Recent Gas News/GasBuddy Blog

CNN Money -- Despite the recent fall in oil prices, analysts say President Obama may tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as sanctions on Iran take hold.While oil prices have fallen from over $110 a barrel to near $90 in recent weeks, tougher sanctions on Iran begin to take effect at the end of June.That could mean up to 1 million barrels a day could soon be taken off the table, resulting in a possible spike in oil prices."A strategic petroleum reserve draw remains more likely than not between now and July 1," Kevin Book, head of research at ClearView Energy Partners, wrote in a note Wednesday.July 1 is the day the European Union is set to halt all oil imports from Iran. The EU is currently Iran's largest crude customer.Just a few days before that, on June 28, the United Sates is set to d  (go to article)

MarketWatch -- LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, May 17, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- This April, a report published by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said that hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking', for oil and gas was a safe process and should continue - providing proper safety measures are taken. Fracking uses a blend of water and sand to create tiny fractures in the shale through which natural gas can escape. By exploiting the world's potentially vast shale gas deposits, it's hoped that fracking will help make domestic and commercial gas and electric more affordable and cut consumption of dirtier coal.

In the United States, the use of shale gas has pushed gas prices to 10-year lows, and companies are actually preparing to export the excess levels of fuel. Estimates of the amount of sha  (go to article)

EnergyBiz -- Simply, the the report’s authors looked at about 3,000 violations from 4,000 natural gas wells processed by Pennsylvania’s regulators in a three year time period ending in August 2011. About 62 percent of those violations were administrative while 38 percent were environmental issues.

About 25 of those were classified as major ecological events, meaning there was serious contamination of local water supplies or major land spills. In all but six cases, the resulting environmental impacts have been addressed, say the authors. Lead author, Tim Considine who teaches economics at the University of Wyoming, says that the state regulatory construct is working and that the number incidents is declining each year.  (go to article)

Anchorage Daily News online -- CHRIS KAHN
The Associated Press

Published: May 16th, 2012 07:48 AM
Last Modified: May 16th, 2012 08:01 AM

NEW YORK (AP) - The price of oil continues to decline as supplies grow in the U.S.

Benchmark U.S. crude on Wednesday fell by $1 to $92.98 per barrel in New York. It dipped to a seven-month low of $91.81 earlier and is down about 12 percent overall since the beginning of May.

Brent crude, which helps set the price of oil imported into the U.S., fell by 87 cents to $110.58 per barrel in London.

Prices fell after the government reported that U.S. oil supplies grew last week by 2.1 million barrels. That's more than analysts expected. Storage levels are now the highest in nearly 22 years. Prices tend to decline when more oil is available.  (go to article)

Anchorage Daily News online -- The Associated Press

Published: May 17th, 2012 04:07 AM
Last Modified: May 17th, 2012 04:15 AM

CAMERON, W.Va. (AP) - Chevron Corp. has temporarily shut down some natural gas wells in Marshall County so it can make safety improvements.

Chevron North America spokesman Trip Oliver says the company is performing maintenance, improving the operating systems' safety and reliability and enhancing the pad stability at some sites.

Oliver tells The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register ( ) that some wells recently resumed production. The others will be returned to production when the company is confident they can be operated safely.  (go to article)

NPR -- President Obama has said "I don't bluff," when it comes to opposing any effort by Iran to develop nuclear weapons (which that nation says it is not trying to do). And, he told The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg in March, "all options are on the table."

So it would seem the president hasn't ruled out the possibility of military action if talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 nations do not end with a diplomatic solution.

 (go to article)

Bloomberg -- SolarWorld AG (SWV)’s U.S. unit and other solar firms persuaded the Commerce Department to punish Chinese competitors for pricing their products below the cost of production in a bid to put their American rivals out of business, according to a person briefed on the decision.

The U.S. agency imposed preliminary tariffs of 31.22 percent to 250 percent, adding to duties imposed earlier of up to 4.73 percent for receiving unfair subsidies from the Chinese government, the person said. Solarworld had asked for levies of more than 100 pecent. Before the decision, Aaron Chew, a New York-based analyst at Maxim Group LLC, said anything more than 10 percent would be considered a victory for the U.S. companies.  (go to article)

Associated Press---------- -- The price of natural gas is plunging as supplies continue to build and mild weather is curtailing demand in parts of the country.

Natural gas fell 8 cents, or 3 percent, to $2.61 per 1,000 cubic feet Thursday in New York. Benchmark U.S. oil rose 8 cents to $92.87 per barrel in New York. Brent crude dropped $1.29 to $108.46 per barrel in London.

The Energy Department says natural gas supplies increased to 2.667 trillion cubic feet last week. That's nearly 41 percent higher than a year earlier.

Meanwhile, AAA says the national average for retail gasoline is $3.722 per gallon. That's about a half cent less than Wednesday and down 22 cents from a year ago.  (go to article)

Popular Mechanics -- In late August, a community of more than 50,000 like-minded folks gathers for a week in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada for the annual Burning Man festival. Cars are not allowed as transport in this temporary small city, yet art cars called Mutant Vehicles are encouraged and even funded by a Burning Man foundation. These cars carry people and put on shows at less than 15 mph, and like the festival itself, they're about radical self-expression.

Read more: 10 Wild Art Cars From Burning Man - Popular Mechanics
 (go to article)

Wind Power Monthly -- In one of its brochures of the early 1990s, US firm Kenetech Windpower reprinted an enthusiastic quote from The Wall Street Journal about its advanced, lightweight wind-turbine design. "Energy experts say this new 'five-cent machine' could do for wind energy what Henry Ford did for the car - (it) puts wind on par with coal power, the cheapest traditional alternative.

Moreover, it makes wind power cheaper than coal if air pollution and other environmental costs are taken into account." Unfortunately the KVS-33 model did not live up to expectations and soon after its introduction developed serious and costly technology problems that it failed to overcome. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1996.

Undaunted by this public failure, the pioneering spirit in the US continues.  (go to article)

Fox News -- Vermont became the first state to ban the controversial natural gas drilling practice known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Gov. Peter Shumlin signed the ban into law Wednesday afternoon, The Burlington Free Press reported.

 (go to article)

Popular mechanics -- Go back a few years and every new car shouted about mpg and economizing. This year, fuel efficiency is still important, but style is back for the new cars sporting 2013 and 2014 model years. Sportiness is taking center stage once more, and a fierce competition is about to happen between $20,000 and $30,000—so if you can't afford the next $100,000 Viper, fear not. Here are 12 cars we're waiting for over the next year or so. (And for a few cars that just debuted or are coming out in the very near future

Read more: Best New Cars for 2013 - 12 More New Cars Worth Waiting For - Popular Mechanics  (go to article)

Transport Topics -- U.S. natural gas prices may double from recent 10-year lows by 2015 as more of the fuel is used in transportation, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing an oil company executive.

Prices will rebound from the recent lows that have come about from strong North American shale gas production, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Peter Voser told the newspaper in an interview.

...  (go to article)

Enbridge.com (Corporate news release of expansions - proposed) -- Enbridge has secured commercial support to proceed with several projects designed to increase capacity on the Enbridge crude oil mainline system in Canada and the U.S. and to increase capacity on pipelines that serve eastern U.S. and Canadian refineries.  (go to article)

CPBJ -- The Marcellus Shale industry cut its rate of environmental violations by more than 50 percent in three years, according to an impact study of drilling.

The University at Buffalo's Shale Resources and Society Institute examined environmental and administrative violations processed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from January 2008 through August 2011.

The researchers found the percentage of environmental violations connected to the number of wells drilled declined to 26.5 percent during the first eight months of 2011 from 58.2 percent in 2008.

In 2008, there were 170 wells drilled and 99 environmental violations. Through August 2011, there were 1,248 wells drilled and 331 recorded violations, the study said.
 (go to article)

GasBuddy Blog -- General Motors fuel economy engineers Ann Wenzlick and Beth Nunning recently ran an experiment. Both drove a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze for a typical workday to figure out the best and worst ways to improve fuel economy for any vehicle.

The 2012 Chevy Cruze gets an EPA estimated 25 mpg (city), 36 mpg (highway) and 29 mpg combined when equipped with a 1.8 liter, 4 cylinder engine, 6-speed manual transmission.

Driving the same vehicle but in very different ways, believe it or not, one was able to get 250 more miles out of a tank of gas.

Wenzlick used the following tips to maximize her fuel efficiency:
1. Get out of the drive-through lane. Idling for just 15 minutes can waste a quart of gasoline.
2. "Take...  (go to article)

CNN -- (CNN) -- Vermont's governor has signed a bill making it the first U.S. state to ban fracking, the controversial practice to extract natural gas from the ground.

"This is a big deal," Gov. Peter Shumlin said Wednesday. "This bill will ensure that we do not inject chemicals into groundwater in a desperate pursuit for energy."

(CONTRIBUTOR'S NOTE: There is no Marcellus or Utica Shale under Vermont to Frack. A fact that none of the bazillion news articles today mentions.)
 (go to article)

CTV News Canada (w/Video) -- HALIFAX — Imperial Oil plans to shop its refinery in Dartmouth, N.S., and related supply agreements to prospective buyers in the coming months.

Imperial says the move is part of a review that could see the Dartmouth operation converted to a terminal or some other alternative.

Company chairman Bruce March says Imperial realizes the importance of the refinery to the local community and that the decision has been a "difficult" one.

However, he said the company remains committed to providing service to its customs and pledged to keep employees and the community updated on developments as the review process moves forward.

March says the company hopes to make a decision on the sale or some other alternative by early 2013.
 (go to article)

Des Moines Register -- The American Petroleum Institute contended on Wednesday that studies show that gasoline with 15 percent ethanol could harm vehicle engines...Monte Shaw of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said the study is “just bad science.”  (go to article)

Anchorage Daily News online -- By DAN JOLING
Associated Press

Published: May 16th, 2012 10:01 PM
Last Modified: May 16th, 2012 10:01 PM

Environmental and Alaska Native groups on Wednesday appealed an air permit granted by the Environmental Protection Agency to a Shell Oil drilling ship that could be used this summer in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska's northern shore.

The groups claim the Kulluk and support vessels will put harmful pollutants into the skies, adding problems to a region already beset by climate warming, and that the EPA granted the permit without consideration of all national environmental laws and regulations.

"EPA did not analyze whether the Kulluk will comply with all standards, and they relied on modeling tricks to reduce the measured impact," Earthjustice attorney Colin O'Brien said.  (go to article)

Anchorage Daily News online -- Preliminary numbers indicate state will get nearly $7 million.

By LISA DEMER
Anchorage Daily News

Published: May 16th, 2012 10:33 PM
Last Modified: May 17th, 2012 07:47 AM

Three independent oil and gas companies won the right Wednesday in the state's annual Cook Inlet lease sale to explore for and develop oil and gas resources on new leases.

Forty-four tracts drew bids that should generate more than $6.8 million in bonuses for the state of Alaska based on preliminary numbers. Final numbers should be available Friday, state officials said.

The three bidders winning almost all of the leases were Hilcorp Alaska LLC, which earlier bought Chevron's Cook Inlet leases and is in the process of acquiring Marathon Oil Corp.'s; Apache Alaska Corp., a branch of the Houston-based multi-national  (go to article)

The Guardian UK -- Study of tree rings, corals and ice cores find unnatural spike in temperatures that lines up with manmade climate change

The last 60 years have been the hottest in Australasia for a millennium and cannot be explained by natural causes, according to a new report by scientists that supports the case for a reduction in manmade carbon emissions.

In the first major study of its kind in the region, scientists at the University of Melbourne used natural data from 27 climate indicators, including tree rings, corals and ice cores to map temperature trends over the past 1,000 years.

"Our study revealed that recent warming in a 1,000-year context is highly unusual and cannot be explained by natural factors alone, suggesting a strong influence of human-caused climate change in the Australasian regi  (go to article)

The Victoria Times -- One year after it was forced to retract a controversial proposal for how to set basic car insurance rates, the Insurance Corp. of B.C. is today launching a widespread public consultation to help vet its newest set of ideas.

The publicly owned company says it is seeking a fairer system that better rewards good drivers, and ensures bad drivers pay more.

But the company vows it has killed an idea it floated almost exactly a year ago where drivers who received just one speeding ticket could expect to pay three years of higher rates.

"Last May, there was a fair bit of controversy over single speeding tickets and the concept that they would be used to increase people's premiums," Steve Crombie, vice-president of corporate communications, said Monday.

"That is completely off the table  (go to article)

The Windsor Star -- (Entire story goes below)
Heavy duty truck sales in Canada have set a "blistering" pace so far in 2012, posting double-digit year-to-date gains over the first quarter of 2011, according to statistics compiled by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

Relative to 2011, sales of heavy duty trucks were up 48.4 per cent in the first quarter of this year. A total of 10,147 units were sold through March compared to 6,836 units during the same period last year. Some industry observers believe the present sales surge may be short-lived. Long lead times of several months are common in a sector that builds most products to order, and some in the auto assembly and dealer communities are beginning to report above-average rates of order reduction and/or cancellation during the purchase delivery peri  (go to article)

Seatle Times //// AP -- Without fanfare, the nation's nuclear power regulators have overhauled community emergency planning for the first time in more than three decades, requiring fewer exercises for major accidents and recommending that fewer people be evacuated right away.

Nuclear watchdogs voiced surprise and dismay over the quietly adopted revamp - the first since the program began after Three Mile Island in 1979. Several said they were unaware of the changes until now, though they took effect in December.

At least four years in the works, the changes appear to clash with more recent lessons of last year's reactor crisis in Japan. A mandate that local responders always run practice exercises for a radiation release has been eliminated - a move viewed as downright bizarre by some emergency planners.

The Nu  (go to article)

GasBuddy Blog -- Greece has been all over the news lately, and their situation only looks to get worse. Banks have seen citizens running to take their money out, unsure of the future. Over 3 billion euros has been withdrawn in the past few days, with 800 million euros being withdrawn in a single day, one of the largest single day pullouts in the country. You might be asking what the heck this has to do with gas prices in the U.S.- I'll get there.

You see, the situation in Greece has devalued the euro significantly, driving the dollar higher because of the situation. Since oil is globally traded in dollars, when the dollar outperforms the euro, oil prices tend to fall, and thus gasoline prices drop. When the opposite occurs, oil prices rise, and thus...  (go to article)

Technology Review -- Delphi, a major parts supplier to automakers, is developing an engine technology that could improve the fuel economy of gas-powered cars by 50 percent, potentially rivaling the performance of hybrid vehicles while costing less.

Delphi's approach, is called gasoline-direct-injection compression ignition, that makes use of advanced fuel injection and air intake and exhaust controls, many of which are available on advanced engines today.

...researchers found that if they injected the gasoline in three precisely timed bursts, they could avoid the too-rapid combustion that's made some previous experimental engines too noisy. At the same time, they could burn the fuel faster than in conventional gasoline engines,...  (go to article)

AP -- NEW YORK — A threat that’s been hanging over the economy is starting to look a lot less menacing.

The average U.S. retail gasoline price has dropped 21 cents a gallon to $3.73 since hitting a 2012 peak of $3.94 on April 6.

Oil and gasoline prices are sinking, giving relief to businesses and consumers who a few weeks ago seemed about to face the highest fuel prices ever.

President Barack Obama’s re-election prospects could also benefit, especially if prices keep falling as some analysts expect. A majority of Americans disapproved of Obama’s handling of gas prices in an AP-GfK poll early this month. But that was before the full effect of the recent drop had reached drivers.
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Reuters -- The Chinese government has allocated 6 billion yuan ($949 million) to subsidize consumer purchases of fuel-saving cars, Xinhua News Agency reported late on Wednesday, putting a cumulative figure for the first time on the handouts as it moves to cut emissions in the world’s biggest auto market.

Beijing started offering a 3,000 yuan rebate on consumer purchases of small, fuel-efficient cars in June 2010, but has not previously indicated the total cost of the subsidy.

In September last year, the government raised the bar to make the subsidy available only to purchases of cars with an engine displacement of 1.6 liters or smaller that consume 6.3 liters of gasoline or less per 100 km, compared with the previous limit of 6.9 liters.  (go to article)

Alter Net -- It’s amazing how much can change in a year. At this time in 2011, we were testing our hair for mercury as a way to encourage the EPA to adopt strong mercury pollution protections – which the agency did. I was also celebrating generating my first clean kilowatt of energy from brand new solar panels on my home.

A mere one year later, some jaw-dropping numbers have just come in: In the first quarter of 2012, coal made up just 36 percent of U.S. electricity generation – down from nearly 45 percent from the same period in 2011. That’s a 9 percent drop in U.S. coal use in just one year.

The report, released this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), had even more bad news for big polluters. Electricity generation from coal may drop another 14 percent this year.  (go to article)

The Star-Ledger -- A federaljudge inNew Jersey has approved a nationwide class-action settlement for the current and former owners and lessees of more than 1 million Honda and Acura cars that allegedly suffered from broken air conditioning systems that manufacturers refused to fix under warranty, according to a lawyer representing the class of plaintiffs and court documents.

The federal lawsuit was brought in 2008, plaintiffs’lawyerMatthewMendelsohn said yesterday, and its settlement — which Mendelsohn said is valued at more than $40 million —was approved last month by U.S. District Judge Katherine S. Hayden in Newark.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Oil traded near its lowest settlement in six months as the European Central Bank suspended lending to some Greek institutions, fanning concern that the region’s debt crisis will hurt fuel demand.

West Texas Intermediate pared an advance of as much as 1 percent, and Brent traded below $110 for a barrel. The Frankfurt-based ECB said yesterday it will push the responsibility for lending to some Greek financial institutions onto the country’s central bank until they have sufficiently boosted their capital. Oil had gained as Enbridge Inc. (ENB) and Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) prepared to reverse flows on their Seaway pipeline, relieving a supply build-up at the main U.S. storage site in Cushing, Oklahoma.

“The picture in Europe is far from calm,” said Robert Montefusco, senior  (go to article)

Reuters -- Brent futures slipped below $109 on Thursday, hitting a fresh four-month low, as investors avoided riskier assets due to the deepening turmoil in Greece and fears of contagion spreading to other stressed euro zone economies.

A fall in U.S. crude prices was limited by hopes that reversing flow on the Seaway oil pipeline would help reduce a supply glut at the land-locked delivery point at Cushing, Oklahoma.

Brent crude futures slipped by 76 cents to $108.99 a barrel by 1137 GMT, having hit $108.95, the lowest intraday price since January 25.

U.S. crude slipped into negative territory, falling 12 cents to $92.67. On Tuesday, it hit $91.81, its lowest intraday level since November 3.

"The oil market, like other risky assets, is within the grips of uncertainty surrounding the eurozo  (go to article)

Reuters -- SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude held steady above $109 on Thursday, supported by a rebound in U.S. oil prices on hopes that a reversal in oil flow for the Seaway pipeline will reduce a supply glut in the U.S. Midwest.

Investors cast aside worries about higher oil supply and the euro zone crisis that have dogged the market for the past few weeks and bought U.S. crude futures, allowing the front-month contract to rebound for the first time in five sessions.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 61 cents to $93.42 by 0641 GMT, after rising to an intraday high of $93.72.

Brent crude for July edged down 21 cents to $109.54 but recovered from a low of $109.01, the lowest intraday price since January 25. Brent-WTI spread for July also narrowed to $15.74 after widening to $19.46 on Wedne  (go to article)

NACS -- WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Best known as the site of the annual Little League World Series, this north-central Pennsylvania town is becoming a focal point for America’s emerging national energy rush, with 100 companies having moved to town and six new hotels recently built, USA Today reports.

The hope is that more towns like Williamsport will emerge, with domestic oil and natural gas discoveries providing favorable economic benefits for the U.S. economy for many years to come, eventually leading to energy independence.

“[Energy independence] is no pipe dream,” writes USA Today, with the U.S. already the world’s fastest-growing oil and natural gas producer.

Accordingly, the U.S. Energy Information Agency predicts U.S. oil imports will decrease 20% by 2025, while BP projects the U.S. will  (go to article)

Yahoo -- STANSTEAD, Quebec (AP) -- The winds blowing through Canada's broad St. Lawrence Valley and across Vermont's hilltops are stirring up an international tempest over which country's laws should govern how those breezes are harnessed for electricity.

Some residents of the Quebec town of Stanstead are upset about plans in Vermont to erect just south of the border two industrial-size wind turbines — one of which would be about 1,000 feet from a few Canadian and Vermont homes.

Quebec requires wind turbines to be at least 1,640 feet from homes, and the Canadian homeowners are demanding those rules be followed. But in Vermont, the allowable distance is determined by the sound of the spinning blades, and the project's developer says the turbines would meet those requirements.

The plan has yet  (go to article)

NPR -- There are a lot of cheerleaders for the nation's natural gas boom — in part because they believe it's a lot cleaner than dirty coal. It's pretty well-known that power plants that burn coal pump out far more greenhouse gases than power plants that run on natural gas.

But there's a hitch: We don't really know how much air pollution is created when companies drill for natural gas.  (go to article)

MSN Money -- Enbridge Inc kicked off one of the most sweeping expansions in its history on Wednesday, a C$3.2 billion ($3.2 billion)series of projects across its pipeline system aimed at moving western Canadian crude to Eastern refineries and preventing bottlenecks in the U.S. Midwest.

Enbridge, already the largest transporter of Canadian oil exports, said C$2.6 billion worth of the plan would support the reversal in flow direction of a pipeline between Sarnia, Ontario, and Montreal to move crude from the Alberta oil sands and North Dakota's Bakken Region beyond southern Ontario.

The massive initiative would include additions of capacity to the company's mainline in Canada and the U.S. Midwest with an in-service target of 2014.

It would be in addition to Enbridge's expansions in the U.S. Gulf Coast  (go to article)

The Journal of Commerce --
Oil prices hit a new 2012 low on fears Greece will abandon Euro

Diesel prices across the U.S. dropped nearly below the $4 per gallon mark, dropping roughly half a cents in the week ending May 15 as oil prices hit a new 2012 low.

The average price of $4.004 is down 5.7 cents from the same period a year ago, after falling for the fifth straight week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Prices are up 22.1 cents, or 5.8 percent, from the beginning of the year. The last time prices fell below $4 was in the week ending Feb. 20
 (go to article)

Los Angeles Times -- The growing number of electric vehicle drivers in Los Angeles are behaving differently from the national norm. Not only are EV drivers in L.A. traveling farther than those in other cities, but they charge their vehicles more often at public locations and are more likely to charge at night to obtain less expensive electricity rates, according to Ecotality in San Francisco.

Ecotality oversees the EV Project, a $230-million deployment of electric-vehicle charging infrastructure funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy to aid the rollout of electric vehicles and conduct research.  (go to article)

Detroit Free Press -- Detroit police said they don't believe a group of young attackers knew they had targeted a prominent Detroit pastor and gospel recording artist when they beat and carjacked him Wednesday afternoon.

The Rev. Marvin Winans had scrapes, bumps and ripped pants after the incident at a gas station in northwest Detroit.

The three or four young men fled with his gray Louis Vuitton wallet containing $200, his $15,000 Rolex gold-and-diamond-encrusted watch and the deep-burgundy 2012 Infiniti QX56 SUV he was driving, according to Detroit police.

Winans, 54, who gave a eulogy for singer Whitney Houston at her funeral in February, refused EMS transport to a hospital but a friend drove him to get medical attention, police said.  (go to article)

Reuters -- Occidental Petroleum was among the first major U.S. oil drillers to make a big bet on the resurgence of domestic production, spending billions to grab oil patches from Texas to North Dakota.

Now, as it bemoans steep costs and moves its rigs out of the Bakken shale oil fields, some analysts wonder if the company has lost its clairvoyance. After two years of unyielding gains, costs are bound to fall, they say.

The California-based energy giant is beset by escalating labor costs in North Dakota, which has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. Other material costs have surged and new environmental regulations could add to the burden. The cost of bringing one Bakken well into production has grown from an average $6.5 million in 2010 to $8.5 million in the first quarter this year, ...  (go to article)

ap -- Ford says the C-Max’s fuel economy will also beat the Prius V, which gets an estimated 42 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving.  (go to article)

Mlive -- DETROIT, MI- As Facebook Inc. prepares for its first public stock offering this week, it will do so without one of the country’s largest advertisers.

General Motors Co. will stop advertising on the social media website after deciding that paid ads on the site have little impact on consumers' car purchases, officials confirmed today.  (go to article)

The Modesto Bee -- Capping a rare show of congressional bipartisanship, and several years of work, President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law a bill that frees 150 acres for purchase by the city of Tracy for the development of a solar energy farm.

"It will help the city of Tracy a lot," Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, said in an interview after the bill signing. "They have been wanting to use this land."

McNerney, who is relocating his official residency to San Joaquin County after redistricting, cast the bill as an employment-boosting measure. About 200 jobs will be associated with developing the proposed solar energy facility, Tracy Mayor Brent Ives says.

The bill is also an object lesson in what works and what doesn't in the 112th Congress.  (go to article)

greencarreports.com -- By erecting overhead power lines along freeways similar to those used in cities across the U.S. by trolley buses and trams, the system would enable specially-built diesel-electric hybrid trucks to operate in all-electric mode when connected via overhead pantographs.  (go to article)

The Miami Herald -- Cheaper gas won’t be enough to get many more Americans on the road this summer. They’re still too worried about their jobs and the economy.
Economists and tourism experts are expecting only a small uptick in summer travelers. Gas prices are lower, but still high enough to keep some Americans off the road. The job market is improving, but still shaky. And household debt remains high.
Those who do travel won’t feel free to splurge. The bulk of road trippers, experts say, will take shorter trips and reduce food and entertainment spending to conserve cash.
“Travel is about security,” said John Larson, vice president for IHS Global Insight, the firm that analyzed the AAA study. “If you feel less secure about your future, you may be less willing to take this trip.”  (go to article)

CBC News Business -- Enbridge is planning to reverse the flow of a key oil pipeline to boost the supply of Western Canadian oil to markets in Ontario and Quebec.

Line 9 currently flows from Montreal to Sarnia, Ont., and is now mainly used to deliver oil from the Middle East and elsewhere.

Enbridge already has an application before the National Energy Board (NEB) to reverse the flow of the segment between Sarnia and Westover (near Hamilton, Ont.) so oil could flow from west to east. Now, it says it has enough support to extend that reversal and send oil all the way to Montreal.

The $100-million proposal actually represents a re-reversal. Enbridge's Line 9 was originally built in the 1970s to supply markets in eastern Canada with crude from Western Canada. The line's flow was reversed in the 1990s when import  (go to article)

The Miami Herald -- Cheaper gas won’t be enough to get many more Americans on the road this summer. They’re still too worried about their jobs and the economy.

Economists and tourism experts are expecting only a small uptick in summer travelers. Gas prices are lower, but still high enough to keep some Americans off the road. The job market is improving, but still shaky. And household debt remains high.

Those who do travel won’t feel free to splurge. The bulk of road trippers, experts say, will take shorter trips and reduce food and entertainment spending to conserve cash.

“Travel is about security,” said John Larson, vice president for IHS Global Insight, the firm that analyzed the AAA study. “If you feel less secure about your future, you may be less willing to take this trip.”

For Memorial Day weekend,  (go to article)

Huffington Post -- The current market for the renewable energy sector in the United States and around the world is a mix of challenge and opportunity. However, the long-term future of clean energy is bright.

According to our recent report, "Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race? 2011 Edition," last year saw record private investments globally. And the United States received more investments for clean energy than any other nation. These investments resulted in record deployment levels -- 83.5 gig watts of clean generating capacity overall, including an unprecedented 30 gig watts of solar.

But like other emerging high-technology industries before it, the clean-energy sector is going through a period of profound transition. The industry faces powerful financial and policy cross currents.

The most important  (go to article)

Green Car Reports -- A new study released today by the Coordinating Research Council says that E15 gasoline, which contains 15 percent ethanol, could damage the engines of certain high-volume car and truck models.

The two-year study was conducted on eight different engines from the 2001 through 2009 model years, with a pair of vehicles for each engine tested--one on conventional gasoline, one on E15.

Two of the eight engines running on E15 suffered lower performance, misfiring, reduced fuel economy, and damaged valves and valve seats. A third showed tailpipe emissions that increased above the legal limit.  (go to article)