New posts from Gas 2.0! |
- CONTEST ALERT: Win 5 Quarts of Biodegradable G-Oil!
- Shell to Build World’s Largest Floating Object, a Natural Gas Platform
- CHARGE! Documenting the Birth of A Revolution
- Saudi Prince Doesn’t Want the U.S. to Find Alternatives to Oil
| CONTEST ALERT: Win 5 Quarts of Biodegradable G-Oil! Posted: 31 May 2011 02:17 PM PDT
What is G-Oil, and how could it possibly be green? It's really simple actually. Using a process called dehydogenation, Green Earth Technologies sucks saturated fats from animal and plant origins and turns them into an unsaturated oils that both perform better than crude-based engine oils, it is non-toxic and totally biodegradable. Considering that crude oil from an oil change can poison up to a million gallons of ground water, this is a huge step in getting our vehicles away from oil and on to renewable sources. Did I mention that G-Oil is also better for your engine than regular oil? It is, and GET has a handy dandy chart to prove it, but don't take their word for it. As most of you already know, I am a huge gearhead, and in my spare time I rebuild engines. My last engine rebuild was a 351W-based stroker engine for my 1969 Mercury Cougar (which I am working to convert to propane.) I got the engine started last week, running G-Oil (combined with a break-in oil additive as its an old engine) and I am so impressed with the performance so far that I will only be using G-Oil in my fleet of cars from now on. Sounds like shameless pandering, but consider that G-Oil is also the Official Motor Oil for the American Le Mans Series track vehicles, and you start to realize that there really is something special about this oil. Best of all? It's made in America, and it's not owned by some huge faceless multi-national oil company. Even the oil containers are recyclable. Starting to get the picture? So by now I imagine most of you want to get your hands on this stuff for your next oil change. That's where I come in. The contest is simple; between today and next Tuesday, I will randomly pick a winner for a FREE 5-Quart cansister of 5w-30 G-Oil from those who respond to this post with an answer to a very simple question. What dream car would you like to use Green Earth Technology's G-Oil in? And be creative with your answers! After you've answered the question, make sure to LIKE both Gas 2.0 and Green Earth Technologies on Facebook to ensure your eligibility for the contest. You must be 18 years or older, be a U.S. citizen, and posses a valid U.S. driver's license to be eligible (sorry Canada.) That's all there is too it; tell us your dream car, like us on Facebook, and you're entered to win. The winner will be announced next Tuesday, right here, so stay tuned!
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| Shell to Build World’s Largest Floating Object, a Natural Gas Platform Posted: 31 May 2011 12:24 PM PDT
Called Prelude, the facility will be one-third of a mile long, weight 600,000 tons, and will extract the equivalent of 110,000 barrels of oil every day in the form of natural gas. This behemoth structure will be situated about 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) off of Northwest Australia. It has a planned life expectancy of 25 years. While the jury is still out regarding the environmental benefits of natural gas, as well as recovery methods like fracking, to me, anything is better than oil. Unfortunately, I doubt this will be the last "mega platform" to be developed, as it becomes harder and harder to recover oil, natural gas, and other fossil fuels. Essentially a floating city six-times heavier than even the largest American aircraft carrier when completed in 2017. It will also be about 30 meters longer than the longest ship ever built, the Seawise Giant, a supertanker that was scrapped last year. So yeah. Get used to this, because I have a feeling this is only the beginning. Source: Shell Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.
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| CHARGE! Documenting the Birth of A Revolution Posted: 31 May 2011 08:49 AM PDT  PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON for Sponsor Absolute Vacuum Mark Neale has done it again! As a big fan of his films about MotoGP, I was very eager to see Charge, his take on TTXGP. Neale did an excellent job conveying the level of perseverance and innovation needed to compete in this series. The film focuses primarily on two very different teams as they prepare for the first TTXGP race at Isle of Man in 2009, then follows them through the race and their return to the Island for the 2010 race. The photograph above is typical of the sort of dramatic leaps the 1,000cc gas bikes display on this treacherous road course. I was unable to find any photographs this dramatic for the electric bikes. But someday… Chip Yates‘ bike already has the power (240hp!) but at 580 pounds, his bike may not catch as much air as the sub-400 pound gas bikes in that class. Unfortunately, IOM is not on his schedule this year. Having met many of the teams in Albacete, I felt Neale did a great job of conveying their personalities and backgrounds. The contrast between Czysz's operation and Agni's made for great drama. The personalities are so compelling, the stories so impressive, the film is a must-see for anyone who's ever wondered what it takes to bring their dreams to fruition. I especially recommend watching it with children, as it's very inspirational. Then turn them into Young Makers! Charge is a heartwarming story of triumph over the challenges of creating completely new products and subjecting them to the most rigorous performance testing on earth. Complete with plenty of spectacular on-bike footage, Charge does a great job of showing the true drama of racing at Isle of Man. Sadly, I still have yet to experience the Island except as an arcade video game and through the excellent book by racer Mark Gardiner, Riding Man. A visit there is in my plans for 2012, and someday I will race there. TT week at the Isle of Man is something every motorcycle race fan must experience at least once. What the film doesn't cover so much are the heroic efforts of Azhar Hussain to make this happen in the first place. While the Minister for the Environment at Isle of Man was completely behind it from the start, few others were. Azhar does not like to be in the limelight, but by creating this competition, he has sparked the development of many electric superbikes where before there were just one or two hobbyists with nowhere to really develop their creations. However, even builders such as Michael Uhlarik, who has not yet competed in TTXGP, are quick to point out that Azhar sparked a revolution which has quickly turned this (the quest for a proper electric sportbike) into an industry priority. The event at Isle of Man is no longer managed by TTXGP, and makes for a tight shipping schedule for anyone wanting to race the TTXGP at Loudon the following weekend. However, I’m glad it’s still happening, as that course is truly the ultimate test of any vehicle. The TT Zero race will be on Wednesday June 8th, but it’s unclear whether it will be televised. Odd, considering the title sponsor is a satellite provider. More about that here. MotoCzysz came close to “breaking the ton” last year, with an average lap speed of 96.82mph. I hope to see this critical milestone achieved in 2011. It only took the gas bikes about 50 YEARS to break the ton. Moore’s law on FFWD, as usual in electric motorcycle racing! You can order the DVD of Charge here.
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| Saudi Prince Doesn’t Want the U.S. to Find Alternatives to Oil Posted: 31 May 2011 08:29 AM PDT
In a Sunday interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, bin Talal says that the price of a barrel of oil needs to be somewhere between $70 and $80 a barrel, rather than over $100 of barrel. Why? To maximize profits, while at the same time discouraging Western governments from seeking alternatives to costlier gasoline. His exact quote is as follows;
There you have it folks, from the mouth of the Satan himself. Keep oil low to keep America and the West dependent on us. If this isn't an eye-opening statement well really, I don't know what is. But every day we stay dependent on oil is a day this dickhead (the world's 26th richest man according to Forbes) gets to stay in power. And I'd like nothing more than to see Saudi Arabia be the next country to fall to the Arab Spring uprisings. And it's already started, despite their best efforts to keep a lid on the inner turmoil. Recently Saudi women, who are forbidden to drive (among many, many other things) by government decree, have taken to the streets without male chaperones as a form of protest before being arrested. It also shouldn’t come as a surprise that bin Talal has donated money to “Palestinian martyrs” and is also a 7% stake holder in News Corp…the same company that owns Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and other anti-alternative fuel networks. Seriously, I hate this guy and everything his wickedly corrupt government stands for. I truly believe their days are numbered though, and they know that the only card they've got left to play is the crude card. Without oil money, their regime won't last a week. Get off oil, free a nation. If only it were that simple. Source: CNN | Image: Reuters Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.
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