Hypermiling Proves Fuel Can Be Efficient. But We Aren't.

I notice that many people take an all or nothing approach to their fuel usage. Clearly we aren't going to be making any immediate changes in our economy that allow us to be free from oil and burning fossil fuels, but what we can do is at least reduce how much we need them.

Cleanmpg.com is a cool forum where people can talk about how to get the most miles per gallon out of your car... no matter if it is a hybrid or a smart car or a scooter. I wouldn't mind owning any of these things, but like many people I am not in a position to get rid of my white 4 door '91 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (affectionately named "whitey), seen here:

Wayne Gerdes, the hypermiling term-coiner (I assume that's what you'd call the person who coins a term), has written an article about how to beat the expected miles per gallon of your vehicle. You can find the article here.

Hypermilers follow general driving rules such as:

1. Whenever possible, don't use your gas pedal or brake pedal. Coasting will still get you to the next stopsign.

2. Choose daily routes that minimize the number of stop and go situations.

3. Park on hills to start your car off downhill without using the gas pedal.

4. When driving on the highway stay at 55 mph. When you go over this speed, your fuel economy is not maximized.

These are just a few tips that hypermilers have that can get your car to get 100 miles per gallon. NO LIE!

Check out this video for more info!

HAPPY HYPERMILES!

Syntroleum: Part I - Chicken Fat to Jet Fuel!

Sometimes I'm a bad environmentalist. I say this this because I utilize commercial airline travel. A lot. I figure that I fly roughly twice a month.

So it excites me greatly to learn that the nice folks over at Syntroleum have developed a process that allow them to turn just about any fat, including vegetable fats, into both biodiesel and jet fuel. All clean burning and renewable. They've also signed a deal with Tyson Chicken to convert chicken fat into fuel. Very tasty.

Here's a blurb from their website:

"Building on over 20 years experience, Syntroleum has proven its ability to produce synthetic fuels from a wide variety of feedstock—from natural gas to fats, oils and greases. The Fischer-Tropsch process has already been utilized through the company’s comprehensive labs and production facilities to produce significant amounts of synthetic diesel and jet fuel. These fuels have been successfully proven to perform better than conventional fuels across most operating parameters, including emissions, thermal stability, and cetane. With the growing demand for renewable fuels worldwide, Syntroleum is also utilizing its Biofining™ technology to produce renewable synthetic fuels with the same superior qualities."

Just think, the era of fossil fuels is really and truly drawing to a close. And we'll all live to see it end! Huzzah to progress and technology! Huzzah to Science!

And especially, huzzah to my friend Oded who alerted Superforest to this wonderful breakthrough.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that they are a subsidiary of Halliburton, but that's great! Good on you, Halliburton. We need more major companies investing in clean-tech and this is certainly a giant leap in the right direction.)

I plan on getting in touch with Syntroleum when I return to NYC after Thanksgiving, so check back for some sweet sweet content.

Love,

Jackson

syntroleum.com
Investor PDF: syntroleum.com
Info on the Fischer-Tropsch Process: wikipedia.org