npr.org -- Right below your feet is enough potential clean energy to keep the whole country humming with electricity for 30,000 years, according to Department of Energy calculations...

But there is a catch: We have to get to it.

...two hours north of San Francisco, atop a ridge crisscrossed with pipes, is the world's biggest field for producing geothermal energy: The Geysers. Wandering around at The Geysers is.. like hiking across the top of a tea kettle — pipelines hiss with steam pressure tapped from far below the surface, and the steam drives turbines to generate electricity.

In California, geothermal energy plants like this one provide more than twice as much renewable energy as wind and solar combined.

"The pot of gold, if you will, is that we have a huge renewable energy resource th  (read more)

ClarkHoward.com -- Last month, Clark took a call on the show from a man who worked at a gas station. The man alleged that there are certain standard keys that open numerous gas pumps across brands. At the time, Clark just filed the info in the back of his brain and didn't know what to think of it...until he saw an article about a gas pump skimmer scam that was recently busted.  (read more)

Sacramento Bee --
Sacramento Valley law enforcement agencies issued nearly 600 citations for cell-phone use to drivers on Wednesday.

Dozens of agencies participated in the second zero tolerance day this month for cell-phone use and texting while driving.

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Janice Dickinson Remembers Dr. Frank Ryan./Video

http://www.accesshollywood.com/access-exclusive-janice-dickinson-remembers-dr-frank-ryan_video_1245125

 (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- If you're in an accident, the last thing you want to happen is to hear the other driver was uninsured or underinsured, thus the importance for this type of coverage (UM/UIM). You'll likely be covered under these scenarios with UM/UIM coverage.

You ask why you need this type of coverage if your state requires insurance... the answer is that some people carry the bare minimum level of insurance that covers very little and has low dollar amounts of coverage. Thus the importance for this coverage to protect yourself against other people's poor decisions to carry a bare minimum or no insurance at all.

Here are the differences between uninsured and under-insured motorists:
An uninsured driver is someone who had no insurance...  (read more)

Santa Cruz Sentinel -- With new plug-in electric cars scheduled to arrive in Santa Cruz County soon, so too should a means to juice them.

That's why a coalition of public and private stakeholders has secured tens of thousands of dollars to begin laying out a network of vehicle charging stations across the Monterey Bay area.

Unlike the popular Toyota Prius, which has a backup gasoline engine, many of the forthcoming plug-ins, such as the Nissan Leaf, rely entirely on battery power and require a periodic recharge to keep going. The Monterey Bay Electric Vehicle Alliance, started last year, plans to finance at least 20 charging stations this year and help retrofit the handful that already exist.
 (read more)

WOWT -- "A customer came and parked at the pump. He got a couple of gallons of gasoline. He somehow managed to rig the pump to continue to give gas to others and just continuously had car after car come in and basically got free gasoline from us.”

Lisa Neighbors is a spokesperson for a gas company that had an unusual theft this week.
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"I don't think we've ever even heard of something like this happening before. It's very unusual this person went to an extreme,” said Neighbors.

The gas station doesn’t want to be identified because they don’t want to be seen as a target . The crime has exposed an unusual vulnerability in gas pumps. The vulnerability is that it took the culprit under a minute to rig the pump.  (read more)

New York TImes -- Most research on renewable energy has focused on replacing the electricity that now comes from burning coal and natural gas. But the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the reliance on Middle East imports and the threat of global warming are reminders that oil is also a pressing worry. A lot of problems could be solved with a renewable replacement for oil-based gasoline and diesel in the fuel tank — either a new liquid fuel or a much better battery.

Yet, success in this field is so hard to reliably predict that research has been limited, and even venture capitalists tread lightly. Now the federal government is plunging in, in what the energy secretary, Steven Chu, calls the hunt for miracles.  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- Maybe you didn't notice, but I said Part 2 would be posted yesterday. Well, today's the day.

Part 2: Medical payments, no-fault, and personal injury protection

The medical coverage of your auto insurance pays for medical expenses that you incur after an accident. Keep in mind that you're also covered if you are driving a friend's vehicle- or anyone's for that matter (as long as you have their permission) or if another car hits your vehicle. Medical payments will cover you no matter who caused the accident in most cases, but if someone else is at fault, your insurance may sue them to recover damages. This process will likely not involve you.

Personal injury protection (PIP) covers medical expenses and in some...  (read more)

By JUSTIN GILLIS and JOHN COLLINS RUDOLF, NY Times -- New scientific research confirms the existence of a huge plume of dispersed oil in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and suggests that it has not broken down rapidly, raising the possibility that it might pose a continuing threat to wildlife for months or even years.

The study, the most ambitious scientific paper to emerge so far from the Deepwater Horizon spill, casts some doubt on recent statements by the government that oil in the gulf appears to be dissipating at a brisk clip.  (read more)

The Economic Times -- NEW YORK: Hot summer weather across America has utilities buying up more coal to meet demand for electricity, but some will likely switch to lower-priced natural gas to fire power plants once temperatures start to drop, analysts and industry experts say.

"Despite the euphoria of coal price increases, the fact natural gas has not responded (similarly) has to be a troubling sign for the Fall," said Jim Thompson, editor of the industry newsletter Coal & Energy Price Report.

"Probably $4.50 is a good gauge for when natgas becomes a problem for coal," he told Reuters on Tuesday from his office in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Last year, there was a big switch over to natural gas as demand for electricity fell in the recession and natural gas prices hit lows of around $2 per million British  (read more)

NPR -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set an ambitious plan that requires a third of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. But a fight over where to build large clean-energy projects is slowing the green revolution.

Michael Peterson, CEO of Solargen Energy, was drawn to this slice of Central Valley ranchland because it gets almost as much sun as the scorching Mojave Desert. This valley seemed less controversial than the Mojave, which has become a nightmare for many solar entrepreneurs because of its protected national monuments and desert tortoises. For Peterson, the Panoche Valley seems perfect for large solar projects.
 (read more)

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/08/delasalle-school-electric-car/ -- A team of high school students has developed what it claims is the most energy-efficient car in the world, an electric vehicle that reportedly gets the equivalent of 300 mpg. The school hopes to have it recognized by the Guinness Book of Records.

As you might have guessed, the students at DeLaSalle Education Center in Kansas City, Missouri school didn’t develop the vehicle on their own. They had help from Bridgestone America, both at the company’s technical center in Ohio and its test track in Texas. The car reportedly achieved the equivalent of 300 mpg during testing there.

The car is built on the chassis of a 2000 Lola Indy, an open-wheeled racer. It has been extensively modified with an ultra-lightweight frame and clear plastic bodywork. The Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 tires increase  (read more)

Gas 2.0 -- How far can you get on a tank of gas? 200 miles? 300? Maybe even as much as 500 miles in a single tank (and if so, you either have a very light right foot, or a very big gas tank!) 500 miles seems to be the “golden ticket,” as it were, when it comes to electric vehicles and their batteries. There is even a government-sponsored contest that will award a large sum of money to the first individual or company to make a battery that can propel a car 500 miles. That is a long time coming though… right?

Not according to Martin Eberhard, a former Tesla employee who is now developing a battery system Volkswagen. In an interview with AutoCar, Eberhard says that within 10 years, electric vehicles will have a range of 500 miles or more. Do you believe him?
You may have heard of Eberhard before. He wa  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- The Department of Energy released its weekly report on the condition of petroleum inventories in the United States today.

Here are some highlights:

Crude oil inventories decreased by 0.8 million barrels to a total of 354.2 million barrels. At 354.2 million barrels, inventories are 10.5 million barrels above last year (3.1%) and remain above average. Supply at NYMEX delivery point, Cushing, Oklahoma decreased some 700,000 barrels to 37.0 million barrels this week. Supplies at Cushing have decreased for the just the second time in a month but remain above healthy levels.

Gasoline inventories decreased 0.1 million barrels to 223.3 million barrels. At 223.3 million barrels, inventories are now 13.6 million barrels...  (read more)

NPR -- Every day the United States goes through another 20 million barrels of oil. Finding enough crude to supply the country's oil habit is difficult because much of the oil that's easy to get to is gone. Now companies are extracting oil in places that are expensive to drill and raise concerns about safety and the environment. BP's disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the most obvious example.

Out on the rolling prairies of North Dakota — and just about everywhere else — oil doesn't bubble up out of the ground anymore. You have to go in and force it out.

North Dakota Oil Boom

Jim Brown knows the difficulties of modern-day drilling; he's senior vice president of Denver-based Whiting Petroleum. His company plans to drill more than 383 wells as part of the surge in oil drilling  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- Part 1 in highlighting car insurance: the liability aspect of car insurance.

Liability coverage (covering the amount of damage you do to others) is written as a set of three numbers, such as 25/50/20. These numbers represent the amount of money the insurance company will cover in the case of an accident. The first number (25) is generally bodily injury coverage per person, while the second number (50) is the amount of bodily injury protection per accident, and the third number (20) is the amount of property damage coverage.

The numbers in these example represent real levels of insurance coverage. While my opinion is that you'd definitely want to carry more insurance coverage, for some it is all they can afford. It is important...  (read more)

London Free Press -- Renewable energy: Western engineers find cost-cutting ways to use solar technology at night to control wind generators.
It may sound like the punchline to a joke, but electrical engineers at the University of Western Ontario have found a way to harness solar technology at night.

London Hydro is so powered up by the idea, it plans to install the technology on two solar sites within months.

“Everybody wants to become green the world over,” says Rajiv Varma, a UWO professor of electrical engineering.  (read more)

The Wall Street Journal -- SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures settled at a five-week low Monday as lingering concerns about the global economy rendered efforts to post gains futile.

Crude for September delivery lost 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.25 a barrel, the lowest for a most-active contract since mid-July.

A weaker dollar and higher equities provided some support, and oil at times traded in positive territory. But, unlike other markets going through corrections and sell-offs, "we're just not seeing people coming around and buying," said Matt Smith, an analyst at Summit Energy in Louisville, Ky.

Investors looked to Tuesday's industrial production numbers and a trade group's estimates on inventories to provide some direction.

Gasoline futures closed at an eleven-week low, with the September contract  (read more)

University of South Florida's web site and evening news -- University of South Florida marine scientists conducting experiments in an area of the Gulf of Mexico where clouds of oil from the BP spill were found now have discovered what appears to be oil in sediments of a vital underwater canyon and observed evidence that the oil has become toxic to critical marine organisms. These results indicate that a further, coordinated, comprehensive study and survey is needed to determine how extensive the contamination.  (read more)

The Wall Street Journal -- By JOSH MITCHELL And PAUL KIERNAN
Mexico plans to impose tariffs on an expanded array of American products, from pork to pistachios, escalating a trade dispute over a U.S. ban on Mexican truckers operating north of the border.

Mexico's Economy Ministry said Monday it would add 26 U.S. products to its tariff list while removing 16 others. The tariffs involve a relatively small slice of U.S. exports. But by targeting products such as pork, apples and California oranges, Mexico appeared to be trying to engage powerful lobbies—and influential lawmakers—to increase pressure on the Obama administration to resolve the long-running spat.

By adjusting the list of goods, Mexico hopes to add an element of uncertainty that might prompt U.S. exporters not directly affected by the tariffs to be  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- Car insurance covers you against the accidents you never want to think will happen to you- some policies cover liability, some cover collision damages- do you know what coverage you have, and what it could mean to you?

Basics of car insurance

Car insurance is likely required by law in your state for your protection and for protection of others. States may enforce the requirement of insurance differently. For example, in Virginia, if you choose not to purchase liability insurance, you must pay the state $500 per year. Get a ticket somewhere? The officer likely asked for proof of insurance. Didn't have one? The fines can be hundreds of dollars or even result in a suspended license.

So- what makes up car insurance...  (read more)

AP Asscoiated Press -- WASHINGTON – Georgia scientists say their analysis shows that most of that BP oil the government said was gone from the Gulf of Mexico is still there.

The scientists say as much as 80 percent of the oil still lurks under the surface. The Georgia team said it is a misinterpretation of data to claim that oil that is dissolved is actually gone. The report from University of Georgia and other scientists came from an analysis of federal estimates.

Earlier this month federal scientists said that only about a quarter of the oil remained and the rest was either removed, dissolved or dispersed.  (read more)

elpasotimes.com -- FORT BLISS -- If this post's new commanding general has his way, Fort Bliss will be energy independent in a little more than five years.

"Truly, the future of the Army is here at Fort Bliss," Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard said Friday in his first briefing with reporters. "We want to be able to produce more than we consume in energy by December 31, 2015."

His idea is to use solar and wind energy, as well as creating a geo thermal power plant on McGregor Range.

One of the largest incentives for such efficiency is that all of the money saved in energy costs would be reinvested in other projects on post. In addition, if enough energy were produced from renewable sources, the post could generate income by selling it.

Pittard said that Texas, the largest producer of wind energy, could do m  (read more)

Florida Oil Spill Web Site -- “We had a meeting Wednesday night where we had over 150 shrimpers… who are saying there is oil out there and these underwater plumes are varying in size and shape. This stuff is obviously moving around out there,” Louie Miller, state director of the Mississippi Sierra Club, said to the Press-Register.

William Walker, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources responded, “Quit talking about it without any evidence what you are saying is true.”

According to the report, Miller said, “The existence of oil is irrefutable… Oil has reappeared on beaches in Alabama, Petit Bois and Horn islands and continues to wash ashore in Louisiana, he said… there also is evidence of submerged oil. ‘It is a weird thing. It is like strands, this black water, as they are calling it  (read more)

CBS News -- Imagine a future in which abundant energy could be ours, simply by harnessing the wind, or capturing sunlight, or tapping into the heat of the Earth itself.

In the wake of the Gulf oil disaster, calls for cleaner, greener energy, are growing louder.

"Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America's innovation to seize control of our own destiny," President Obama said in June.

If that rallying cry sounds strangely familiar, it should.

In January of 2006, Mr. Obama's predecessor George W. Bush said America "must move beyond a petroleum-based economy to make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past."

In June 2000, then-President Bill Clinton stressed the need to, "maximize conservation and maximize the development of alternative:  (read more)