As for gas costs (an OT'er) in OM list digest 2015), we North Americans
have been spoiled since forever of course. Europeans always having had
much higher gas prices they tend to be much more mature about this. I
am old enought to remember prices like $2.50 to 3.30 US per US gallon
when I was motorcycling through Europe and North Africa in '73 - '74,
the last really serious petro supply crisis perhaps. I thot the list
message that computed the cost per mile of the Omega at 16 US cents per
mile for gas (UK I think it was) was a good way to look at it. Here in
BC Canada I drive a 14 year old vehicle that has 7 seat belts, 4 wheel
drive on demand, and still get 32 mpg (Imperial gallon) on hwy. So with
regular gas here at say $.70 Can per litre ($1.65 US per US gallon
equiv), that is about 10 cents Canadian or 6.5 cents US per mile for
fuel (and that's a US mile! ha ha).
Which is still a real bargain, of course, relatively speaking. Would it
still be a good deal at 2 and 3 times that $$ cost as many in the world
are already paying--well yes, to some extent, but naturally I would try
to drive (a lot) less (!!!) But how about this for a bargain in a time
of rapidly escalating energy costs?: We in the SE corner of BC are
fortunate to have gov't regulated electricity costs for the time being
hence we pay only about 5 cents Canadian or 3.25 cents US per kwh for
electricity. So ironically right now here it is cheaper to burn
electricity for heat than to burn natural gas (which is deregulated and
has about doubled here in last year) in an 80 0.000000e+00fficient furnace.
Electricity produces no gases greenhouse or otherwise, and no
particulates or PAH's either which my wood stove definitely does (when I
run it, which I haven't at all for the last few weeks eg, using electric
heat instead).
But which of the several sources of heat and transportation fuel is the
least environmentally damaging overall? It's actually hard to say--so
many factors. Electricity is such a high quality energy source you hate
to use it on something as low-brainer and entropically challenged as
mere heat. And, in some areas wood stoves like mine are making a
substantial negative contribution to air quality that is beginning to
rival both transportation and industry as major nasties, and with
temperature inversions, asthmatics eg will definitely notice it. Of
course a lot depends on just how I run my wood stove, still some smoke
is unavoidable, and CO2 the major greenhouse gas is certainly
unavoidable. No easy answers, it seems to me.
--
Lyle Olsen lo@xxxxxxxx http://www.lylo.com
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