The Green Liter

Oil prices are plunging, hopefully back to normal but that doesn’t mean that we should stop finding alternative fuel such as this one being used in Vietnam named Gasohol.

For the record, Gasohol is a combination of Ethanol and Petrol. We can fell a sigh of relief as far as the continued downward trend of the oil price is concerned but you never know when they can go up again. We have seen LPG, Biofuel and other forms of ethanol or alternative fuel that are being introduced in the market and if we are wise, we should keep our options open.

Waiting for another unruly fuel price hike is not exactly the best position we may find ourselves in and if we value our convenience as far as transportation is concerned, then we should do what the Vietnamese people are doing as well.

PV Oil, a PetroVietnam subsidiary, announced on Monday that Gasohol E5 will be provided on a pilot basis in the districts of Dong Da and Cau Giay at VND16,500 ($1) per liter – VND500 and VND1,000 cheaper than A92 and A95 petrol respectively.

Gasohol E5, which is five percent ethanol and 95 percent gasoline, is produced by the PetroVietnam Biofuel Joint Stock Co., an affiliate of PV Oil. This fuel is cost-effective, eco-friendly and safe for engines, PV Oil says.

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Here is a good solution that you may want to look out for if you are hesitant on changing your car with the hybrids and electrical cars that are being offered in the market today. But what if you had the choice to own an engine that can be flexible and run on any type of fuel? Well if you are asking if there is such a thing, yes there is!

It is called an Omnivorous engine, an automobile engine that Wallner and his colleagues have tailored to efficiently run on blends of gasoline, ethanol and butanol.

Now wouldn’t that be something? Imagine no longer worrying about the usual issues of rising oil prices and also finding ways to beat the issues of having to run a car on a limited basis. This can certainly be the best solution one could ever dream of.

Unlike regular automobile engines, which typically run solely on gasoline or, in rare instances, on a blend of gasoline and ethanol, the omnivorous engine would be able to run on any blend of conventional gasoline, ethanol or butanol, another organic alcohol that scientists are beginning to consider as a potential biofuel. Even more significantly, the omnivorous engine would use a suite of sensors to calibrate itself so that it burns available fuel as efficiently as possible.

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The re-introduction of the diesel fuelled Nissan X-Trail in Japan is bound to receive some howls from the global warming groups as it has been reported that due to expected higher gas prices, this is an alternative that Nissan has offered to them. But is it?

Diesel is not that far off different from the price of leaded and unleaded gasoline. In fact, you can see from all parts of the world the diesel is being condemned due to the gas emissions that it is bound to create. While it is apparent that most people would want an alternative solution to their transport problems, it remains that this is not among those alternative that a wise transport owner may consider.

This move is expected to add more problems for the environment rather than a solution to the people. From another standpoint, one may even conclude that this new entry of Nissan vehicles may even be considered as a form of just trying to dispose excess vehicles, which hopefully will not be the case.

“Japanese people hate diesels. They think of them as being noisy, dirty and emitting black smoke,” said Koji Endo, a senior analyst at Credit Suisse Group in Tokyo. “Diesels have improved significantly, but it’s questionable whether consumers will accept them.”

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Everyone is rejoicing these days as the crude oil prices are slowly going back down. But if you compare it to the first time that they started their upward trend, you will find that they are still way off from the affordable prices we all enjoyed back then.

The call has been to look for alternative fuel or perhaps shift to the electric powered cars. But what makes us so sure that once these efforts would still be continued as oil prices are on the decline?

For one, attention will surely be shifted on analyzing and waiting the downward trend of oil prices. But while that is something that analysts would surely love, the effort for alternative fuel and means of transportation should not be stopped. The current situation should not be a means for us to consider that everything is going back to normal.

Just as quickly as the oil prices spiked, the same can be said for the current oil price decline. It may hit us at a time we least expect it and perhaps even become worse than what we initially experienced. With that in mind, we may even find ourselves going back to square one, maybe even back to nothing as far as alternative measures are concerned.

One thing consumers are wondering these days is why the oil company giants are taking their sweet time adjusting their current gasoline prices despite the dramatic decrease in the world market. While government intervention seems to be useless, the conclusion is that they are dilly dallying to be able to make up for losses from previous years. Is that ethical?

Surely, auditing their financial records is not expected to help. For one, it is easy to maintain two sets of financial statements, one which is false and the other as the real and authentic one. Of the two, it is obvious that the former will be the one used as many businessmen want to avoid being reprimanded or penalized if found to be guilty of taking advantage of the situation.

As far as the government is concerned, perhaps this is one instance where they can show the validity of being recognized into power. Major players are taking advantage of the situation and hopefully this can be corrected.

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Proper calculation as far as the right amount of fuel to allow cars to accelerate is known to be a problem these days. Especially with the rising cost of fuel, wise driving starts from realizing our faults in driving our cars. There is no perfect driver, only wiser ones. While some love speed, it also means using up fuel the unconventional way.

Nissan for its part, has developed a keen contraption that can help drivers improve their manner of driving and fuel consumption. With this indicator in tow, people who are having trouble as far as maintaining the proper efficiency level of fuel consumption may finally get a break.

The technology involved is simple - when the ECO Pedal is on, the system calculates a threshold of accelerator pedal travel depending on the prevailing driving conditions. A counter push-back control system is activated when the pedal is depressed beyond the threshold level and along with a eco-driving indicator in the instrument cluster, informs the driver of his driving behaviour.

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If you think private vehicle owners are the only ones who are being hit by the oil crisis, guess again. Even truckers are feeling the pinch of the oil hikes and this will eventually affect the market of consumer goods. Truckers are responsible for transporting goods from one state to another and with oil prices continuing to go beyond manageable prices, transportation costs are sure to escalate as well. And we all know that once that happens, the cost of consumer goods are bound to follow.

In fact, truckers have brought this issue to the attention of the Bush administration, calling for a comprehensive energy plan to ensure that there will be sufficient oil supply to be made available for trucking that play an integral role in the world of consumerism.

“This is a big problem that requires a big solution,” Windsor said. “Trucking delivers America. Trucks transport virtually 100 percent of groceries, medicine, clothing, appliances and even the fuel that’s pumped at the local gas station. Rising fuel prices not only hurt the trucking industry, but the entire American economy.”

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But is it all in the hands of the government? Supplying oil is one thing but the groups responsible for stocking and distributing oil is something that will surely need to be addressed as well. The government can rant and intervene all they want but eventually it will be up to the oil companies.

We feel the effects of oil prices rising these days. Consumer goods are rising beyond sane levels and apparently this has been something that any average consumer is dreading. Its not like companies have a choice. Transportation costs are included in bringing products towards the supermarket shelves for consumers to buy. In all of this, transportation is important to distribute products in the marketing mix. But with fuel becoming a problem in bringing these goods to the proper markets, one can imagine when consumer goods will have their share of distribution problems in the long run.

One month after the crude oil prices reached an all-time high per barrel price, we are slowly witnessing the incremental decline in pricing which is something that will surely bring a big sigh of relief to people who are getting worried about the rising cost of gasoline and petroleum products. But while they are eyesores, it remains that no one can remain complacent. This should be seen as a temporary reprieve as another price spike can occur anytime.

The development of hybrid cars, ethanol fuel and biofuel should not stop. Groups which had already started out with them must continue the developing of these alternative fuel products if we are to be prepared the next time that this may happen.

Apparently, there are issues such as compatibility to the car engines we have. Hybrid cars are a great recourse but seriously, you don’t really think everyone can afford one in lieu of their old hand cars. It should be remembered that while these cars are seen as alternatives, they can also be heavy on the pocket. And by this I guess we are all aware that the crisis does not cover oil prices alone. They cover consumer goods and services that we all need in everyday living.

This is what we can consider a chain reaction of sorts. Oil may be categorized towards that of industrial and personal transportation areas. But taken as a whole, they are interrelated. Affecting one part of the economic mix hampers the other and may not recover for some time. So to avoid a sudden burst in the long run, it would be best to be ready. We had already started developing the alternative fuel so we should stick to it and keep it handy. We just never know when another crisis may befall since they occur at times consumers least expect it.

The continuous increase of fuel prices is going crazy. Unlike before, 1 liter of gas could get you anywhere worthy. But these days, you will be surprised at the impact it has. It would not be surprising if you would need 1 liter of gasoline to get you out of your house gate. That is how bad it has become.

With the crude oil market continuing to skyrocket its outrageous prices, who is to blame? Many are pointing to politics while others are pointing towards the lackadaisical consumer who could care less of how to save on gas. Perhaps it has been the common thinking that anyone, as long as they have money, could burn fuel as they wish. Apparently, all that is about to come to an abrupt end and people are now acknowledging hard times ahead.

So how do we go about it? There are alternatives. We have heard of the much celebrated LPG conversion for cars which is approximately half the price of modern day fuel. But it has its fallbacks such as skin and health diseases from leaks. Besides, what makes you so sure that they will not reach the point of scarcity like normal fuel?

Then there are the natural fuel from crops such as algae and fossil fuel. But in their case, how compatible are they with the car engines of vehicles today? And again, how long would they last.

These are the questions that are going around the motorist’s mind. If you satisfy the fuel issue, how about the car maintenance issue? These are things this blog will discuss in detail and hopefully help out the motorists to continue enjoying their daily private car use.