Posted on 05/01/2005 6:19:00 AM PDT by MississippiMasterpiece
President Bush made it clear last week that he sees no quick fixes to the nation's energy woes. The problem has been long in coming, the argument goes, and so will the solutions. But if history is any guide, there is one thing he could do immediately: bring back the 55 miles-per-hour speed limit.
It has been done before. Along with record oil and gasoline prices, improvements in fuel efficiency and a lasting economic recession, speed limits helped curb fuel consumption for the first time in American postwar history between 1974 and 1984.
Of course, energy eventually became cheap again, the economy expanded and Americans became complacent and unwilling to make more sacrifices.
Instead of opting for small fuel-efficient cars, people switched to large sport utility vehicles and larger pickups. As drivers groaned and states fought for their right to speed, the limit was raised.
While oil consumption in most industrialized nations has either leveled off or declined, in the United States, oil demand has soared 38 percent since the first oil shock of 1973.
The Bush administration's focus over the last four years has been to increase the supply of oil and natural gas, which are also priorities for the energy industry, instead of finding ways to cut back on energy demand, which until very recently has been left out of the picture.
"We are in a boxing match, and the president keeps one hand tied to his back," said Steven Nadel, the executive director for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a nonprofit research group in Washington. "We're punching with supplies and not using demand. We're at a disadvantage."
Other industrialized countries, especially in Europe, have been much more successful than the United States and have managed to actually lower oil demand, or at least keep it in check. That comes from higher diesel use and higher taxes. In France and Germany, a gallon of gasoline sells for as much as $6, with taxes accounting for about 80 percent of that.
Few politicians in America might risk ridicule or rejection by explicitly supporting higher taxes on gasoline, one of the surest ways to limit the nation's dependence on oil.
"Even the least outrageous gasoline tax would have choked off some demand, and the money would have gone to our own government instead of being transferred overseas," said Robert K. Kaufmann, a professor of geography at the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University. "Of course, that would have to involve personal sacrifice, which is off the table politically."
There are other ways to curb consumption that may be only slightly less challenging, analysts say. One would be to increase the average mileage per gallon requirement. After Congress passed legislation forcing automakers to act in 1975, average mileage almost doubled to 27.5 miles a gallon in 1987 from 14 in 1972. But it has since slipped back to 24 because of S.U.V.'s, and Congress shows no inclination to toughen the standards.
Another way to sharply reduce demand - and improve mileage - would be to encourage drivers to buy diesel cars, which offer as much as 60 percent more fuel efficiency, said Theodore R. Eck, an energy consultant and former chief economist at the Amoco oil company.
"The neat thing here is that this is off-the-shelf technology," he said. But the trade-off to diesel fuels also includes higher emissions of nitrate oxide, a pollutant that is responsible for smog.
In a recent speech, President Bush suggested that diesel cars might be made eligible for similar income tax credits as hybrid cars, which are quickly turning into best sellers with long waiting lists.
The present predicament behind high oil prices is quite different than the oil shocks of the 1970's and 1980's, which were a result of producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cutting oil supplies. Today, the price shock comes from rapidly increasing demand, driven largely by China, but also by the United States and its strong car culture.
After rising 33 percent in the last year, crude oil prices in New York slipped below $50 a barrel on Friday for the first time in 10 weeks. They closed down nearly 4 percent at $49.72 a barrel.
Still, Americans can expect to pay record prices for gasoline this summer. According to the latest national average compiled by the Energy Department, gasoline prices at the pump averaged $2.24 a gallon, up 42 cents from last year; they are expected to touch a record $2.35 a gallon this summer.
Polls show that higher gasoline prices are increasingly hurting Americans, and the president is pressing Congress to revive an energy bill that has been stalled for four years.
Since the last energy shock of the 1980's, the economy as a whole has shifted toward services and away from heavy industry and is now less dependent on oil than it once was. But that has been more than offset by the rise of oil demand for the transportation sector, which accounts for two of every three barrels of crude oil consumed here; gasoline alone amounts to half the nation's oil consumption.
"We've had this situation building up for years, and yet the focus continues to be on the very long term," said Shirley Neff, an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a former economist on the Senate Energy Committee. "We have to focus on demand and be more efficient in our energy use. We need something like an Apollo program for the transportation sector."
But restricting demand might also weaken economic growth, an unpalatable prospect for any government, especially at a time when some are already blaming energy costs for a slowdown in growth.
"It's true that there is a limit to what you could achieve through a traditional energy policy in one or two years," said Fridtjof Unander, an analyst with the International Energy Agency, which advises industrialized nations on ways to reduce their consumption.
The 55 miles-per-hour speed limit came as a result of the 1973 Arab oil embargo. The Nixon administration ordered states to lower their maximum limit to save fuel at a time when the first oil shock threatened to bring the economy to a standstill.
After steadily rising each year, gasoline demand suddenly stopped growing in 1974 and remained nearly flat for the next decade, keeping oil consumption in check.
Roland Hwang, the vehicles policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, estimated the savings of the speed limit in 1983 at 2.5 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, or 2.2 percent of the total use for these types of fuels.
But as gas lines faded from people's memories and energy prices went down, the federal speed limit was relaxed in 1987, allowing states to set higher caps of 65 miles an hour. Once more, gasoline consumption surged.
Smaller efforts today could make a difference. For example, driving at 10 miles an hour above the 65 miles-per-hour limit increases fuel consumption by 15 percent; inflating tires properly cuts gasoline use by 2 percent; keeping engines idle while in line wastes millions of gallons.
The trouble is that few drivers bother with these suggestions, Mr. Hwang said. "People are basically too lazy to pump their tires up."
Note that there is a NEW Jetta for 2005.5 and that may be the reason to have to put a lower price on the old design to clear them out.
I luv that blazer, put a new posi in the rear, and the block only has about 37,000 on it.
But a 2.8 litre simply ain't enough for a 4850 pound rig. Still, if I need to haul something, it's great.
I might get a newer year and see what I can do with it. You can pick up one of the late 80's or early 90's Blazers for a song, just gotta watch out what you're getting.
going to fill up the Expedition right now!!! and the GT Tang, then maybe I'll burn some rubber in front of the Dem. Headquarters.....:)
Actually most cars and LD trucks get the maximum FE at 35 to 45 MPH. It's just that no one drives that speed for hour after hour on the freeway to get the data. Most driving is done at 35-45 and includes lots of stop and go along with short trips, neither of which is conducive to good FE. Thats why hybrid vehicles get better city economy than highway economy - they are designed for the stop and go traffic of city driving.
I can assure you that you won't. At highway speeds, the main variable in gasoline consumption is air resistance, which increases exponentially with speed.
Oooh, I've got a BETTER idea: how about limiting the publication days of all liberal leaning newspapers with a circulation of more than 10,000?
Think of all the TREES that will be saved, and of all the gasoline that will be saved by the lack of delivery of the leftists screeds??
Damn, that's a good idea--it would uplift the intellect of the nation and some energy would be saved. I propose we start with only allowing the NY Slimes to print an edition every other day. If we aren't saving enough energy, we can always trim it back more.
The exact formula is complicated. At higher speeds, air resistance is the main variable in determining gasoline consumption and air resistance increases exponentially with speed. I don't know the exact value of the exponent, but have heard claims that doubling speed increases drag by a factor of four, so the exponent must be around 2. Also, I have heard that this comes out to 2 percent off your 55 mph mileage for every mph over 55, but figures vary somewhat.
I believe General Motors killed any possible widespread support for diesels by their introduction of diesel V-8s in Oldsmobile and Cadillac cars during the 1970s fuel crisis. Instead of doing the engineering to develop a real turbodiesel they just did a quick and dirty retrofit on existing V-8 blocks. Crankshafts lasted about 30,000 miles. Owners couldn't give the cars away. Meanwhile, early '80s Mercedes series 123 turbodiesels are still clattering away with 300,000 and 400,000 miles behind them.
You don't defeat a stupid argument with more of the same. Air resistance, which is the main variable in mileage at higher speeds, increases exponentially with speed. Double your speed and you quadruple air resistance. What the article says is factually correct. The way to argue against it is to point out that we are free people accustomed to a certain lifestyle and have priorities other than trying to knock ten percent off our gas bill.
My suggestion is a 30 mph speed limit for all states that do not contribute some energy to the national economy. It can be wind power, water power, coal, nuclear or fossil fuels, but every state should be required to produce a certain amount of energy or they would have the 30mph limit...which is just about as fast as one could peddle a bicyle. People in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, the fuel producing states, would be free to set their own speed limits, of course. Why should the energy freeloaders have any right to set national speed limits?
The confusion may arise from the fact that the typical driver measures mileage at highway speeds on highways and at city speeds in cities. Stop-and-go conditions are very inefficient.
I have 4 months of driving nearly 75 miles one way to work every day through both a 55 MPH construction zone and normaly 65 MPH highway zones that would show you otherwise.....it surprised me too. There is not much of a difference......
If the energy fraction used for things other than pushing air out of the way is relatively large (A/C on, fat tires, disk brake drag at all four corners, heavily preloaded bearings, power steering and automatic hydraulic pumps, heavy vehicle, etc.), then the percentage effect is also reduced.
If the energy fraction used for things other than pushing air out of the way is relatively large (A/C on, fat tires, disk brake drag at all four corners, heavily preloaded bearings, power steering and automatic hydraulic pumps, heavy vehicle, etc.), then the percentage effect is also reduced.
FR running slowly today?
see post #176, he nails it on the head....
My car is a '98 Chrysler Concorde. When you get above about 50 MPH, the car just glides...
Bogus. Optimum operation depends on the vehicle's setup. The old Caprice got 26, but only at 92 mph.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.