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Consumerist.com
Here’s the list:

1. 2000 Honda Insight (manual) 51 mpg
2. 2001-02 Toyota Prius 41 mpg
3. 2000-05 Toyota Echo 38 mpg
4. 1998-2002 Chevrolet Prizm 32 mpg
5. 1998 Mazda Protegé LX 32 mpg
6. 1998-2000 Toyota Corolla LE 32 mpg
7. 1998-2001 Acura Integra LS (manual) 32 mpg
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May compared with a year earlier, according to a report Monday from the Federal Highway Administration. “We have seen the longest decline in vehicular miles traveled since we started collecting this data,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters in a conference call with reporters. Peters said that in the first four months of this year, Americans traveled 40.5 billion miles less compared with the same period in 2007. She said the decline in usage means less tax revenue for highway system. Many of these commuters are flocking to trains, buses and bikes, or telecommuting from home. More

Gas prices around the country at a glance. Areas are color coded according to their price for the average price for regular unleaded gasoline. Go here

BAGHDAD - Frustrated Iraqis faced miles-long lines at gas stations on Tuesday — a stark reminder that a country with one of the world’s largest oil reserves still has major challenges delivering fuel to its people. The lines followed Iraq’s announcement Monday that it was opening six major oil fields and two natural gas fields to development by foreign firms, which could lead to the biggest outside stake in Iraq’s oil industry since it was nationalized more than 30 years ago. More

Well researched article. An in-depth look at short term solutions. Solar power isn’t mentioned once.
The average price for regular gas was $3.13 a gallon when President Bush expressed surprise at $4 projections 15 weeks ago. Since then, it’s risen by nearly a penny a day.

The sticker shock has Washington buzzing about possible government solutions. Some officials want to drill for more domestic oil and build refineries. Others want to regulate the oil industry and financial markets. Everyone wants to develop alternate fuels — but which ones? More

John Vidal
Billions of pounds are being wasted in paying industries in developing countries to reduce climate change emissions, according to two analyses of the UN’s carbon offsetting programme.

Leading academics and watchdog groups allege that the UN’s main offset fund is being routinely abused by chemical, wind, gas and hydro companies who are claiming emission reduction credits for projects that should not qualify. The result is that no genuine pollution cuts are being made, undermining assurances by the UK government and others that carbon markets are dramatically reducing greenhouse gases, the researchers say.

The criticism centres on the UN’s clean development mechanism (CDM), an international system established by the Kyoto process that allows rich countries to meet emissions targets by funding clean energy projects in developing nations. Credits from the project are being bought by European companies and governments who are unable to meet their carbon reduction targets. More

Steve Verdon
Outside The Beltway
Charles T. Maxwell is predicting that gasoline will eventually reach $12-$15/gallon. Why the pessimistic forecast? Many analysts believe that we are in a period where oil production is going to decline, and yet demand is increasing. The obvious result is higher prices of oil, and thus gasoline.

“[T]he prices that we’re paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be ‘the good old days,’ because others who watch this very closely forecast that we’re going to be hitting $12 and $15 per gallon,” Hirsch said. “And then, after that, when oil – world oil production goes into decline, we’re going to talk about rationing. In other words, not only are we going to be paying high prices and have considerable economic problems, but in addition to that, we’re not going to be able to get the fuel when we want it.”

“[Maxwell] expects an oil-induced financial crisis to start somewhere in the 2010 to 2015 timeframe,” Energytechstocks.com reported. “He said that, unlike the recession the U.S. appears to be in today, ‘This will not be six months of hell and then we come out of it.’ Rather, Maxwell expects this financial crisis to last at least 10 or 12 years, as the world goes through a prolonged period of price-induced rationing (eg, oil up to $300 a barrel and U.S. pump prices up to $15 a gallon).”

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Photo polygrams

Michelle Meyers
CNET
Perhaps you heard Wednesday’s news about the price of crude oil once again reaching all-time highs, and, like me, you’re wondering how that’s going to affect gas prices at the pump as you fill up for your Memorial Day weekend trip. Rest assured, you’ve got the likes of Milt Krantz on your side.

Krantz, 71, a retired social worker from San Jose, Calif., is also a designated gas price spotter for GasBuddy.com, one of a handful of increasingly busy sites for finding cheap gas in your vicinity.

“It’s a little something I can do about the price of gas,” said Krantz, adding that the payoff for his efforts is the feeling that consumers are working together to make a difference. “We’re in it together.”
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ERICA WERNER
Associated Press
The report by the Democratic staff of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee cites interviews and depositions with high-level EPA officials. It amounts to the first solid evidence of the political interference alleged by Democrats and environmentalists since Administrator Stephen Johnson denied California’s waiver request in December.

Johnson’s decision also blocked more than a dozen other states that wanted to follow California’s lead and regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. It was applauded by the auto industry and supported by the White House, which has opposed mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions. Read more

Photo alexandralee

Try hypermiling. Or ecodriving. They both involve a radical approach to driving in a society that seems to view speed limits as minimums. The approach involves slowing down, though some extreme hypermilers use techniques that are fast and risky. Take your foot off the gas and coast to that red light. When the light turns green, go easy on the gas pedal. On the highway, set the cruise control to the speed limit - maybe even a little lower…Such techniques have been known and largely ignored by the motoring public for decades, but they are getting new disciples thanks to connections forged by the Internet and the harsh reality of $50 fill-ups. Read more

Photo basykes

Marshall Loeb, MarketWatch
1) Find the lowest gas prices. That may sound like a no-brainer, but do you know how to research your options for getting gas for less? Two Web destinations to consider are GasBuddy.com and GasPriceWatch.com. GasBuddy links you to more than 179 local Web sites, each focused on a U.S. state, metro area or city. Prices are updated constantly by the site’s 124 million users and are dropped after 72 hours, when it is assumed that spotters will have updated their information. Similarly, GasPriceWatch.com also hosts data from about 162,000 volunteer tipsters, but it mostly collects pricing info directly from fuel providers and gas-station companies. By Memorial Day weekend, the site plans to roll out a certified pricing program, which will guarantee you a specific price if you get to the pump within one hour of seeing it on the site. Additionally, it offers a tool that allows you to track prices at specific stations along your regular routes.
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In this 6 minute 2005 video, Adam Yamaguchi looks into the disturbing trend of why so many young people in Japan commit suicide. Japan has roughly half the population of the US, yet the same number of suicides.

TOKYO (AP) — April 25, 2008 — At least four people killed themselves Friday by inhaling fumes from a detergent mixed with other chemicals amid a wave of similar suicides that has reportedly claimed about 50 lives this month in Japan. Authorities are alarmed by the sudden rise in such incidents — an average of two a day were reported in April — because the chemicals are easy to get and the fumes could spread to affect bystanders or rescuers.
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Gas consumption so far this year is down about 0.2 percent compared to last year, according to the Energy Information Administration. The federal agency is predicting that gasoline demand will be down 0.4 percent this summer and 0.3 percent for the year. Read more

Photo courtesy of Andrew Baron

First, we need to take into account inflation. As for gas prices, in 1950 the price of gas was approximately 30 cents per gallon. Adjusted for inflation, a gallon of gas today should cost right at $2.64, assuming taxes are the same. The tax per gallon of gas in 1950 was roughly 1.5% of the price. Today, federal, state, and local taxes account for approximately 20% of gas’s posted price. Taking inflation and the increase in taxes into account (assuming no change in supply or demand) the same gallon of gas that cost 30 cents in 1950 should today cost about $3.13.
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Photo is a prop and courtesy of Frank H

Think Global, the Norwegian company making an all-electric town car, has reiterated that it will begin to bring its cars to the U.S. in 2009, and it’s providing some more details. The company makes the Think City, a modified version of an all-electric car originally developed by Ford. It can go 65 miles per hour at top speed and 110 miles on a single charge. Thus, it’s not for freeway jockeys–instead, it’s targeted at those living in urban cores who take relatively short jaunts and can charge the car up a night.
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