Gallon Of Gasoline Research Articles

The Water Intensity of the Plugged-In Automotive Economy

Converting light-duty vehicles from full gasoline power to electric power, by using either hybrid electric vehicles or fully electric power vehicles, is likely to increase demand for water resources. In the United States in 2005, drivers of 234 million cars, lighttrucks, and SUVs drove approximately 2.7 trillion miles and consumed over 380 million gallons of gasoline per day. We compare figures from literature and government surveys to calculate the water usage, consumption, and withdrawal, in the United States during petroleum refining and electricity generation. In displacing gasoline miles with electric miles, approximately 2-3 [corrected] times more water is consumed (0.24 [corrected] versus 0.07--0.14 gallons/mile) and over 12 [corrected] times more water is withdrawn (7.8 [corrected] versus 0.6 gallons/mile) primarily due to increased water cooling of thermoelectric power plants to accommodate increased electricity generation. Overall, we conclude that the impact on water resources from a widespread shift to grid-based transportation would be substantial enough to warrant consideration for relevant public policy decision-making. That is not to say that the negative impacts on water resources make such a shift undesirable, but rather this increase in water usage presents a significant potential impact on regional water resources and should be considered when planning for a plugged-in automotive economy.

The Costs Of Biofuels

THE DRUMBEAT in favor of biofuels has only increased since President George W. Bush’s 2007 State of the Union address calling for a 20% cut in gasoline use, much of it to be replaced with alternative fuels such as biofuels. Indeed, industry has begun investing in biofuels and biofuels R&D as never before. Consumers, too, are eager for anything that might trim the cost of a gallon of gasoline. But the criticisms and questions that dog the use of biofuels remain formidable. Can the U.S. really afford to devote its entire corn crop to the production of ethanol, as might be required under some of the targets set by President Bush? What will happen to the price of corn, and what impact will this have in terms of feeding those who are hungry in this world? What are the true energy costs of biofuels, and can their use mitigate global climate change, as is widely ...

Estimates of the price of hydrogen as a medium for wind and solar sources

The rejection of hydrogen as a solution to global warming by becoming the medium of wind and solar was made when gasoline was priced at $1/gallon. From wind, H 2 would now cost (by electrolysis of water and steam) less than $3 for an amount equivalent in energy to that in a gallon of gasoline (“equivalent”). From solar photovoltaics (pv), H 2 would be sinking in price between $8 toward $5 equivalent as the efficiency of solar pv increases toward 20%. 1 1 Calculated price estimates stated here include 25% profit and the cost of piping H 2 1000 miles. Unless otherwise stated, prices are in 2006$. Solar thermal's present prices offer about one-half the solar pv prices. Prediction of the maximum of the delivery rate of world oil is [Laherre's Oil Production Forecast, 1950–2150. Reprinted with permission from correspondence with William Horvath, U.S. Department of Energy, March 29, 2001] 2010. Future energy sources will develop inexhaustible energies from wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, and wave sources. The common media will be hydrogen and electricity. These sources yield energy at around one-half the cost of nuclear fission. Growing corn to make alcohol involves a net loss of energy and need for a heating mechanism. 2 2 Growth of the plant fueled by solar light and CO 2, forming alcohol involves a heating stage and numerous operatives use fossil fuels, thus introducing CO 2. This ruins the “no CO 2” process. However, it is pointed out in this paper that one could use an excess of the first stage biofuel to provide heat and this would run on CO 2 and light, i.e., no net CO 2 in burning. It may increase the Greenhouse.

A First-Law Thermodynamic Analysis of the Corn-Ethanol Cycle

This paper analyzes energy efficiency of the industrial corn-ethanol cycle. In particular, it critically evaluates earlier publications by DOE, USDA, and UC Berkeley Energy Resources Group. It is demonstrated that most of the current First Law net-energy models of the industrial corn-ethanol cycle are based on nonphysical assumptions and should be viewed with caution. In particular, these models do not (i) define the system boundaries, (ii) conserve mass, and (iii) conserve energy. The energy cost of producing and refining carbon fuels in real time, for example, corn and ethanol, is high relative to that of fossil fuels deposited and concentrated over geological time. Proper mass and energy balances of corn fields and ethanol refineries that account for the photosynthetic energy, part of the environment restoration work, and the coproduct energy have been formulated. These balances show that energetically production of ethanol from corn is 2‐4 times less favorable than production of gasoline from petroleum. From thermodynamics it also follows that ecological damage wrought by industrial biofuel production must be severe. With the DDGS coproduct energy credit, 3.9 gallons of ethanol displace on average the energy in 1 gallon of gasoline. Without the DDGS energy credit, this average number is 6.2 gallons of ethanol. Equivalent CO2 emissions from corn ethanol are some 50% higher than those from gasoline, and become 100% higher if methane emissions from cows fed with DDGS are accounted for. From the mass balance of soil it follows that ethanol coproducts should be returned to the fields.

Karst: the foundation for concepts in hydrogeology

Few citizens of the world would have trouble understanding the terms springs, ground water, geology, or hydrology. Newer water terms that are more familiar include bottled water, spring water, sparkling water, or mineral water, all of which now come in vessels of different shapes, sizes, colors and labels. It is interesting to note that a glass of cold, refreshing tap water will cost about 1 cent, whereas the same glass of sparkling cold bottled water will cost 50 or more times that price, and is even more than a gallon of gasoline. On the other hand, the term karst is not as well known, and it is the most pertinent objective of this congress to bring about a better knowledge and understanding of karst. “The past is a key to the future.” A wise statement; however, serving as an editor of the international journal of Environmental Geology gives frequent reminders that some younger and perhaps a few older scientists, particularly those in the consulting area, are not well aware of the stepping stones inherited from the past. This is evidenced by the use of phrases such as, “development of a new concept, method, or solution” which was published many years before. A suggestion: “do the homework” and adequately reference research while preparing project proposals, and acknowledge primary contributors on the subject. Sometimes a list of carefully selected references is more important to a fellow scientist than the paper itself. Historically, the use of karst spring waters dates back to the earliest civilizations. Cuneiform tablets provided the first written records of hydrological research that describes an expedition in 852 bc by the Assyrian King Salmanassar III to the headwaters of the Tigris. The source of the Tigris is a karst spring. Inscriptions near the entrance to the cave from which the spring discharges state that it is the source of water to the Tigris and immortalizes Salmanassar III. It is the first known reference to the formation of stalagmites. Other examples from the Bible include the principal sources of water for the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria where a spring called Efca discharges water that is warm (33°C), sulphurus, and radioactive. It was believed by some to have curative powers. In Biblical times, karst-caves or systems provided water in Sinai and at Shobek, Kirhareshet, Lachish, Jerusalem, Hazor, and Gezer. In China, a book, Annotation on Water Scripture, by Li Daoyuan, published during the second century ad describes hot springs, and the water from Lisban Spring, in China, is recorded in 1134 bc as being used for medical purposes by many monarchies. In Europe, one of the most famous springs is Bath in England. It is the site of an early spa during Roman times, where soldiers enthusiastically visited these hot springs for rest and relaxation. This source became contaminated and represents one of the earliest recorded problems with pollution of spring waters. Hot springs were famous throughout the Roman Empire, and many remain today as health resorts. In 2004, Dorothy Crouch, in her books, Water Management in Ancient Greek Cities (1993) and Geology and Settlement Greco-Roman Pattern presents two of the most comprehensive texts on interrelationships between water supplies and development of civilization in karst. The books illustrate that many of the basic hydrogeologic concepts of karst were developed by early philosophers of ancient Greece and were used in the sighting, planning, and construction of Syracuse Corinth, Delphi, Miletus, Ephesus, plus five other sites that were studied and compared representing 1400 years of urbanization by the Greeks and Romans.

Lower gas prices at the expense of the environment?

In April, I began to think about bicycling more. With gasoline prices on the rise and outraged consumers calling for the scalps of the oil companies, President Bush was watching his popularity spiraling downward. He asked Stephen L Johnson, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to use all of his authority to grant waivers relieving critical fuel supply shortages. The President justified the request by stating that, “I do that for the sake of our consumers. If Johnson finds that he needs more authority to relieve the problem, we're going to work with Congress to obtain the authority he needs.” The President was asking the EPA to relax fuel blend rules and reformulated gasoline regulations that are designed to alleviate local pollution but have instead caused shortages. In addition, several states, including Pennsylvania and Maryland, have also asked for waivers. Where does this issue come from? In the 1990s, Congress passed several amendments to the Clean Air Act which included provisions designed to spur increased reliance on the cleaner-burning “reformulated” gasoline (RFG) as a way to Reformulated gasoline is now required by the Clean Air Act to be used in parts of the US that experience the worst smog, such as cities, while other areas may opt to implement RFG whether a problem exists or not. The Federal RFG program was introduced in 1995, and such fuel formulations are currently used in 17 states and the District of Columbia. About 30% of all gasoline currently sold in the US is composed of RFG. Each oil company prepares its own formula which must meet federal emission reduction standards. The regulations were implemented in two phases: the first was designed to reduce smog-causing agents by 64 000 tons per year in the states that use RFG, compared to conventional gasoline. This had the practical effect of eliminating the smog-forming emissions, according to the EPA, from over 10 million vehicles. The second phase of the program was designed to reduce smog pollutants by an additional 41 000 tons per year (equivalent to the removal of 16 million vehicles) in RFG areas. As an added benefit, the phases also reduced levels of the carcinogen benzene, a component of non-RFG gasoline. On May 3, 2006, the EPA announced that it was amending the RFG regulations to remove the oxygen content requirement. One amendment addressed the RFG oxygen requirement and related compliance requirements for gasoline sold in California. No negative comment was received regarding the California rule, which went into effect on April 24, 2006. The other rule, intended to remove the oxygen requirement for RFG in all other parts of the country, was challenged in the comment stage but became final on May 5, 2006. Meanwhile, formulation regulations were caught in the switch to ethanol during the gas shortage. Formulations of oxygenated gasoline, originally containing the since-removed additive MTBE, are currently switching to ethanol. Refiners had asked for a waiver from liability for the use of MTBE, but Congress refused, refiners cut its use, and Administrator Johnson has ruled out MTBE reintroduction. Ethanol, on the other hand, potentially has a bright future. “E 10”, the 10% blend commonly seen in many parts of the US, is the most well-known formulation that will assist in reducing the nations dependence on foreign oil. However, it is “E 85”, consisting of 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol that takes advantage of a renewable resource and burns cleaner in so-called “flex fuel” vehicles. Two wonderful ideas, without doubt, but detractors point out that ethanol, used since Henry Ford's earliest cars, isn't as efficient a fuel, and because demand outweighs supply, is currently more costly than gasoline. Currently, few E85 pumps are open, but more are promised. Given the sparse number of current suppliers, large-scale use of ethanol remains far away. Just 90 or so plants produce ethanol in this country, with about 25 more on the way. However, at best, ethanol will yield approximately 5 billion gallons per year by 2007. Compare that to the 140 billion gallons of gasoline that are currently consumed by US gas-guzzlers. In the meantime, therefore, waivers represent little more than a very short-term drop in the proverbial supply bucket. Thus, for the short term we will live without one pollution-helping oxygenate (MTBE) that causes severe pollution problems, while getting enamored with another (ethanol). It may not be the answer to those who want to drive their SUV cross-country at 75 mph out of the smog in time for Aunt Hattie's Fourth of July party in Scottsbluff. But me? I am pedaling my two-wheeler to the local fireworks supplier which, if nothing else, will be an exciting addition to the mid-summer haze. Douglass F Rohrman Lord, Bissell & Brook LLP, Chicago

Anticompetitive Social Norms as Antitrust Violations

The antitrust laws broadly forbid agreements in restraint of trade. These illegal agreements are typically imagined as products of smoke filled backroom discussions, where titans of industry set prices over cigars and whiskey.! Such clear examples form the inner core of what section 1 of the Sherman Act proscribes,2 but the outer boundaries of section 1 liability are unclear and are the subject of substantial disagreement among courts and academics. For instance, imagine an isolated town with two gas stations located across the street from each other, each charging $2.00 per gallon of gaso line. One morning, the owner of the first station increases her prices by $0.25, even though her cost of selling gasoline remains unchanged. This first owner knows that, assuming the second owner does not change his prices, customers will likely abandon her station and opt for the cheaper gasoline of her competitor. However, she also knows that, if the second owner likewise increases his prices by $0.25, each owner will sell the same amount of gasoline at the higher price, and they will therefore both enjoy higher profits. The second owner notices the increase in price and increases his price to match. Has a price-fixing conspiracy occurred in violation of section 1 of the Sherman Act?3 Theoretically, yes. Both have agreed to raise their price above the competitive level. But as a practical matter, both are likely to get away with it, insofar as there is no further evidence of an

Tracking of release and remediation progress from large pipeline break east of Dallas, Texas: Protection of Lake Tawakoni water supply

A gasoline pipeline owned by Explorer Pipeline Company ruptured leaking methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive, into a creek and lake that the city of Dallas used as a water source. Because of the contamination, the city had to build a pipeline (nine feet in diameter, over two and three-quarters of a mile in length, and built in three months) to another lake, at a cost of about $9 million. The volume of the release was estimated at 1.7 million gallons of gasoline containing MTBE at 9 percent per volume. Thousands of soil, water, and groundwater samples were taken to track the MTBE plume as it migrated from the spill site, through almost 30 miles of creek and throughout a lake containing 700,000 acre-feet (228 billion gallons) of water. Four years after the spill, MTBE remains throughout the groundwater system, primarily in the drainage basin along the almost 30 miles of creek. This article focuses on the detailed tracking of all sampling data and the impact that the ongoing threat of MTBE contamination had on the water supplier. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Driving Up the Cost of Clean Air

The internal combustion engine is a mixed blessing. The freedom of movement provided by cars and light trucks—minivans, SUVs, and pickups—is unprecedented. But these same vehicles also pose a major public health problem. It is not surprising, then, that strategies to mitigate the harmful side effects of personal transportation are a major topic of study. In 2002, car accidents killed nearly 43,000 and incapacitated another 356,000, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Vehicle exhaust contributes to untold numbers of hospitalizations for asthma attacks and other health problems, while car-related pollution contributes to lung diseases and heart attacks. Cars and light trucks on American roads contribute slightly less than 4% of the world’s annual burden of greenhouse gases and about 20% of the U.S. burden. Each year, car- and truck-related congestion costs the United States $63 billion in lost time and wasted fuel, according to the Texas Transportation Institute’s 2004 Urban Mobility Report, and 5.6 billion gallons of gasoline are wasted by idling in traffic. Much controversy swirls in the debate over how best to mitigate the harmful side effects of automotive transportation. It is somewhat helpful to sharpen the debate by appealing to economic theory, although ideals usually become badly dented when they collide with politics. Some of these harmful side effects are what economists call “externalities,” or costs that are not incorporated into the market price. A motorist buying gasoline, for example, does not pay for the costs of the climate change or the air pollution that will result from burning that fuel, or the military cost of maintaining access to Persian Gulf oil. Externalities have obvious solutions: figure out their costs, and incorporate them into the price. The theoretically superior strategy would be to tax individual greenhouse gas emissions and to incorporate defense costs into the price of oil specifically from the Persian Gulf (although military spending, generally viewed as a fixed rather than variable cost, is usually excluded from computations of the optimal oil or gasoline tax). Accidents are arguably not externalities, because they are largely paid for through insurance. However, car insurance does not cover expenses such as fire and police department costs or costs related to death and pain/suffering. Furthermore, insurance is a lump-sum payment rather than a per-mile charge, so motorists likely do not consider accident costs when deciding how much to drive a given vehicle. Traffic congestion, a well-established result of motorization, is less ambiguous as an externality, although people endure part of the delays they help to create. But to the extent that accidents and congestion are externalities, they are externalities of driving, not of gasoline use, because cars can run on other fuels. As yet, determining the cost of fuel-based externalities is a primitive art, says Mark Delucchi, a research scientist at the Institute for Transportation Studies of the University of California, Davis. “The best estimates of virtually all important external costs—air pollution, noise, accidents, congestion, and oil importing—vary by about an order of magnitude,” he wrote in the spring 2000 issue of Access magazine. Delucchi advocates using these estimates to inform but not determine policy. A number of strategies have been suggested in the United States to reduce the problems created by automotive transportation. One strategy in particular—the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards—has been around for several decades. The pros and cons of personal transportation and the controversy surrounding CAFE and other strategies demonstrate the need for careful thought—as well as the hazards that arise—when policy meets politics.

Here Comes Hypercar!

Despite the fact that the price of gasoline seems stuck around $2.00 per gallon, gas-guzzling SUVs and pickups remain as popular as ever among Americans. The United States produces 25% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions; cars and light trucks account for around 20% of the nation’s energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It would appear that a gas-saving, nonpolluting car for the U.S. masses will need to be something that even car enthusiast magazines could applaud. It will need to equal or beat conventional cars in handling, performance, size, safety, and amenities, and do so at a competitive cost. It’s a tall order, but Amory Lovins, chief executive officer of the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in Snowmass, Colorado, thinks he may have just the car to meet it: the Hypercar®. The latest version of Lovins’s Hypercar concept is a detailed virtual design illustrating an SUV crossover vehicle that would fully compete with today’s midsize entry-level luxury SUVs. Powered by a hybridized hydrogen fuel cell, the concept, dubbed Revolution, would achieve Environmental Protection Agency mileage ratings equivalent to 108 miles per gallon (mpg) of gasoline; as a Prius-like gasoline hybrid, 62 mpg, and with a good nonhybrid gasoline engine, 45 mpg, according to extensive RMI simulations. The gasoline hybrid version could sell profitably for $40,000–45,000 (in year 2000 dollars), at standard markups based on what Lovins calls extensive supplier price quotations for 82% of the components, plus bottom-up cost modeling by RMI and independent consultants for technologies not yet in production. Further development could pare the price to about $35,000. But Lovins’s concept goes beyond transportation. A national fleet of fuel cell–powered Hypercar-class vehicles could contribute to the national electricity grid when they are parked—which averages about 96% of the time, according to the Population Reference Bureau. And according to RMI, if Hypercars captured half of the world’s market by 2020, global carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks would fall 25%, instead of rising by 12%. (This estimate assumes that the efficiency of conventional cars improves by 25%, and vehicle miles traveled increases by 50%.)

Editorial: Fossil Fuel Depletion Will Reverse the Population Explosion

Fossil Fuel Depletion Will Reverse the Population Explosion William Stanton Empires and civilizations emerge, peak and collapse, over time scales usually measured in centuries. The rise of Western civilization as we know it began with the Industrial Revolution in the mid-18th century. It is characterized by material prosperity based on the ready availability of cheap energy, mostly in the form of fossil fuels. It may now be peaking, with Westerners consuming lavish amounts of the most convenient fossil fuel, oil. Britons get through 10 barrels of oil per person per year, and North Americans use up more than twice that figure. For most Third Worlders, by contrast, individual consumption is normally a tiny fraction of one barrel. The benefits of Western civilization have spread around the world, allowing the human population to explode. It had risen slowly and painfully to about 0.6 billion in 1750, only to shoot up to 6 billion by 2000. Mechanized agriculture with artificial fertilizers, disease control by modern medicines, and the imposition of peace on warring tribal societies by colonizers, are responsible. There is usually enough food to eat, and life expectancies have risen steadily (until the advent of HIV/Aids in Africa). Why then is Western civilization peaking? Populations tend to explode when a critical resource becomes available, and collapse when it is used up. Saint Matthew Island in the Bering Sea was overgrown with reindeer moss when 29 reindeer were released there in 1944. With no predators, the herd grew to around 6000 animals in 1963, and then collapsed. They had eaten all the moss. A few Polynesians reached Easter Island in the South Pacific about 900 AD. They found it densely forested, with good timber for all purposes, especially deep-sea fishing canoes. When the last trees were felled in the 1600s the population had risen to around 15,000. It then collapsed amid clan warfare, squalor and cannibalism. Western civilization's critical resource is fossil fuel in the form of coal, natural gas, and especially oil. In this year of 2005 the global demand for oil appears to be exceeding the ability of depleting oilfields to supply it. Despite feverish drilling activity, for every new barrel of oil discovered, 3 or 4 barrels are consumed. The price of crude is rising, and will rise faster as scarcity becomes obvious. Personal transport will become a luxury item. Any population that is unable to afford agricultural machinery, fertilizers and medication will start a painful decline. Westerners assume, in ignorance, that science and technology will provide all the energy necessary to replace fossil fuels, from renewable sources. They will not, for one simple reason. Essential materials like steel, concrete and plastics are plentiful and cheap today because we produce them using plentiful and cheap fossil fuel energy. But when renewable electricity is the only energy we have, they will be seriously scarce and expensive. Suppose that in 2150 you want to construct a wind turbine requiring 100 tonnes of steel. The iron ore must be dug from a mine, concentrated, transported to a blast furnace, smelted with limestone and charcoal, transported to a mill where it is fabricated into [End Page 75] components, transported to the site and erected, all without the benefit of energy from fossil fuels. Only electricity and biofuels are available. Certain alloy metals such as nickel, chromium and tungsten are rare and more expensive to produce. The same high costs apply to the concrete and plastic used in the turbine. During its lifetime, will the turbine generate as much energy as went into procuring and fabricating its components, and carrying out regular maintenance? The answer may well be no, unless the turbine is favorably located in relation to industrial centres and the sources of raw materials. Electricity is not a convenient form of energy as regards road transport. According to Walter Youngquist (The Post-Petroleum Paradigm —and Population, 1999) "A gallon of gasoline has the same energy content as one ton of conventional electric storage batteries". Such a massive energy imbalance is not susceptible to a simple technological solution, at least at present. Before the Industrial Revolution, humankind had a few windmills, watermills and sailing ships, but biomass...

A Case of the Vapors

With domestic refining capacity falling behind domestic demand, imports have taken on a new role: smoothing out any mismatches between gasoline supply and demand. Gasoline is sold on a worldwide spot market, and international refiners know that every gallon of gasoline will be bought by someone, somewhere. Some 40 percent of American gas imports now come from Western Europe. European refiners are looking to solve this problem by switching refining technologies. Hydrocracking, which is a high-pressure process that relies on hydrogen to saturate various products, will enable them to make more diesel from a given barrel of petroleum, and less gasoline. The change in American fuel standards has tilted the playing field for would-be exporters. The reduction in sulfur content has taken many refineries in South America out of the running as suppliers of gasoline to the United States. Until these refineries make the necessary upgrade, imports may be restricted to advanced, First World refineries, such as Total’s and Irving’s facilities. The EIA projects that Western Europe will remain a dominant exporter of gasoline to the United States for at least another decade due to its high-tech refineries and its proximity to East Coast ports.

Risk of Cancer as a Result of Community Exposure to Gasoline Vapors

The Tranguch Gasoline Spill leaked 50,000-900,000 gallons of gasoline from underground storage tanks, potentially exposing an area of Hazle Township and Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to chronic low levels of benzene since at least 1990. A retrospective cohort study of 663 individuals representing 275 households assessed whether affected residents were at increased risk for cancer from 1990-2000 compared with the Pennsylvania populace. Age-adjusted standard incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated using Pennsylvania rates to determine expected numbers. The age-adjusted SIR for the gasoline-affected area was 4.40 (95% confidence interval: 1.09-10.24) for leukemia. These results suggest an association between living within the area affected by the Tranguch Gasoline Spill and increased risk for leukemia.

Presidential Candidates Speak Out on Science Policies

Presidential Candidates Speak Out on Science Policies

Impacts of Long‐Range Increases in the Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standard

This work models the impact of higher CAFE standards on producer and consumer welfare, gasoline consumption, externalities from increased driving, and the emissions of traditional pollutants. In particular, a long‐run 3.0 MPG increase in the CAFE standard is estimated to impose welfare losses of about $4 billion per year and save about 5.2 billion gallons of gasoline per year, for a hidden tax of $0.78 per gallon conserved. An 11‐cent‐per‐gallon increase in the gasoline tax would save the same amount of fuel at a welfare cost of about $290 million per year, or about one‐fourteenth the cost. (JEL L51, Q30)

Possible power generation with nature's high-efficiency technology

The rapidly growing fuel consumption in engines and turbine that power the world's transportation vehicles and power-generation plants will nearly exhaust the world's supply of petroleum by the end of the next century. These engines and turbines run at high heat-input temperatures because their efficiency is limited by the Carnot cycle. Muscles used for propulsion by animals are not limited in efficiency by the Carnot cycle, so we see dolphins getting 3,000 miles of travel from a food quantity that contains the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. Leaves on plants capture the energy in sunlight to extract carbon from carbon dioxide in the air, and hydrogen form water, to manufacture carbohydrates. Scientists and engineers studying these processes are amazed by the computing power and data storage required to make these processes work. For example, a tiny grape seed contains the data and structural technology required for quickly constructing the plant's fuel-producing leaves and the structures that support them. Even the stiff thorn that discourages intruders from entering the grape bush has an effective design. The data stored in the seed specifies the color of the grape plant's blossoms, commands the production of the sugar-containing fluid that goes into the grapes, and even the data content of the next-generation seeds in the globules of each grape berry. In this report, we explore energy-conversion processes that nature has developed in plants and animals. We explore the possibility of adapting them into techniques that reduce our consumption of petroleum fuels.

How Many Acres per Mile?

Every time a car uses a gallon (3.8 L) of gasoline, according to Jeffrey Dukes, an assistant professor of ecology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, MA, 89 metric tons of ancient plant matter are consumed. This is like loading 40 acres' worth of wheat into your tank every 20 miles, he points out. Put another way, since the industrial revolution in 1751, more than 13300 years' worth of the Earth's current annual net primary productivity (NPP) have been consumed by burning fossil fuels. Dukes was driving down the street a few years ago when he began to wonder where the contents of his gas tank came from. More specifically,

Liquid Fuels and Propellants for Aerospace Propulsion: 1903-2003

Introduction M AJOR increases in liquid-fueled propulsion performance have occurred in the past 100 years.TheWright brothersŽ rst  ew on 14 December 1903 with an engine that generated slightly more than 130 lb of thrust for  ights that ranged from 120 to 850 ft (Ref. 1). Contrast that with current aircraft such as the Boeing 777, which can  y 8000 n miles, equipped with engines from the GE90 and PW4000 series that generate over 100,000 lb of thrust. The Wright brothers probably consumed less than a gallon of gasoline in that Ž rst day of  ight tests. In 1997, airlines consumedan average of 177 million gal/day of jet fuel worldwide.2¤ Robert Goddard’s Ž rst  ight of a liquid rocket on 16March 1926 reachedan altitudeof 41 ft and landed184 ft from the launchpoint (seeRef. 3). Again, the contrast with current vehicles such as the space shuttle, which can lift over 50,000 lb to 200C miles into low Earth orbit, is dramatic. The intent of this paper is to describe the evolution of liquid fuels for aircraft and rockets as the engines and vehicles they fuel have undergone these signiŽ cant increases in performance.

BOC begins UK fuel cell trials, sponsors vehicle record attempt

Industrial gases giant BOC has started two hydrogen-fueled PEM fuel cell trials at in-house sites in the UK, as part of its developing hydrogen energy program. The company is also sponsoring a world record attempt later this year to travel a distance equal to London to Vancouver on the equivalent of one gallon (4.5 l) of gasoline using a hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle. This is a short news story only. Visit www.re-focus.net for the latest renewable energy industry news.

Emergency and Long-Term Restoration Planning for The 1999 Olympic Pipe Line Company Spill, whatcom Creek, Bellingham, Washington, USA1

ABSTRACT The restoration planning efforts for the June 10, 1999, Olympic Pipe Line Company gasoline spill illustrate the benefits of cooperative and restoration-based damage assessment. The Incident resulted in the release of approximately 236,000 gallons of gasoline into Whatcom Creek, Bellingham, Washington. The spilled gasoline ignited, burning much of the riparian vegetation including a large section of mature forest in an urban park. The combination of the spill and fire resulted in the complete elimination of terrestrial and aquatic biota in several miles of the creek. Affected biota included several species of juvenile salmonids, including chinook salmon, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The Incident also resulted in recreational fishing and park closures. The Oil Pollution Act regulations require the Trustees to invite the Responsible Party to participate in the damage assessment and restoration process. By working together, restoration of injured resources and services may be achieved more rapidly and costeffectively. Shortly after the Incident, the Trustees and the Company recognized that a cooperative process would reduce duplication of studies, increase the cost-effectiveness of the assessment process, increase sharing of information, decrease the likelihood of litigation, and, most importantly, speed the restoration process. Another benefit of the cooperation was the ability to accomplish restoration goals in coordination with the emergency response activities. This paper summarizes the overall Incident and discusses the restoration planning process, including the emergency and long-term restoration actions.