Here’s just a personal example of how my family takes energy use for granted. Our multiple digital clocks run in our houses 24 hours a day – we’ve got one on the microwave, one on the conventional oven, one on the CD player, one on the stereo and one in each of our three bedrooms, all of them drawing passive energy and we don’t even give it a thought. It’s just one of the assumed “rights” of living in a modern affluent society, we may not use it but we don’t mind paying for it regardless. It may be a little shocking for some people to learn exactly what the level of carbon emissions they produce each year is, as well as the added costs they are incurring simply by being blase about the little things.

You Can’t Change What You Don’t Know

I like that sentence, it neatly sums up a whole range of human instincts and precisely describes one of the roadblocks in front of those trying to educate people on the importance of reducing our carbon footprint. It only takes a gentle reminder that there are consequences for the actions taken on a daily basis that people begin to realise that there is a need to change.

It’s not until you’re told that running your car produces around 2 ½ tonnes of carbon dioxide per year that you begin to realise that this could be a problem. You can then take the challenge to lower next year’s number. Now you have given yourself a goal that can be quantified with the possibility of aiming to achieve. There will be no way of definitively knowing the damage you are doing with your carbon footprint without some means of calculation. Trying to produce less in the future would be next to impossible to gauge.

The fact that we each stand to get a direct benefit in terms of cost to reducing our carbon footprint should have people more than a little interested. That cost benefit is that you save money! Fortunately, the word is slowly getting out there while, with any luck, the levels of carbon dioxide aren’t.

However, we have a long way to go to refine these biofuels that we are researching and they become extremely economical and practical. Oregon State University did a study that proves this concept. We have yet to develop biofuels that are as energy efficient as gasoline made from petroleum. Energy efficiency is the measure of how much usable energy for our needed purposes is derived from a certain amount of input energy. (Nothing that mankind has ever used has derived more energy from output than from the needed input. In other words, the end product is what we use as alternative energy and needs to be more efficent than the effort used to produce it.)

The OSU study found corn-derived ethanol to be only 20% energy efficient while gasoline made from petroleum is 75% energy efficient and biodiesel fuel was recorded at 69% energy efficient. However, the study did turn up one positive: cellulose-derived ethanol was charted at 85% efficiency, which is even higher than that of the fantastically efficient nuclear energy. 

There are several nations which are seriously involved in the development of biofuels. Brazil happens to be the world’s biggest producer of ethanols derived from sugars. The country produces approximately three and a half billion gallons of ethanol per year. The United States, while being the world’s greatest oil-guzzler, is already the second largest producer of biofuels behind Brazil. The European Union’s biodiesel production capacity is now in excess of four million (British) tonnes - mostly derived from rapeseed oil; soybean oil and a marginal quantity of palm oil.

Recently, oil futures have been down on the New York Stock Exchange, as analysts from several different countries are predicting a surge in biofuel availability. This would offset the value of oil, dropping crude oil prices on the international market to somewhere around $40 per barrel. The Chicago Stock Exchange has a grain futures market which is starting to “steal” investment activity away from the oil futures in NY, as investors are definitely expecting better profitability to start coming from biofuels.

Indeed, it is predicted by a consensus of analysts that biofuels shall be supplying seven percent of the entire world’s transportation fuels by the year 2030. Demand for diesel and gasoline may slow down dramatically, says one energy markets analyst, if the government subsidizes firms distributing biofuels and further pushes to promote the use of eco-friendly fuel.

Most people don’t realize that having the right tires can improve fuel savings. But it’s true. And you probably haven’t paid enough attention to the tires you have on your vehicle.

You’re probably paying more than you should for gas because your tires are hurting your fuel consumption. Add to that the fact that it’s hard to know which tires will be more efficient, and it’s a recipe for poor fuel mileage.

Hopefully, this will be soon be recified, because the federal government has decided that tire manufacturers must start labeling tires for fuel efficiency. This program would create a national labeling system that would rate the energy efficiency of tires.

To date, the government program hasn’t made much progress. Industry watchdogs claim that tire companies are stalling, but the manufacturers say they’ve spent millions of dollars on the research and development of tires that are fuel efficient.

You’ll find that tires today are more efficient today than they were in the 1970s. Radial tires have improved tire efficiency, and there have been many advances in tread patterns. Rolling resistance, (the power that is lost as rolling tires flex and change shape), has also been reduced by as much as 50%.

Unfortunately, efficiency can still vary by as much as half from tire to tire, reducing fuel economy by more than 10 percent. And experts believe the mandated minimum standards should help reduce the amount of gasoline used in the US by billions of gallons.

Until those minimum standards actually appear, though, you will have no way of knowing which tire will deliver the most fuel efficiency for your vehicle. Until labeling arrives, the best you can do is remember these tips from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Your tires should be properly inflated. Check the manufacturer’s psi recommendations. You’re mileage will improve when your tires are inflated to the right psi. Make sure not to test the pressure in cold or hot tires.

If you’re in the market for new tires, think about replicating your original brand and model. Auto manufacturers usually choose the most efficient tires possible for their new cars.

Stay away from special wheels for your truck or car. Wider tires touch the road with more friction, and oversize wheels and rims weigh more. Your fuel efficiency will be reduced.

Only replace your tires when they need it. To test the tread, turn a penny and put Lincoln’s head upside down. Then stick the penny in the tire tread groove. If the top of his head is noticeable, replace the tires.

Fill tires with air, and not nitrogen. There is no conclusive proof that nitrogen improves either tire wear or mileage, so it’s not worth the cost.

If you see that the tire tread is uneven, take your car in for servicing to determine the problem. You could have alignment, balance, or parts issues.

Use snow tires in a snowy climate and drive slow to increase efficiency. Don’t buy rain tires if you live in a dry climate.

By choosing the right tires, you’ll be sure to improve your fuel efficiency.

Want another great tip on how to improve fuel economy for your vehicle? Click Here for my best one - and cheaper than a new set of tires, too!

If you demand it, companies will come up with it. This has never been more apparent than with hybrid autos, the companies answer to a consumer nation that has become more environmentally aware.

The day you knew hybrids were here to stay was the day car companies started announcing hybrid SUVs. Imagine, all the size and little of the guilt. That being said, there are some misconceptions about hybrids, so lets address the big two.

Buy any old hybrid and you will get a major tax credit. This is the first myth that arises around the hybrid. Can you get a tax credit? Yes, but you must comply with certain requirments issues by none other than the Internal Revenue Service.

If you want to claim a tax credit for buying a hybrid, you have to comply with a few regulations. First, you have to purchase a brand new hybrid. Second, the IRS must have ceritifed the car. Third, you can only claim the amount then available.

The funny thing about the tax benefit of purchasing a hybrid is it is a moving target. The IRS initially sets an upper limi and then has the option to lower that amount each quarter of the year after it analyzes the number of cars sold.

This lowering of tax credit amounts can be a real shock to someone that purchased a hybrid. As of the writing of this article, the famous Toyota Prius is about to lose all of its tax credit. One has to think that fact is going to hurt sales.

Many people are outraged by the phasing out of the tax credit available for hybrids, particularly the manufacturers. Talk about a selling point! The credit, however, was never meant to support an industry, only generate interest in it.

A second area of misunderstanding with the hybrid vehicle has to do with the batteries. Obviously, the car requires special batteries. There is a myth that they have to be replaced every 40,000 miles. This is alleged to be a big problem because they are expensive.

In truth, there is no requirement that hybrid batteries be changed every 40,000 miles or so. Most brands come with warranties of up to 100,000 miles. Although hybrids are fairly new, the batteries are reported to last well into the hundreds of thousands of miles.

Should you make your next vehicle a hybrid? If you want to cut your driving costs and help the environment, then the answer is definitely yes. Just make sure to buy it new and check with the IRS on your tax credit amount.

Want to see how you can get hybrid-like fuel economy out of your current vehicle? Click Here for my best tip on how to improve fuel economy for your current vehicle - hybrid or not!

Do nothing.

That’s right. Give up the family vacation. Sell your home and move closer to work. Stop going out to visit friends and family.

Stay home and be content with viewing the natural beauty of the world through your kitchen window instead of going to the country, going camping, taking a drive and tasting the fresh air and warm sun for yourself.

Learn to be happy with $4, $5, $8 (or more) a gallon gas. Throw your hands up in the air when somebody complains about gas prices and resign, “What else can you do?”

Yeah, RIGHT!!!

If you’ve read this far, then I don’t for a second believe that is you at all. I bet you’re willing to take a little action to save money and use less fuel without having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a new hybrid.

Take back the family vacation.

Visit friends and family who live out of town.

Take those trips to the lake and out to the country.

Reject high gas prices - forever!

When I started researching this several months ago, one really interesting solution kept coming up again and again. Based on a form of Hydrogen Cells technology, this simple design reclaims a portion of the wasted energy in your gas or diesel engine and enables it to run cleaner, more effectively, and most importantly, with less fuel.

I found quite a few hydrogen conversion plans available, but the one I focused on was at Water 4 gas. This site has thriving community support with new, active members showing up all over the country - even other countries. The plans have been translated into 9 different languages, and the site keeps on growing.

To be quite honest, I was skeptical. My college major was Physics, and the science just didn’t make any sense. Any high schooler who has taken even a semester of introductory science knows that you don’t get free energy out of thin air - or in this case, distilled water.

After some careful research I then learned that that so-called “free energy” was not what they were after at all.

In the same way that an expensive hybrid automobile recaptures some of the excess energy in your gasoline engine to give you the best car gas mileage from your engine, the hydrogen cells in these designs use excess electricity from your car’s alternator to release moderate amounts of hydrogen from distilled water and electrolytes. This potent hydrogen gas mixes with your car’s normal liquid gas in very minute amounts like a high-octane additive, causing the fuel to ignite faster and burn more efficiently.

After a hydrogen car fuel cell makeover, your car runs cleaner, even a bit quieter, using less fuel without having to spend tens of thousands on a new car, or even thousands extra on a hybrid.

The part that really impressed me is that this isn’t new technology at all. It’s based on patented discoveries made many years ago. There is even a Canadian company that has been making nearly identical add-ons for big rig diesel trucks for years with results effective enough that you can trade shares of their company on the stock exchange.

But don’t take my word for it - see for yourself. Get a copy of the plans here and take a look tonight. Spend some time and think about it, and figure out if it’s right for you. While most people with basic tool skills should be able to make this modification, if you want help, take the plans to your family mechanic and figure out how the two of you can do it together.

While you’re there, check out the forums and talk to their large community base - even find someone in your area that has made this conversion already. Your pain from high gas prices is shared by everyone, and you’ll find that the forum community is truly understanding and willing to help.

If you decide it’s not for you - then you’re still in luck. You have 60 days to make a decision - just ask for your money back at any time if you change your mind. By then you’ll know for a fact whether you want to make a small change to your car, or leave it alone and change your lifestyle. Either way it will be an informed decision.

I’m not going to kid you. By the time you’re done, you’ll probably have a few hours of work into it and have invested around $200 for the plans and parts. However, this investment should repay itself in two to three months as you find yourself saving 15%, 20%, even 40% (or more) on your gas. Additionally, you should quality for a green energy rebate from the IRS (that’s one of the bonuses you get for joining the community, they give you the forms and explain all of the details on this instant tax credit), which will easily cover your out-of-pocket expenses.

Remember, click here to see the plans for yourself. Introduce yourself on the community forums. Mention that you are from CarFuelSaving.com and I will welcome you there personally.

The future has been revealed: a day will come when there will be no more oil.

The first step that science and industry can provide to help out is innovative, energy-conserving vehicles. Recognizing this need, Hybrid cars have sprung up everywhere from almost every auto manufacturer, with more models being planned and produced in the coming months.

GM introduced the EV1 electric concept vehicle several years ago. While it never went into wide-scale production, that technology will definitely be analyzed and possibly brought back to the market.

Companies and municipalities are beginning to include Hybrid and bio-diesel powered vehicles in their fleets, further increasing the demand for alternative-fuel vehicles.

Celebrities have stepped into the picture, as well as businessmen, women, and environmentalists. While bio-diesel is an affordable alternative, it is still a major polutant, and not all cities have convenient bio-diesel stations in which to fill up.

Many car companies are “going green” - Saturn even calls their environmentally friendly line of vehicles their “Green Line.” Solar cell technology, biodisel, electric engines - everything is on the table for these vehicles. The next few years will see some interesting new designs to improve fuel economy and use less energy in the process of transporting people and things from one place to another.

One real advantage, other than saving money at the pump, is that wide adoption of newer, “Green” vehicles will mean less polutants in the air. This in turn will help with the man-made components of global warming, and in larger cities, with the smog problem that has been with us for the past several decades.

Industry experts are quick to point out that alternative fuel green cars have higher efficiency, thus increasing their EPA miles per gallon rating over traditional gas and diesel vehicles - a pleasant surprise when you see the vehicle’s sticker at the dealership.

The downside is the higher cost of these vehicles. Over time, this cost will come down as competition will force auto makers to find more economical ways of producing their lines of environmentally-friendly cars and trucks.

It has even been theorized that less automobile polutants will have a positive effect on the health of metropolitan areas. While this won’t be an overnight change, it will be interesting to see the statistics on asthma, allergies, and respiratory infections over the next few years.

And that’s just the start. As more and more of the world’s nations can afford their own personal transportation, gas will be in shorter and shorter supply, with more pollution yet to come.

However, there may be better ways to fuel your car and cut down on the cost of gas, as well as the pollution.

Sometime’s called “Brown’s Gas” or HHO fuel, more and more people are turning to simple tap water to improve their fuel economy and save money on gas. Different from water hybrids or hydrogen fuel cell technology, water-enhanced vehicles are not currently available from major automobile dealerships.

Still experimental, there are at least 10 different ways that water can be used to fuel your vehicle. To confuse the issue even further, designs and step by step procedures have been scattered across the internet and book stores with no clear path in sight.

Now, for some good news.

Coming soon: groups of at-home engineers motivated to find a solution to higher fuel prices and cut down on harmful emissions have found feasible, low-cost ways to modify your car to run on HHO Brown’s Gas. They have been working on ways to make the modifications simply and painlessly such that anyone with basic tool skills could implement a change in their car or truck. Some of the recent work that I have seen claims 35% to 70% improved fuel economy. The possibility of cutting down emissions and reducing rising the effects on the environment are impressive. Not only that, but adapting your car to this new form of “Water Hybrid” can mean less carbon build-up in your engine, reducing wear and tear on your vehicle.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really have a special garage, special tools, or the know-how to do a lot of work on my car. However, one of the plans I saw claimed even *I* could do this, with easy step-by-step instructions that wouldn’t void my car’s warranty.

I’m trying to get my hands now on these plans. Stay tuned - before I make a recommendation I want to check this out myself - and I’ll keep you filled in on my progress along the way.

Is This Science Fiction Or Is It Science Reality?

The myth about running your car on water seems like something out of a science fiction movie. I can tell firsthand that this myth is true. However, it is not completely true that you can run your car on JUST water. It is impossible to extract enough energy from water to completely run your engine. The truth is that you can use the hydrogen in water to supplement the current gas running in your engine. This means that your engine will not run completely on gasoline but hydrogen as well. So instead of using 100% of your gasoline, you will be using something like a ratio of 60% gas and 40% extracted hydrogen. Can you start to see how you will be travelling less to the gas station? (It means more money in your pocket!)

Wait, Can You Really Run A Car On Hydrogen Fuel?

Not completely, but a portion of hydrogen fill help run your engine. Now in order to get the hydrogen, we need to understand the composition of water. Water is composed of 2 hydrogen molecules and 1 oxygen molecule. By extracting the hydrogen molecule through a process called electrolysis, enough hydrogen can be used to supplement the gasoline in the engine. This ongoing process of extraction allows enough hydrogen to be used to help power the engine. Makes sense so far?

How Do You Build A Hydrogen Fuel Cell Generator?

It’s fairly simple, but you can basically build a hydrogen fuel cell in one weekend without a large investment. You can build one as cheap as $150 for a single cell generator. There are step-by-step guides on how to do this and you don’t have to be a mechanic to do it. If you already know a bit of car maintenance, then building a system shouldn’t be too difficult.

In conclusion, the myth about hydrogen fuel cell generators is confirmed and it is possible to run a car on hydrogen fuel. The idea is to extract hydrogen from a known source such as water and use it to supplement the gasoline in your engine. These systems are not hard to build and with a good step-by-step guide, anyone can build one in their garage.

When was the last time you vehicle has had a tune up? If it has been a few years or your vehicle is running or idling a little rough or your miles per gallon has decreased you may be wanting to schedule an automotive tuneup.

A tune up usually involves a diagnostic engine test. Spark plugs and air filters are often replaced and sometimes corroded or cracked or defective spark plug wires are replaced. Often gas metering and airflow adjustments are made.

It may be found that your diesel engine has a defective glow plug or your gas engine has a clogged or dirty fuel injectors then your engine performance will be poor.

Depending on what is discovered or found during an engine diagnostic you could end up having oxygen sensors replaced or other sensors that help monitor your engines performance and emissions to help it run at peak performance.

You may also find you have a weak battery or alternator affecting your charging system and this can have an effect on you vehicles mileage.

A properly performed tuneup can in most cases result in an increase in gas mileage. It would not be unusual to see mileage increases of 40% in a worse case scenario.

If your looking to do it yourself on a few improvements properly inflated tires can improve gas mileage a few percent. Replacing a dirty air filter can increase gas mileage up to ten percent. Adding a fuel additive every few thousand miles can help keep your engine clean but always check your owners manual before using additives. These are just a few items you can do at home or on the road that can help you get more miles per gallon.

Contrary to popular belief, air conditioning isn’t such a gas hog when traveling at high speeds. Nevertheless, it is common for those in need of fresh air to lower the windows instead of turn on the air conditioning. This actually lowers gas efficiency more, however, since the drag caused from the lowered windows affects gas mileage more so than the strain that air conditioning puts on the engine.

It’s no wonder that older folk seem to have to get gas less than others. This might be due to the fact that they travel less, but also because the elderly tend to drive slower on average. Driving slow and responsibly will increase fuel mileage, as it helps keep unnecessary strain on the engine. Slow acceleration and braking habits also help to give vehicle owners increased fuel efficiency.

Even though car manuals sometimes claim that cars should be run on the highest grades of fuel, this is not true. Cars that can accept low grades of fuel should, since this gives cheaper prices for just about the same amount of mileage. Purchasing gas with a higher octane rating may help improve mileage, but not enough to actually justify the price difference.

When one’s tires are low, there is a big loss in fuel mileage per gallon. Under inflated tires will cause more work to have to be done on the engine, meaning there are fewer rotations of the tire per gallon of gas. This can be such a dramatic chance in fuel efficiency that consumers should constantly check their air pressures in their tires in order to get the maximum benefit in fuel efficiency.

Lastly, it should be noted that when “warming up” a car, it shouldn’t take more than a minute or two before the car is safe to drive even in winter conditions. There is no use in warming up a car longer than necessary, as this burns extra fuel. When wanting to listen to music while sitting idle, it is also best to turn a car’s ignition to the setting that only drains the battery- but be careful not to do so for long or the car may not start again.

Closing Comments

Gas prices are just going to keep increasing as demand continues to be so high. The only relief is going to come through careful conservation, buying fuel efficient or hybrid cars, and maintaining a certain sense of responsibility when having to drive. Car pooling with others or riding a bike to locations is much better for the economy, environment, and one’s wallet- so don’t miss a chance to leave the car behind on your next excursion.