When most people think of the diesel engines, they associate them with an inefficient, dirty, engine polluting our air.  This may have been true in the past, but the modern diesel engine and the fuel it runs on are more efficient and much cleaner today.  The modern diesel engine has the highest thermal efficiency of any internal / external combustion engine. According to fueleconomy.gov, diesel engines are more powerful and have a 30% - 35% better fuel efficiency than their similar sized gasoline counterparts.  Diesel fuel is more expensive than regular gasoline, but if you calculate the improved diesel engine efficiency into the equation, diesel engines on a per mile basis are cheaper than gasoline engines.  Why is diesel more expensive than gasoline which is more refined?  This is a complicated question to answer, and I have often wondered the same thing.  Factcheck.org has a great post about possible reasons diesel is more expensive.

In addition to advances to diesel engines themselves, the fuel the engines are burning is cleaner today.  This is due to new diesel fuels like Ultra low sulfur diesel fuel and biodiesel.  Diesel automobiles are very popular in Europe and as of 2007, 53.3% of new car registrations were diesel.  Out of all the countries in Europe, Luxembourg had the highest percentage of new diesel car registrations with 77.2%.  Diesel automobiles will hopefully catch on more here in the united states.  Many manufacturers, like VW have been adding diesel engine models to their inventories here in the US, and plan on adding more in the near future.  If you are in the market for a new ride in the near future, I highly recommend taking a look at a diesel. 

Sources

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/di_diesels.shtml  

 http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/02/european-automo.html

http://factcheck.org/2008/05/diesel-fuel-and-gasoline-costs/

LessConsumption recently awarded its approved product seal to Online SoftworX, LLC for its dustCut web application.  The new web app reduces waste in the manufacturing of cabinetry, furniture, windows, and just about anything that requires the cutting of rectangular sheets.

The problem dustCut solves is as old as the kitchen cabinet: Find the lowest possible labor and material cost to produce a set of rectangular panels. It sounds simple enough, but actually, the astronomical number of potential cutting plans has made it challenging for software developers to create panel optimization algorithms capable of reducing waste to its bare minimum. The question barely arises when manufacturing runs are small, say, a single kitchen. But as manufacturing runs scale up, the potential to reduce waste improves dramatically. However, to truly realize the savings, the right algorithms and a lot of computing horsepower need to be applied.

Until recently, manufacturers who appreciated the need for robust panel optimization had to license and install expensive software systems. Unfortunately the cost has kept this valuable tool out of the reach of most manufacturers already struggling in a highly competitive sector. But times change and Online SoftworX is now serving manufacturers that need high-end optimization without the high-end license fee. According to the company’s CEO, "The Online SoftworX mission is to leverage cloud computing and its inherent pay-as-you-go pricing to deliver high-end panel optimization to anyone who needs it."

So can the move from expensive, installed software to pay-as-you-go web applications really help save the planet? We think so. Manufacturing and construction account for a huge portion of global resource use and pollution. Anything that can help more manufacturers run more efficiently deserves our recognition, and we therefore award our approved product seal to this innovative new company. Why not check it out yourself, and if you happen to be in manufacturing, see if you can apply this new resource in your plant.

dustCut Solution Preview

The Pongam tree, otherwise known as the "Indian Beech, “Pongam Oiltree”,” Pumgai” and by several other names, is a renewable bio fuel source that is starting to get more attention here in the United States.  The Pongam tree is a member of the pea family and has been grown and used in India for a long time.  It seems the western world has just only realized the potential of Pongam tree as a viable bio fuel source.  A company called TerViva is currently developing commercial ranches on less than ideal, non-prime land in the US, Central America, and the Caribbean to plant Pongam trees in order to produce biodiesel.  The company claims that they can produce a gallon of biodiesel at a cost less than $1.00, which if true is very impressive.

The seeds of the Pongam tree have a lipid content of between 25% and 40% of which half is oleic acid.  The oil from the seeds is what gets processed into biodiesel and is used as a heating fuel source in many parts of rural India.  The oil from the seeds can also be used for tanning leather and making soap.

The leaves of the tree are sometimes put into grain stores to repel insects and are used as a fertilizer.  The tree grows to a height of about 15 - 80 feet and naturally grows in tropical and temperate Asia.  There exists potential to grow the tree in a wide variety of areas and climates.  One of the features of the tree is that it can withstand temperature ranges from around or just below freezing up to 120 °F and its ability to grow in a wide range of soil types.  The trees grow fast and can reach adult height in around 5 years.  Pongam has been used in folk medicine for centuries and has many other uses not listed here.

In order to replace fossil fuels, we will need an array of renewable, clean energy sources.  The Pongam tree should become one such element in this array.  The tree does not compete with food sources, can be grown quickly in less than ideal conditions, and does not require fossil fuel based fertilizers to thrive.  I hope TerViva can succeed in growing Pongam on a large scale, so in the not too distant future I can fill my diesel wagon up with pangom oil.

Here is a recap on what makes the Pangom a good source for biodiesel.

• Can tolerate poor soil types
• The oil from the seeds is non-edible, so there is no worry of competing with the food supply
• Does not require prime arable land that would be used for food production
• Does not require petroleum based fertilizers to grow well
• Long lifespan of 60 to 80 years  
• Can survive in cold and hot temperature
• Grows a large taproot that can prevent errosion
• Very resiliant and can handle a light frost, drought, moisture stress and salt water.
• Fixes Nitrogen in soil, improving quality
• Fixes up to 6 tons of Carbon per year / per acre

Hydraulic fracturing, also referred to as “fracking”, is a method used to create many tiny fractures in underground rock formations allowing natural gas to flow into a well.  Hydraulic fracturing allows you to get natural gas out of fine grained sedimentary rock like shale cost effectively.  A major concern with hydraulic fracturing is the environmental and human health concerns associated with the hydro fracturing fluid and waste water used during the process.  There is no federal law that requires companies to disclose what chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing.  These unknown chemicals are of concern to those with wells near fracking sites that are worried about well water contamination.  The oil and gas industry insists that the issue of fracking fluid chemical disclosure is best left up to the states.  In this PDF, the authors make the argument states are not doing all they can in regards to ensuring the disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluids.  Another criticism with hydraulic fracturing is with how much water is used during the process.  According to hydraulicfracturing.com, a typical Chesapeake Energy horizontal deep shale natural gas fracking setup requires an average of 4.5 million gallons per well.  Disposal of the waste water after processing the well provides its own issues.  Hydraulic fracturing produces waste water containing carcinogens, corrosive salts and radioactive materials.  Here is a an interactive map The New York Times has put together with data collected from over 200 natural gas wells in Pennsylvania.  The map lays out the well location in conjunction with levels of toxic contaminants that have contaminated the wells.  Natural gas is often claimed as being a clean source of energy.  It is true that natural gas does burn cleaner than coal and other fossil fuels, but the hidden costs of natural gas extraction might not make it as “clean” as we once thought.

The full list of states with their rankings can be found here.  I was having trouble explaining how Louisiana, Iowa, and Kentucky got onto the top 10 list.  I could explain the other states based on their very cold average temperatures, and in the case of Texas, it's very high average temperature, but could not explain the others.  For a list of the average temperature per state check out this post.  By taking a look at how we use energy in the United States, I stumbled upon a clue that might explain their high energy usage per capita.  You can check out a graph on how we use erergy in the United States here.  After looking at the graph I noticed that over 30% of our energy is used for Industrial purposes.  It turns out that Lousiana, Iowa, and Kentucky have a big manufacturing sector in their economies.  For more information on the "state" of manufacturing in the us, check out this post.  

Top ten list

Wyoming :  280103 BTUs per person per year

Alaska :  265958 BTUs per person per year

Louisiana :  219751 BTUs per person per year

North Dakota : 193665 BTUs  per person per year

Iowa: 138187 BTUs per person per year 

Texas : 133664 BTUs per person per year 

South Dakota : 130071 BTUs per person per year

Kentucky : 127539 BTUs per person per year

Nebraska : 123953 BTUs per person per year

Montana : 123784 BTUs per person per year