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Green Car Journal, the leading resource for information about exciting and environmentally positive vehicles, has announced the finalists for its annual Green Car of the Year® award for 2009. The award recognizes new model vehicles that provide real answers for new car buyers looking for a personal stake in lessening environmental impact.

The five finalists for Green Car Journal’s 2009 ‘Green Car of the Year®’ award are the following: BMW 335d, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid, smart for two and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI. On the morning of Nov. 20, the winner will be unveiled at a press conference at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The finalists are currently featured on GreenCar.com.

“There is a sea change occurring in the auto industry that’s finding an ever-increasing number of ‘green’ cars being introduced at new car showrooms,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com. “That’s made this year’s selection of Green Car of the Year® nominees all the more challenging. This is a real plus for new car buyers, since the trend will continue to gather momentum as automakers re-invent themselves in a changing auto market that’s requiring higher efficiency and greater environmental performance.”

Vehicles using all types of technologies, fuels, and powerplants are eligible for the Green Car of the Year® program. To qualify for consideration as a nominee, a vehicle must exhibit characteristics that substantially raise the bar in environmental performance and be in production by January 1 of the award year. Plus, a potential nominee must be driven by Green Car Journal to allow experiencing driving dynamics first-hand.

The 2009 Green Car of the Year® will be selected by a jury that includes Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club; Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures Society; automotive expert and “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno; and automotive icon Carroll Shelby.

American interest in alternative fuel technologies stems from concerns about the environment and also from this country’s dependence on foreign oil. With more than 2 billion vehicles expected to be on the roads worldwide by the middle of the century, a little anxiety is understandable. To meet this growing global demand for energy, scientists are developing alternative transport fuels that you may pump into the tank of your car some day.

Read More … Fuel of the Future

Gas Saving Tips and Advice from AutoSpot TV. These tips on driving more efficiently and maintaining your car will help improve the fuel economy of your car or truck.

Motorists across Canada were hit with sharply higher gasoline prices Friday as hurricane Ike shut down some refineries on the U.S. Gulf coast. Gas prices jumped by as much as 13 cents a litre in some markets.

Prices began to rise late Thursday evening in some areas, and by Friday morning news of the looming increases had motorists lining up past gas stations as they tried to beat the jump in price.

The threat of hurricane Ike to Gulf Coast oil refineries, mostly in Texas, sent wholesale gasoline prices in the U.S. soaring Thursday over supply concerns.

As well, U.S. gasoline supplies have dropped by several million barrels over the last week, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Department.

Dan McTeague, a Liberal member of Parliament who has gained a reputation for predicting pump price increases based on the wholesale market in the United States, predicted more increases for Canadian motorists later Friday. He said the threat posed by the hurricane was the “spark” that triggered the increase, he also pointed the finger at the Canadian oil industry.

“The proverbial fuel on the fire is in fact the distortions by an unresponsive, uncompetitive market that has actually been diminishing its output,” McTeague said.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said a sharp rise in gasoline prices on Friday looked like price-gouging.

Asked by reporters in Halifax whether he thought the sudden increase was due to price gouging, Harper replied: “It certainly appears that way to me.”

You can check the latest gas prices in your area at Canada’s Gasoline Price Tracker.

Gas prices are always a hot topic these days. Many drivers are understandably frustrated, as they are being squeezed hard by the high prices, and seem to have no way to make gas more affordable for themselves. Since it may be foolish to expect a drop in gas prices anytime soon, one of the best ways to deal with the high price of gas is to look for whatever ways you can to reduce your gas usage.

When you do not drive your car, you use no fuel, which is easily the most affordable option of all to save gas. However, if your car stays parked at home, so do you! A car pool is a great option, if you can make it work. Car pools have been around for years and are quite common. With a car pool system, you can reduce your impact on the environment while you also reduce the impact of gas prices on your wallet!

Most people think of car pools as a way to get to work, but if you know someone who lives near you that has other places to go, you can still car pool! If you have to go to the mall, for instance, check and see if one of your neighbors wants to go, as well. Maybe next time, they will return the favor.

Smart trip planning is another weapon that consumers have to fight high gas prices. Plan ahead when you go out to make sure that you consolidate all of your shopping and errand-running needs into one trip. If you live in a small town and must take the highway to get shopping done, it is even more important to plan your trips well to avoid excess driving!

One big “no-no” that is easily avoided is leaving your car’s engine on when you are not going anywhere. This can include when you run in quickly to the store or gas station, or when you are waiting for a friend to come outside so you can go somewhere together. In most cases, it will make much more sense to simply turn your engine off. If you are not currently moving, there is no reason to have your engine on, anyway!

Finally, avoid having excess weight in your car when you are driving around. This means that you do not want to leave items that you do not need in your car for long periods of time, particularly if they are somewhat heavy. This also means that you probably want to make friends with very light people! Well, that may not be true, but it is important to reduce the weight in your car, since every 100 pounds can cause you a loss of 1 or 2 percent of your fuel economy.

It is plain to see that increasing your vehicle’s fuel efficiency does not have to be a complicated or expensive process. It is important to remember that there are alternatives to simply staying home and not driving if you want to save money on gas. The trick is simply to be a bit smarter about where, when and how you drive!

Copyright © 2008 Bill Platt
The price of gasoline raced passed the $4 per gallon mark and
teases another race to $5 per gallon, and hard-working Americans
across the country are bracing for the worst. The price of fuel
is not just affecting the price at the pump, but it is also
affecting the prices at the grocery store and at the department
store.

Some of the factors that are directly affecting this inflationary
cycle are outside the control of the U.S. Government, such as
wheat and corn crops destroyed by flood waters in the Midwest,
but other factors could be dampened, if only our political
leaders had the will to influence real change.

Many economic analysts point to a weak dollar, speculative
trading and growing demand from China and India as the driving
force behind the astronomical increase in fuel prices. In
testimony in front of Congress, Energy Policy Analyst, Kevin Book
estimated that current oil usage is running at 97% of the current
oil supply.

Wagging The Finger Of Blame

As American families are feeling the pinch of high gas prices,
combined with high food prices, and businesses struggle with the
economic downturn, our elected officials stick to their talking
points and wag their fingers at other people in the blame game.

Today, in the area of energy policy, America is sorely in need of
good leadership. But our leaders are neglecting us in this time
of dire need.

Historically, we have had decent leaders over the last
forty-years, with Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, daddy-Bush,
Clinton, and Bush Jr. in the White House. Each of these
individual Presidents had their strengths and their weaknesses.

I may have disliked at least one of these guys, and you may have
disliked several of them. But regardless of our personal feelings
for these men, if you are at least honest with yourself and the
rest of us, you have to admit that each of these men have given
us good leadership in certain areas.

My grandmother always told me to look for the positives in other
people. She insisted that all people had some redeeming value as
a human being, and I should seek that out in people, as others
looked for the same in me.

Each of our last seven Presidents have brought something positive
to the table, providing good leadership, each in their own unique
ways.

Unfortunately, our last seven Presidents have all let us down in
one very important area, and that area is energy policy. Today,
we are paying the high price of ignoring a coming storm for 34
years.

And yet today, as we are in the midst of the economic storm, our
leadership in the White House and in the Congress is more
interested in finding someone to blame for the crisis, than in
finding solutions that will help resolve this situation.

Some politicians are saying, “Oh, that solution will take ten
years to reach fruition…” so they sit on their hands feeling
justified that they said the right words. Well, if it really is
something that takes ten years to bring to fruition, if we were
to start today, it will be ten years, and if we sit on our hands
another two years, then it will be twelve years before we find
resolution.

Is it any wonder that the White House and Congress are suffering
from such low approval ratings?

Weak Approval Ratings For President Bush And Congress

President Bush has been hovering in the 30’s since the middle of
2006, and according to Real Clear Politics, his approval rating
is right now sitting at 31.0%
(http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_bush_job
_approval-904.html)

Congress has it much worse. Even though the Democrats managed to
overtake the Republicans in the 2006 election cycle, their
current approval rating is hovering near 18.5% according to Real
Clear Politics
(http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_job_
approval-903.html)

Congress’ current approval ratings are still lower than its
approval rating in December 2006 (21%), when the Democrats won
the majority in both houses of Congress. According to the Gallop
folks, they began tracking this data in 1974, and Congress had
reached its all-time low in August of 2007 when it reached its
18% approval rating. Congress’ rankings have hovered in that
range for most of the last year.

Previous lows included: the 19% approval rating in the summer of
1979, during the 1979 energy crisis; and ratings near 18% during
the check-bouncing scandal in 1992. Congress enjoyed a brief
6-month honeymoon in the aftermath of the 2006 elections, and
then ratings began to fall once again.
(http://www.gallup.com/poll/28456/Congress-Approval-Rating-Matche
s-Historical-Low.aspx)

The Why Of Our Current Situation

Beyond the lack of a coherent energy policy for the last three
decades, our current Congressional and Presidential leaders are
continuing to fail us today in the midst of this economic storm,
by looking for the talking point that will allow them to sell the
American public on who is to blame for the current crisis.

My vote in November will be for the people who appear to offer
the best hope for fixing our current energy problems. This is
something that has been dear to my heart, since I have been old
enough to vote in the early 1980’s. But as a voice in the
wilderness, people were not listening to those who spoke of
energy independence and alternative energy over the last three
decades.

The “coming energy crisis” has always been tomorrow’s problem,
which meant that the difficult decisions could be passed to the
future. Well, welcome to the future! The future energy crisis has
finally arrived, and now we are going to pay for 34 years of
inaction on energy.

What The Politicians Are Doing About Gas Prices…

When discussing energy, one should never put their faith into the
words of politicians. Our politicians have done one thing, over
and again, and that is to distort the answers to questions to
support their political causes and to diminish the political
positions of their opponents.

In June of 2008, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David
Obey (D-Wis) said, “We are kidding ourselves if we think we can
drill our way out of these problems.” This comment was made to
explain the House Appropriations Committee’s rejection along
party lines of a Republican proposal, to open up U.S. waters
between 50 and 200 miles off shore for drilling.

Mr. Obey, I suggest we are kidding ourselves that we can solve
this crisis, if we think we can ignore even one piece of the
overall puzzle. Drilling is not the whole solution, but it is a
major piece to the puzzle.

Congressional Wisdom

While Congress assures that new oil drilling will take ten years
to produce new oil, oil-drilling companies suggest that they can
bring up the oil in only a few years. Whomever is right on this
point, we will get the oil out of the ground sooner if we take
action now, as opposed to waiting another two or thirty years
until we say yes to new drilling.

Congress assures us that the oil companies currently have the
rights to drill on 68 million acres of ground, and they say oil
companies should drill that land first. Currently, one quarter of
that ground already is being used for drilling. But, let’s ask
an important question. Is it better to mine gold in New York City
where we do not know if gold exists, or should we mine for gold
in California where we know there is gold? That is what Congress
is telling oil companies to do… drill for oil where they do not
know if oil exists, instead of drilling for oil where everyone
knows there is oil.

Of course, I am not the only one talking about these issues. The
Business And Media Institute recently did a lengthy analysis of
how the press is sticking to the “anti-oil talking points”, so
much so that they are ignoring public opinion and industry
experts:
(http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080625151619.asp
x)

Oil Usage And Supply

According to statistics provided by the federal Energy
Information Administration (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov), the
assertion that the growth of oil consumption in China and India
really is a real factor in the price pressures on a barrel of oil
is true.

Since 2000, Chinese consumption has grown by 67% or 3.22 million
barrels of oil per day. Other Asian countries are consuming an
additional 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, against the 2000
data. And, third-world countries have also increased their
consumption by 3.4 million barrels per day.

In fact, total world consumption has increased by 9.72 million
barrels per day, since 2000.

Between 2000 and 2005, American fuel consumption continued to
grow unabated. When fuel prices started climbing in the United
States in 2005, US consumption began to decline. The United
States still consumes 20.41 million barrels of oil per day,
five-times as much oil as the next five top oil-consuming
countries combined.

Since 2005 American consumption has dropped by 1.85%. It is a
step in the right direction, but just as we cannot drill our way
out of this crisis, we cannot rely solely on conservation as a
long-term solution either.

Reducing our fuel use is a temporary step we can take towards
resolving our current fuel crisis, but with the growth of
consumption in China, India and in other countries, conservation
will only help us until the next crisis. Next time around, no
amount of conservation will help us.

Steps We Must Take

Americans as individual consumers can do some of these steps on
their own. Some of these steps will require government
intervention.

Auto manufacturers will never embrace Compressed Natural Gas
(CNG) as a fuel source under the current regulatory conditions.
It is simply too expensive for any automaker to consider CNG as a
viable automotive fuel technology. Natural gas burns cleaner, is
in great supply domestically, and costs the equivalent of less
than one dollar per gallon in today’s market.

NGVAmerica (http://www.ngvamerica.org/) states that there are
more than 7 million NGVs in use worldwide, but only 150,000 of
those vehicles are in use in the United States. They have put
together a detailed report showing how regulations in the U.S.
have ensured that automotive manufacturers and after-market
providers will stay away from NGV-technology for the
indeterminate future:
(http://www.ngvamerica.org/pdfs/FAQs_Converting_to_NGVs.pdf)

What Government must do:

Streamline the processes for approving and building:

 * Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueled vehicles (NGV).

 * New oil drilling platforms and oil refineries;

 * New nuclear power plants (which are currently operating safely
around the world in dozens of countries);

 * Right-of-Ways for electric transmission lines for Wind-,
Solar- and Wave- generated electricity
(http://www.pickensplan.com).

Individual consumers should consider:

 * Solar Panels and small home-sized wind generators;

 * Green technology in the home;

 * When replacing a vehicle, buy hybrid vehicles (combining
gasoline and electric);

 * Use proven fuel-conservation techniques with existing
equipment (home and car).

In Conclusion

We need to stop looking where to place blame for our energy
problems. The time has come for us to start building a regulatory
environment where we can start solving the problems we face, now.

Oil drilling may not be the long-term solution that any of us
seek, but more oil availability will help us to stay afloat until
we can transition our economy to greener technologies.

Government needs to enable private industry to build the
technologies of tomorrow and to support the industries that can
help us today. When our government gives the American people the
ability to excel, the American people always come through and
meet the challenges put in front of them. Let’s cut through the
red tape and get our economy going forward once again.

============================================================
Bill Platt owns http://www.thephantomwriters.com ghost writing
service. To satisfy his personal interest in alternative fuel and
green technology, he started http://www.automotivewebmasters.com
to share what he had learned. Interestingly, Bill had always
noticed that he gets 18-30% better gas mileage in his vehicles,
than his wife did. As a writer / researcher, Bill sought out
additional gas saving tips to combine with his own observations,
to help others increase fuel mileage by at least 30%. Learn more
at: http://automotivewebmasters.com/ebooks/increase-mpg.php ============================================================
Read More Articles From Bill Platt:
http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Bill_Platt

Over at Nieman Watchdog, Joseph Davis suggests some tough questions that journalists should be asking about the high oil and gas prices we are now experiencing.  For starters he asks:

Why is Congress so passive on the lack of refining capacity? What about probes into price manipulation? The House passed a bill on price gouging; who’s holding it up in the Senate?

This is a very interesting and thought provoking article, well worth reading.

10 tough questions on oil and gas prices

Add your own questions - or answers in our comments section.

Mashable.com  has a great article that gives a roundup of sites you can use to help save a few dollars at the gas pump: 

Crude oil prices keep breaking through record high prices, and it is quickly reflecting itself at the fuel pumps. About the only thing you can do is try to find the cheapest prices, but you can waste as much in gas driving around as you will by finding it, and that’s where gas pricing location sites come in handy. Just log in and see where the best prices are, and save yourself all of that driving around. We’ve covered the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom for you, so start price hunting!

Read the article here … Check Gas Prices Online - 11 Handy Tools

Marty Jerome, a blogger over at Wired.com warns that we could see gas prices at $7.00 a gallon.

Both Qatar’s oil minister and the head of OPEC can see oil hitting $200 a barrel before the end of the year and one analyst says gas could reach $7 a gallon within four years. That could mean cataclysm for the global economy.

He then wonders why the non-cartel oil producers who control half of the world’s oil production cannot stop the upward trend and points the finger in some interesting directions.

Read this post here … Gas to Hit $7 a Gallon