• Moving freight is five times more efficient using a train rather than a tractor trailer.
• Four miles of new railroad line can be built for the price of one mile of road.
• Electrically powered trains can use domestic fuel sources. A century ago, York had an extensive electric trolley/inter-urban system. York's street railway is a dream of tomorrow. (greenmesh 8/06)

Innovative minds looking for new revenue streams killed the railroads.

Consider all the jobs, wealth and competition that was created by our car centered, personal transport society. Cars, dealerships, parts, the insurance industry. Thousands of truck drivers, shipping companies and owner operators traversing the roads using diesel and services. All of this a major feed for the oil industry.

And it all worked as long as oil was cheap.

The once cheap oil that brought us a uniquely American car centered transportation culture is now strangling our economy and future success competing in a world market.

Pennsylvania is fortunate to have many short-line rail corridors still intact like the one along the Heritage Rail Trail and the Stewartstown Railroad waiting for innovative minds and clean technology to move large volumes of freight and people more efficiently.

Posted in All posts from the start Diesel Electric MPG Oil Machine/politics Public Transportation video

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In the 1980's and 90's, I used to slam the vacation road in a VW diesel Golf.

My concept of vacation planning was to head west and make a right at North Dakota... or wander southwest until... I needed three days to get home.

Once I was having such a good time in Pitkin, Colorado after taking on a new identity for two weeks, that I left there on a Friday evening and had to be back at work Sunday morning in York.

For the past six years, my vacation has been motivated by a motorcycle. Sure there is something wonderful about driving a few hundred miles and filling up with $10 of fuel, but with simple frugality comes a richness of experience.

Smells are richer, those you come in contact seem kinder because of your vulnerability. Fellow riders strike up a conversation without pause.

Once you loose two wheels and let the air pour though your clothes, it's hard to hide in a car during a vacation again.

Cars are for work. Cars are filled with fast food wrappers and stress.

My bike is freedom.

Next: 1259 miles of adventure in five days.

Posted in All posts from the start Diesel Environment MPG Motorcycles

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Once upon a time, the philosophy behind letting a diesel engine idle was that it did more wear and tear on the engine and the fuel cost was marginal. Plus, long haul drivers sleep and relax in their trucks so it becomes a home away from home that needs power and climate control for a good night sleep.

Local New Oxford blogger (youngtrucker.blogspot.com) reminds fellow drivers to use an auxiliary power unit (APU). The small motor generator combination powers the mobile home of a driver while greatly reducing fuel cost by not running the large engine.

Each year, U.S. Trucks consume more than 1 billion gallons of diesel fuel without even moving. More specifically, the University of California, Davis estimates that each year the average truck consumes approximately 1,818 gallons of diesel fuel while idling. Under this assumption, those calculations result in over $6,000 in fuel costs at a national average of $3.00/ gallon per truck, per year. peakpowertools.com

And that was last week the current average price for road diesel in the US is $4.15 (5/5/08) That is an increase of $1.36 in the past year. In York County, $4.29 is about the lowest price today for a gallon of diesel.

Posted in All posts from the start Diesel Innovation MPG

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Motor trend test drives a 2008 Subaru diesel. The car will probably not be available in the US until 2009/10 and will get about 50 mpg which is really great considering gasoline powered Subarus aren't known for terribly great mileage.

The question for 2009 remains... what will be the price of diesel? Currently diesel fuel costs more than a dollar more than for unleaded regular. If a gasoline and diesel powered car can both get 45-50mpg, 2009 won't look good for marketing clean diesel cars if there is a $2 difference in the price of fuel.

The price of diesel is expected to continue (wsj.com) European consumers are switching over to more diesels-demand. Developing countries prefer diesel for it's flexibility-demand. The U.S. is the top consumer of diesel in the world and with a somewhat fixed refining capacity, refiners cannot switch from gasoline easily. And switching that capacity would increase the price of gasoline.

Video: Subaru has used it's traditional boxer engine design and applied it to a diesel.

Posted in All posts from the start Diesel

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The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that marine and locomotive engines must meet tougher pollution controls, hoping for dramatic cuts in the amount of smog-causing chemicals and soot coming from trains, cargo ships, tugboats and passenger ferries.

A study by Environmental Defense two years ago found that ships at three of the nation's largest ports — Los Angeles, Houston and New York-New Jersey — together produced as much smog causing chemicals as 1 million cars. The group also found the nation's locomotives produced fine soot, or particulate, equal to 70 coal burning power plants and as much smog causing nitrogen oxide as 120 coal plants. (AP)

Posted in All posts from the start Diesel Environment Public Transportation

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The Golf Hybrid will get almost 70 mph while meeting Europe's stringent Euro V and America's Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards, making it green enough even for California. The car is said to emit just 89 g/km of CO2.
(For comparison, the Prius emits 104 g/km and Honda Civic Hybrid emits 116.) wired.com

Posted in All posts from the start Diesel Hybrid

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Photovoltaic panels in the moonroof add to the charge of the batteries and also power pre-heaters for the transmission fluid and diesel fuel, the manufacturer says cuts warm-up times considerably and, in turn, further boosting efficiency. The wheels have sail-shaped spokes designed for efficient ventilation and lower wind resistance.

BMW calls it a "Mild ActiveHybrid," which means it's similar in concept to the gasoline-electric systems in large SUVs and pickups from General Motors and the Honda Civic Hybrid.

The Vision EfficientDynamics employs a 2.0-liter clean diesel engine with twin variable-geometry turbochargers and direct injection that produces 204 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. To fully exploit the diesel engine's relatively narrow rev range, BMW fitted the concept with a new eight-speed automatic gearbox from ZF. Flange-mounted to the transmission is an electric motor-generator powered by a lithium-ion battery pack that spins out an additional 20 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque during acceleration.

The bottom line is about 36 mpg combined city/highway with emissions of only 172 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer (consider that the X5 3.0si returns roughly half as many miles per gallon and emits 244 g/km) blog.wired.com

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American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
annual list of the most environmentally-friendly cars by class:
TOYOTA PRIUS
HONDA CIVIC HYBRID
SMART FORTWO CONVERTIBLE/COUPE 1.0L 3, auto stk
HONDA FIT 1.5L 4, auto
FORD ESCAPE HYBRID
HYUNDAI SONATA 2.4L 4, auto
SUBARU OUTBACK WAGON 2.5L 4, auto stk 4wd
NISSAN ROGUE 2.5L 4, auto
TOYOTA TACOMA 2.7L 4, auto
TOYOTA SIENNA 3.5L 6, auto
CHEVROLET TAHOE HYBRID C1500 6.0L 8, auto
NISSAN FRONTIER 4.0L 6, auto 4wd

full listing and reasoning of how they arrive at a green score greenercars.org

And vehicles with the lowest green score:
VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG
BUGATTI VEYRON
MERCEDES-BENZ GL320 CD
JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE 3.0L 6, auto 4wd
MERCEDES-BENZ R320 CDI 3.0L 6, auto 4wd
LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO
MURCIELAGO ROADSTER 6.5L 12, manual 4wd
MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 CD
MERCEDES-BENZ G55 AMG 5.4L 8, auto 4wd
HUMMER H2 c 6.0L 8, auto 4wd
GMC YUKON 2500 c 6.0L 8, auto 4wd
BENTLEY AZURE 6.7L 8, auto stk
BENTLEY ARNAGE d 6.7L 8, auto stk

Posted in All posts from the start Diesel Hybrid MPG

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The diesel-electric hybrid is expected to attain 69 mpg

The diesel engine used in the Golf Hybrid meets all Euro 5 emissions criteria and also passes the stringent Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standards here in the U.S.

Given that costs involved with producing a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain, VW is looking to spread the technology to a number of its vehicle lines. According to 4Car, likely transplants include the VW Jetta and the Audi A3. Other Golf-based vehicles that would be a prime target for the new powertrain include the upcoming VW Tiguan and Audi Q5 crossovers. dailytech.com

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The car was on a clean technology tour sponsored by the Diesel Technology Forum.

Honda expects to bring the clean-diesel car to the U.S. by 2010. It gets 62.8 miles a gallon on the highway, but otherwise looks and feels like a regular Accord. At that mileage level, the car is about as "clean" as a new Toyota Prius. But if you run it on biodiesel, a form of diesel made from vegetable oil or animal fat, it would be even cleaner than a Prius (Priuses get 60 in the city) 4/07. [actually the new EPA sticker shows 48 mpg City/45 mpg Highway]cnet

The passing of the recent energy bill, with fuel efficiency requirements, will push clean diesel into the spotlight, particularly with heavier vehicle applications.

Diesel is an energy-dense fuel compared to gasoline – delivering both more miles per gallon (20-40 percent more) and lower emissions of greenhouse gases (10-20 percent less). Automotive forecasters at JD Power & Associates and the U.S. Department of Energy predict that clean diesel cars could account for 10-15 percent of all new vehicle sales by 2015, up from just over 3 percent today. dieselforum

Posted in All posts from the start Biodiesel Diesel

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