John McCain thinks fuel efficiency is for sissies. I guess he figures our oil supply is infinite, or that fossile fuel consumption has no effect on climate change. He probably also thinks the Holocaust was a hoax — somebody should ask him.

For now let’s call him a “drill and burn Republican.”

Mark Ontkush at ecoIron did some math starting with the Department of Energy data that showed CRT monitors consume less power displaying dark colors than light and determined that redesigning Google’s site in black would save 750 megawatt-hours per year (assuming that 25% of computer users still haven’t upgraded to LCDs and are using power-hungry CRTs).

The results were so dramatic he redesigned his own site and developed a low wattage palette that uses only about three or four watts more than a completely black screen (white is to be used only as a text or accent color).

What can you use it for? Any application that is displayed on a device that uses CRT, Plasma, or OLED technology. Any device where white costs money — handheld units, web sites, TV.

earth day, green, low power, energy, power consumption, eco-friendly, color palette, black google, EMERGY-C, Low Wattage, Color Pallette, Color, Pallette, ecoIron, earth day, green, conservation

NPR covered it like an eclipse or astronomic curiosity, and did little to question the claimed energy saving benefits. But, as Michael Downing asks in Spring Forward, how can something understood by so few be done by so many? And why go through this twice annual madness?

Supposedly, we subject ourselves to the rule of time to conserve oil, but even the most wildly optimistic predictions suggest only a 1% drop in consumption. And those predictions are based on bad data.

The 1% statistic came from the 1970s when people used less oil during the OPAC OPEC embargo, making it difficult to tell what caused what. A late 1960’s British experiment with daylight saving time failed to show any such benefit, and an Australian experiment in 2000 showed none. In fact, it resulted in “a slight but statistically negligible increase in overall usage.”

Seed Magazine re-ran numbers in 2006 and estimated that at best we might achieve a 0.04% oil savings based on the theories (the Australian report hadn’t been published by that time), and reported:

Saving four-hundredths of one percent is like shaving about 200 feet off of 100 miles. Does any sane person think this will make a serious dent in our energy use?

Alternatively, a one mile per gallon increase in average fuel economy would result in a 4% reduction in fuel use and cut our overall oil consumption by 1.6%.

There might be good reasons to extend DST, but let’s not fool ourselves into thinking it’s going to do anything about our energy problem. Sometimes the little things mean a lot. Sometimes they don’t mean squat.

Special thanks to servus for the photo.

economy, dst, daylight savings time, daylight saving time, conservation, energy, oil, statisticseconomy, dst, daylight savings time, daylight saving time, conservation, energy, oil, statistics

How crazy is it that we can get neither flying cars nor (affordable) fuel efficient cars today?

Anyway, the Reva (shown above) is a tiny little electric that seats two adults, can go 50 miles on a charge, and fully charges in five hours (two hours gets an 80% charge). It’s an Indian company, but they export to Europe and the website has some mention of test-marketing the cars in the US. The sticker price in Britain is equivalent to less than US$15,000. Aside from being rather energy efficient (they claim the equivalent energy consumption of 600 miles per gallon), you’ll save money by not having to maintain a clutch, transmission, or all the many components of an internal combustion engine. You will eventually have to replace the batteries (which could be both costly and environmentally unsound (but so is driving a traditional car)), but the rest of it should last quite a while.

Tip of the hat to Treehugger. More: The Energy Blog, Reva NXG, happy owner.

tags: automobile, batteries, car, commute, compact, compact car, eco-friendly, efficient, electric car, energy, energy efficiency, energy efficient, fuel economy, fuel efficient, fuel efficient cars, gas prices, green, hubbert peak, reva, reva electric car

This is probably the perfect bumper sticker for your neighbor’s SUV, at least until your neighbor comes over with the perfect chainsaw for your front door (yeah, try to run from that in Birkenstocks). But seriously, shouldn’t somebody tell these people that the world is running out of oil?
bumper sticker, declining oil reserves, energy, energy costs, fuel prices, gas, gas prices, hubbert peak, hubbert’s peak, oil, oil consumption, oil depletion, oil reserves, suv

I’m a fan of the Smart, the fuel efficient European roadster that’s smaller than a Mini (see above). It’s coming to America, but indirectly and not without some complexity. Oddly, considering the current energy crisis and that buyers appear to be looking for more efficient vehicles now, there’s a lot of red tape involved with bringing efficient vehicles new or old to the US.

Take these Japanese K-Cars that get around 50 miles per gallon and can be imported and bought used for under $5000, but only in Canada. There’s a company importing small, efficient trucks, but only for farm-use in the US. In short, other than big trucks and expensive hybrids, all we have are pogo-sticks and mono-wheelers.

tags: coming to america, complexity, efficient, energy, energy crisis, fuel, fuel crisis, fuel efficient, fuel efficient car, fuel efficient cars, hybrid, miles per gallon, mini, mpg, prius, roadster, smart, transportation

Our physical plant folks sent out this list of water saving tips to followup on the energy savings tips they sent previously. Again, I think they should be blogging them, but what do I know? (It’s a rhetorical question, please don’t answer.)

Limit the use of domestic hot water — use cold water whenever it will do.

• Turn off the water while you are brushing your teeth or washing your face. This can save up to 4 gallons a minute!
• Take shorter showers. Even a one or two minute reduction can save up to 700 gallons per month!
• Turn off the water while you shave and you can save more than 100 gallons a week.

Please report all steam, water, and air leaks…

• Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl, you have a leak. You can save more than 600 gallons a month.
• Fixing a leaky faucet can save 140 gallons a week.

Run only full loads in the washing machine and dishwashers. This can save 300 to 800 gallons per month.

• Wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents when-ever possible.
• Let your dishes air dry; if you don’t have an automatic air-dry switch (on your dishwasher), turn off the control knob after the final rinse and prop the door open a little so the dishes will dry faster.

Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily — Dispose of tissues, insects and other such waste in the trash rather than the toilet.

tags: conservation, energy, energy conservation, green living, hot water, limiting waste, wasting water, water, water conservation, water economy

Our physical plant folks sent out a message with tips on how to conserve energy. Perhaps they oughtta blog this stuff? Here it is:

Computer power management — A typical computer monitor uses 60 to 120 watts of electrical power, depending upon screen size.

• Do not use screensavers as energy savers as they continue to use the monitor at full power and do not conserve energy.
• Configure your monitor to turn off after 20 minutes of inactivity, your hard drive to turn off after 30 minutes of inactivity, and your desktop computer or laptop to go into a standby or sleep mode after 90 minutes of inactivity. (If your computer does not have a standby or sleep mode, or you can’t find it, simply turn off your monitor when it is not in use)
• Shut down your computer, monitor, and personal printer or place them in a standby mode when you leave the office for more than two hours.

Turn off your Lights- A common myth about lighting systems is that it is more expensive to turn lights on and off, so it’s better to just leave lights on all the time. Not true!

• Incandescent lamps are so inefficient; it always pays to turn them off when they’re not needed, even for very short periods of time.
• For fluorescent lamps, the breakeven point is about five minutes. In other words, if fluorescent lights will be off for five minutes or longer, it’s more cost effective to turn them off than to leave them on.
• Replacing a 100-watt incandescent with a 32-watt CFL saves at least $30 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.

Minimize or eliminate the use of electric fans and other personal electrical equipment and appliances where possible.

• A 20-inch box fan on medium speed for a 4-moth period 10 hours per day would cost $12 to operate. That $12 doesn’t sound like much, but if everyone were to add a personal fan as the temperature rise, the costs certainly begin to add up.
• A small dorm-type refrigerator (3 cu. ft.) costs about $7 to run annually. A larger refrigerator increases those costs: 5 cu. ft. = $10.
• A 12-cup coffee maker costs about $12 to run annually.

Temperature controls during heating season — keep your windows closed.

• Thermostats will be adjusted to 68° for administrative and academic areas and housing facilities at 72°. (For each 1 degree you turn down the thermostat in the winter, you’ll save up to 5% on heating costs.)
• Move desks and cubicles away from windows. Windows are a source of drafts and draw heat from people in the winter, making them feel colder.
• During cool weather, open blinds for light and warmth and close drapes at the end of the day to reduce heat loss at night.
• Please dress appropriately for the weather.
• Please do not use space heaters.
• Don’t place lamps, TV sets or computers near the thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the heat from coming on.
• Please report unusually hot or cold conditions…

Temperature controls during A/C season

• Keep windows and doors closed when HVAC systems are operating — If you must open windows for ventilation, close them before leaving room.
• Thermostats will be adjusted to 74° for administrative and academic areas.
• In warm weather, close blinds to reduce cooling load.
• Please turn off window units when room is not in use.
• Don’t place lamps, TV sets or computers near the thermostat. The thermostat senses heat from these appliances, which can cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary.
• Please report unusually cold or hot conditions…

Elevator usage — use for the handicapped and for transporting materials.

• If possible, take the stairs instead of the elevator.

tags: conservation, conserve, conserve energy, energy, energy savers, tip, tips

Mike Whelan posted the above photo to his Flickr photostream recently.

Back in April, when gas prices were still well below the $3-per-gallon mark, it looked like sales of SUVs were starting to slow. Interestingly, we’ve crossed the threshold Keith Bradsher quotes in High and Mighty, his book detailing how the US auto industry became so dependent on SUVs and how common sense has been powerless against them. The threshold was the point at which gas prices would begin having the same effect on current car purchases as the 1970s oil crisis did.

Oil prices are rising as oil reserves are declining. Where will you be when we find ourselves on the far side of the Hubbert Peak?

tags: auto industry, automobiles, car purchases, cars, crisis, empty gas tanks, energy, energy crisis, energy prices, gas, gas prices, hubbert peak, oil, oil crisis, oil prices, oil reserves, peak oil, powerless, suvs

Cola wars are one thing, but “altbev” sure has come a long way since soft drink makers identified the market segment in the 90s. Coke’s Fruitopia was among the entries from the majors, but, as usual, it’s the independents that have lead the way. Water remains the leading altbev, but energy and “health” drinks are squeezing the market. Just as Coke and Pepsi were developing their bottled water brands to catch up with Poland Spring (owned by Nestle, by the way), Red Bull appeared and turned things upside down. Sure, Red Bull wasn’t the first energy drink, Jolt proved that over-caffeinated soda (how much caffein?) could sell well and Krank20 did the caffeinated water thing early on. But Red Bull found its place and took off. The small can, the list of hard to pronounce energy enhancing ingredients that sounded somehow natural and healthy, the late 90s economic bubble, and post Starbucks caffeine chasers looking for the next buzz all fell together just right.

Coke tried to follow Red Bull and Pepsi tried their own new products, but their attempts just seemed to legitimize Red Bull’s place. Importantly, however, people just couldn’t come up with a reason to switch from Red Bull. As much as they tried, nobody could differentiate between one caffein buzz or another, so the first to market had a huge advantage in field (which isn’t to say that the drinks don’t have detractors).

The real winner for any beverage, however, is when it becomes part of a popular mixed drink. Jack and Coke, rum and Coke, Seven and Seven, and now Red Bull and Vodka are part of our mixology.

With drinking and hard liquors back in fashion, nobody imagined it would take long for distillers to try to capitalize on Red Bull’s success. Enter Zygo, the “morning vodka.” I’m not sure what zygo means, but Google lists a lotta hits that aint vodka, including interferometers and augmentative communication devices.

Ken, a co-owner, appears to be a New Hampshire boy (he describes it as “north of Boston”), but the hooch is brewed from potatoes in Idaho. The 70-proof liquor boasts taurine, d-ribose, guarana and yerba mate among its energy enhancing additives. I was amused to find Ken working the drinking community with a post to ClubPlanet.com.