February 11, 2012

Shocking Factoid of the Day: Gas cars use more electricity to go 100 miles than Electric Cars do!

"There is no exact calculation for how much electricity it takes to drill, transport and refine a gallon of gasoline, but the accepted amount is around 8 kWh. So, for 8 kWh, you can go around 22 miles (using the U.S. average; we know you can go over twice that if you drive a Toyota Prius). That means that a gasoline car uses just under 40 kWh to go 100 miles. An EV, on the other hand, uses around 30 kWh to go 100 miles " (from: http://www.green.autoblog.com/2011/10/14/how-gas-cars-use-more-electricity-to-go-100-miles-than-evs-do/)

Photo taken at the LEAF booth at an auto-show:



From the DOE:

"Subject: Energy to refine gasoline

Dear Mr. Armstrong,

Thank you for your December 4, 2009, electronic mail requesting a reputable source to calculate the energy required to refine a gallon of gasoline. The energy required to refine a gallon of gasoline can be estimated based on the energy content of crude oil and the refinery efficiency of the facility performing the energy conversion; I can provide you a reputable source for both values.

In a 2008 report, Argonne National Lab estimated that the efficiency for producing gasoline of an “average” U.S. petroleum refinery is between 84% and 88% (Wang, 2008), and Oak Ridge National Lab reports that the net energy content of oil is approximately 132,000 Btu per gallon (Davis, 2009). It is commonly known that a barrel of crude oil generate approximately 45 gallons of refined product (refer to NAS, 2009, Table 3-4 for a publication stating so). Thus, using an 85% refinery efficiency and the aforementioned conversion factors, it can be estimated that about 21,000 Btu—the equivalent of 6 kWh—of energy are lost per gallon of gasoline refined:" MORE: http://gatewayev.org/how-much-electricity-is-used-refine-a-gallon-of-gasoline

So, every time we buy a gallon of gas, it seems we are not only paying for what it would cost for us to drive an EV 30 miles, but are paying a huge premium on top of that for oil company profits. Additionally, we pay with increased cancer rates, pollution, and endless wars for oil. Further, I think it's safe to assume that it will take EVEN MORE electricity to refine the shale oil for the Keystone pipeline. It's really time to end this farce. Build a bunch of wind, solar and other unlimited energy plants, and win our future like a civilized country!

February 8, 2012

Total votes and delegates GOP WED 2/8/12 - 5AM

Delegates

Romney 107

Newt Gingrich 32

Rick Santorum 45

Ron Paul 9

1,144 needed to win


Votes - Total received in all primaries and caucuses

Romney 1,180,475

Gingrich 835,898

Santorum 567,907

Paul 335,468

Source: http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/


My guess is it will be a brokered convention.....

February 8, 2012

Cost of Driving Gas Fueled Car vs. Electric Over 50 Years (Shocking!)

From: http://green.autoblog.com/photos/solar-energy-vs-gasoline-fuel-cost-chart/4798701/

Updated - Better LINK - http://green.autoblog.com/2012/02/07/infographic-a-lifetime-of-fuel-costs-gas-vs-solar/

That's the road that Mini E (and now BMW ActiveE) driver Peder Norby is on, and so he did a few calculations to extrapolate his particular set-up – driving electric cars that are powered by the solar panels on his roof – to a lifetime of driving and wanted to share it with AutoblogGreen. ... He writes:

"[The chart] does not include external cost such as the protection of oil, propping up oil supplying countries, clean up of oil, environmental or healthcare cost, nor does it include the cost of grid electricity at night when an electric car normally charges. ... Nor does the graph include the price of the cars themselves. A reasonable argument can be made for both the gasoline car and the electric car as to which one will be cheaper to own and maintain for the next 50 years. I'm betting on the electric car "

January 26, 2012

Obama Birther Courtroom Update - good for a chuckle

From Jay Bookman of the AJC earlier today:

"Missives from the land of the birthers

10:27 am January 26, 2012, by Jay

I’m in the courtroom of Judge Michael Malihi, awaiting arguments in a case attempting to remove Barack Obama from the 2012 Georgia presidential ballot.

Roughly 100 people are in the courtroom, most of them older white Americans. The conversations are thick with various birthed theories being bandied about.

Dressed tastefully in black and wearing a pearl choker, The redoubtable Orly Taitz swept in a few minutes ago, making a star’s entrance amid whispers of “look, there she is!”...........


"Ms. Taitz is now going through her witness list. She has alleged so far that Obama’s name is not Obama but Soetero, and thus cannot be listed as Obama on the ballot. Her evidence is a school log from Indonesia listing a Barack Soetero.

She further alleges that his SSI number is fraudulent, stolen from somebody in Connecticut.

Frankly, she’s easily the worst lawyer I have ever seen in a courtroom. The judge has had to repeatedly admonish her for failing the most basic of courtroom procedures. Early in her presentation, she turned her back on the judge to address the audience instead. The judge told her to speak to the bench, not her crowd of admirers.

We are now being treated to “expert” testimony and “evidence” that the Hawaii birth certificate is a fraud.

Surreal.....


Attorneys for two previous plaintiffs argued the “natural citizenship” angle, introducing Obama’s books as evidence that his father was not a citizen. The theory is that you cannot be a natural-born citizen unless you were born here and BOTH parents were citizens.

One of the attorneys was state Rep. Mark Hatfield, Republican from Waycross. He asked the judge tobuild Obama and his attorneys in contempt for refusing to appear. Another attorney accused Obama of contempt “not just for this court but for the whole judicial branch.”

The judge cut short that rant.

Judging from his body language, Malihi is not happy to be here. But maybe that’s just me.


Her current witness is laying out the grounds upon which Barack Obama could be arrested and deported for falsely claiming US citizenship......


Excellent. The judge asked Taitz to give her closing argument. In the middle of doing so, she decided to turn into her own witness and sat in the witness chair to give testimony

The judge finally stopped her.....


The hearing has ended with closing arguments by Taitz. No rulings issued, no notice of when a decision or other action might be taken.....




LINK - http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/01/26/missives-from-the-land-of-the-birthers/?cp=2

January 26, 2012

Romney Paid Less in Taxes Than I Tip My Waiters!

Romney paid 14%. That's what I tip when I get poor service!

For good service I tip 20%. Great service is 25%. And I've even tipped over 100% under very special circumstances.

According to Zagat the US average tip is 19.2%. And that's just for serving our tables!

That's not for providing us with national defense, police and firefighters, roads and bridges, food for the hungry, and medical aid for the indigent, and a system which allowed him to thrive.

I don't want to say he's an ungrateful SOB, but if my waiter made be a quarter of a billion dollars, I'm sure I could dig deep and find more than 14%!

That is all.