"I pledge allegiance to getting better mileage"
Oil and Natural Gas Conservation Fortnight has begun in India and that can only mean one thing, its time to get the children to take on oath to conserve petroleum products and educate others to do the same. An official of the Petroleum Conservation Research Association was on hand in Bangalore on Tuesday to lead the children in taking the oath to strive to conserve supplies of scarce resources.
Ecology clubs are being promoted in Indian high schools to encourage students to form an opinion about the environment, resource use and the importance of biofuels as an alternative to fossil-based energy. The Indian President has urged the states of India to plant jatropha curcas plants as a biodiesel feedstock crop.
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[Source: The Hindu]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Leszek Pawlowicz 12:13PM (1/18/2007)
Good idea, educating kids at an early age. But it would help if they got their facts right. Driving at 50 mph does not use 50% more fuel than driving at 30 mph; mileage actually peaks in the 50-60 mph range, though it's not that much higher than what you get at 30 mph.
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MikeW 2:34PM (1/18/2007)
How about checking tire pressure weekly.
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Phil L. 2:27PM (1/18/2007)
Well... Comparing fuel consumption at various speeds depends on lots of variables; relative consumption per speed figures have changed as technology has changed (i.e., a figure valid in the US for the 1980's wouldn't be the same today).
Plus, in India, there are lots of these running around:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/01/16/autorickshaw-people-mover-or-race-car-you-decide/
It wouldn't surprise me if the 30mph-uses-50%-of-50mph is true for such cars (well - whatever is similar to them that can do 50mph)...
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Hippie Hunter 2:57PM (1/18/2007)
How about not caring?
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Leszek Pawlowicz 4:00PM (1/18/2007)
Phil,
My source is West, McGill et al., "Development and Verification of Light-Duty Modal Emissions and Fuel Consumption Values for Traffic Models", 1997 FHWA report. Averaging over 9 different car models (8 from the 1990s), they found that the average MPG peaked at about 55 mph. Even for the worst class, large SUVs and trucks, MPG peaked at about 45 mph. Comparable data for early 1980s models showed a peak in MPG in the 35-45 mph range; it's likely that improvements in aerodynamics and tire rolling resistance, along with engine design, were responsible for much of that improvement.
I seriously doubt that many in India takes those "motorized rickshaws" up to 50 mph. And even for 1970s vintage vehicles, whose MPG peaked at about 30 mph, MPG was only down about 15% or so at 55 mph compared to 30 mph.
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Doug R 5:02PM (1/25/2007)
Hippie Hunter rules!
I pledge to drive 30mph, so some one will rearend me going 50 (or more) and it will cause a traffic backup. Where possibly a hundred or more cars will sit idling (since most people will refuse to do without heat or A/C) waiting for the accident to be cleared. So a couple of tow trucks, a few highway patrols, and maybe an ambulance can come rushing to the scene.
All of which consumes fuel on an exponential level compared to me just going 70 mph. Environmentalists are so smart!!!!! Doesn't this kind of logic make any of you question their whole human induced global warming idea in the first place? It should.
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