This morning, on my commute to work (in ‘red state’ NE), I again made the mistake of turning on the radio to a popular local AM radio station. The hosts were taking a small diversion into the political arena and played a heavily edited sound bite from one of BHO’s recent events. To paraphrase, it intimated that more gas could be saved in the US if people would just properly inflate their tires that would be gained by offshore drilling. The show’s host then, in disgust, stated that Obama was obviously "spectacularly under qualified" to be President.
Follow below the jump..........
I should know better, for the sake of my highly maintenanced blood pressure, than to ever turn this station on. However, it did provide fodder for this post.
I am a hypermiler by choice, and have been for quite some time. Primarily, my decision was driven by the desire to save money, but has become an integral part of the many ‘green’ lifestyle choices that I have embraced. From my own personal and well documented experience with trying to achieve improved fuel efficiency, Obama’s statement contains a great truth. Second only to reducing your speed, tire inflation will provide the easiest gains in fuel efficiency. Personally, I run my tires well above the stated max inflation listed on the tire. The results have allowed me to achieve 43 mpg during the summer while even using a/c with a non-hybrid, $13k car!
This morning, from the web, I found this;
"The U.S. Energy Department has reported that every pound per square inch of tire under-inflation wastes 4 million gallons of gas daily in the U.S. At today's prices and with more vehicles on the road, that's a huge expense. An underinflated tire deflects more energy, increasing rolling resistance, which robs the vehicle of fuel efficiency.
Further;
"Still, many motorists seem to simply ignore their tires. Survey information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that about one in every three cars has a significantly under inflated tire. According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), 85 percent of drivers do not know how to properly check their tire pressure."
On Olberman last night Keith interviewed an economist (sorry...don’t remember his credentials) about the benefits of offshore drilling. The economist stated that any benefit of offshore drilling would not be realized for at least 10 years, and when it was realized would only reduce fuel prices by ‘pennies per gallon, if at all’.
Yesterday, Exxon posted the largest quarterly profit in the history of US business followed by this morning’s news that GM posted a record Q2 loss in excess of $15B dollars. Wow....what a ‘coincidence’ that there is a direct and inverse relationship between these two companies; one that produces the oil, and the other that is a bastion of fuel waste. And yet, the air waves are flooded with Ads claiming that GM has more vehicles than any other company that get >30 mpg.....like that is some wonderful number.
I participate on several auto blogs. Time and time again I get rebuffed by those that use the word ‘choice’, as in ‘if I can afford it, it’s my choice’ to excuse away wasteful behaviors. I realize that market forces, like $4.30/gal gas, will make inroads into what that ‘choice’ may be. I couldn’t help notice that when gas was at its peak price, traffic slowed down and the lanes were full of new, smaller vehicles with ‘intransit’ stickers in the windows. But, just as in the 70’s, as soon as the price dropped $0.30/gal, the traffic is back up to speed.....just like the whole thing has vanished.
I guess it begs the question; how does Obama more effectively get his message out that along with ‘Hope’ will come some bitter pills to swallow? He spoke the truth about tire inflation. It hearkens back to the JFK speech about "Ask not what your country can do for you....." Even with the most aggressive and progressive approach toward a renewable energy ‘solution’, there will be some tough times ahead for ‘Joe Public’ that will require a cultural shift in choices and behaviors.
Before this turns into a meandering rant, I’ll try to make my point.
I think that Obama needs to be more aggressive toward McCain with the truths that our nation needs to hear. He needs to absolutely destroy McCain’s tired lies and ½ truths, especially concerning energy and the direction that our nation will HAVE to take to survive. These are issues of high material importance. Energy availability and cost are a lynch pin to our national economic well being. Obama needs to set the agenda, not chase McCain’s garbage and needs to put McCain on the run on the issues.
I have confidence that Barack will pick up steam. I just hope that it is soon, for my blood pressure’s sake. Makes me just wanna jump through the screen, scream, and choke the crap out of the schills that continue to spew their tired, old lies.