the Think City electric car did not meet those rigorous standards so Ford ceased production and actually crushed the cars when they were returned at the end of customers leases. There are still some Think City cars out there, but they are no longer being marketed by Ford.



Ford has, however, started exploring and implementing the production of hybrid electric cars that run mostly on battery power and have the ability to switch over to gasoline power. In fact, there are many of these electric vehicles on the road today. Ford is a leader in the industry and they did not want to limit their production of electric vehicles to just cars. You can now find electric Ford trucks, SUVs, and mini vans.



Electric cars made by Ford are now mostly of the hybrid version, but there also are Ford brand electric cars that you can find overseas. Because other countries do not have as stringent safety standards, people in countries like England and France have taken the advantages of the electric car and are driving them en masse.



Some people are disappointed that Ford has made the move from a totally electric car to a hybrid vehicle, but without being able to meet safety standards, the companys hands essentially were tied. It was not cost efficient for them to take the electric cars already on the road and meet the set standards, so they had to do what they could to meet the demands of their customers for a more environmentally friendly vehicle.



Being an industry leader in the car field, Ford is doing what they can to meet the requests of their customers for an electric car. Perhaps in the future, a fully electric car with the Ford name on it is possible. But for now, Ford enthusiasts will have to settle for hybrid versions.

Read More...