High fuel prices have surely altered most consumer's driving habits. The gas crunch has gotten bad enough that even police units have found it necessary to change their routines. For instance, in Palm Bay, Florida, Police Chief William Berger has banned officers from allowing their patrol cars to idle. The only circumstances where idling a police vehicle is permissible is when an animal or prisoner is left inside the vehicle. Turning off the vehicle sometimes requires on-board computers to be rebooted and, of course, raises the internal temperature of the vehicle since the air conditioner is no longer running. Other agencies have been forced to park their motorcycle units, which could potentially lead to a lower level of service from the police force. According to spokesman Lt. Andrew Walters of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, "Our motorcycle unit... will stay intact. It's an integral part of our service, as the No. 1 complaint to the sheriff's office is traffic-related."

One easy way to reduce fuel consumption is to choose a more efficient vehicle, and that's exactly what some agencies have done. "Our fuel usage is actually less than what it was last year because we changed from Crown Victorias to Chevy Impalas. The Impalas get much better mileage," Cocoa's Acting Police Chief Mark Klayman says. The Impala is a front-wheel-drive unibody design which uses a V6 engine while the Crown Vic is a traditional rear-wheel-drive, body on frame vehicle powered by a V8. Seems like switching to the Impala would be an easy choice as opposed to laying off officers or reducing motorcycle units.

[Source: Florida Today via CarScoop]

When the state of California got turned down by the Environmental Protection Agency in December in their request for a waiver to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, they wasted no time in suing the feds. California wants to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide from vehicles and by extension fuel consumption. With at least a dozen other states wanting to follow California's lead on regulations, it should come as no surprise that Florida has now joined the California suit.

The EPA ruled that because the CO₂ limits effectively regulate fuel efficiency, federal rules take precedence. The Supreme Court had previously ruled that the EPA had the authority to regulate CO₂ emissions under the Clean Air Act which implies that the greenhouse gas emissions should be able to be regulated by California. The EPA has so far declined to impose any CO₂ limits which prompted California to make a move.

[Source: State of Florida]

In the next two weeks a closed orange juice factory will come back to life with a new product. Instead of OJ, Agri-Source fuels will start churning out biodiesel. The plant will begin processing chicken fat and palm and cottonseed oil into fuel at the rate of 125 million gallons a year. The chicken fat will be coming to the Dade City plant from Georgia and Alabama and the oils will be coming from South America.

Crews have been cleaning up the orange juice residue in the plant's stainless steel tanks in preparation for the start of fuel processing. The plant had been converted to a business park and the tanks with 5.6 million gallons of storage had been scheduled to be cut up for scrap, before Agri-Source took over the facility.

[Source: St. Petersburg Times]

Xethanol Corporation and Renewable Spirits, LLC have teamed up to build a citrus peel based pilot ethanol production facility in Florida. The pilot plant should be able to produce up to 50,000 gallons / 190,000 litres of ethanol in the upcoming citrus harvesting season alone, later expanding to over 500,000 gallons / 1,900,000 litres per year.

Xethanol is positioning itself as being committed to the production of ethanol and related products using locally available raw materials to service nearby major urban markets. Their biomass technology moves beyond traditional corn-based ethanol and includes everything from wood chips and yard waste to corn stover and municipal solid waste. Because most organic waste material is now either abandoned or land-filled at the producer's expense, biomass is potentially a significantly cheaper feedstock for ethanol production than corn.

Related:

• Volkswagen announces power-train roadmap toward oil free future
• U.S. joins Interamerican Ethanol Commission but discourages imports
• Shell president prefers E85 from biomass waste, not corn

[Source: Renewable Energy Access]

U.S. Congress has voted to protect the domestic ethanol industry and extend the secondary tariff of 54 cents per gallon on imported ethanol. The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) praised the move saying that secondary tariff, which is now in place until January 1, 2009, will ensure continued growth and investment in the domestic ethanol industry. Ethanol currently attracts a 51 cent per gallon blender's credit no matter the country of origin.

Brazil is the world's largest ethanol exporter, so you'd think they would be upset by this decision. But just days later the Honorable Jeb Bush, Governor of the State of Florida; His Excellency Roberto Rodrigues, President of the Superior Council of Agribusiness of FIESP and Former Minister of Agriculture of Brazil; and His Excellency Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced the formation of the Interamerican Ethanol Commission. Brazil produces approximately 4 billion gallons of ethanol annually and is Florida's top trading partner.

Bush, Rodrigues and Moreno will serve as co-chairs of the commission which has as its mission to promote the usage of ethanol in blended fuel throughout the Americas. Other objectives of the commission are promoting the integration of technical and scientific research efforts across the hemisphere related to the production and distribution of ethanol; determining investment needs in both agriculture and infrastructure to enable a hemispheric wide market for ethanol blended fuel; determining the economic and environmental implications of carbon credits produced by the project; encouraging the development of environmentally sound ethanol operations; and recommending a set of actions in order to create an international market for ethanol.

Related:

• Shell president prefers E85 from biomass waste, not corn
• September sets another ethanol production record, sales also strong
• Alt Car Expo: feed-in tariffs vs. renewable portfolio standard
  

[Source: Renewable Energy Access]

If you want to live green, your homeowner association may get in your way. Columnist Alex Beam of the International Herald Tribune learned that clothes dryers account for as much as 10 percent of home energy use. He seriously considered drying his clothes outside on a clothes line or rack. One Web site suggests that New England residents could save enough energy to close "several power plants" if they used their clothes lines.

Big problem, though. Many homeowner associations don't permit outdoor clothes lines. Beam quotes the president of the California Association of Homeowners Associations who told a legal magazine that a clothes line can lower property values by 15 percent. What absolute dribble!

My next-door neighbor has lived her house since her husband purchased it new in 1950. She has never owned a clothes dryer. In recent years there has been massive gentrification with million-dollar homes springing up on lots all around us. Not once have I heard concern that her weekly routine has lowered the value of her home or any other property in the neighborhood.

Homeowner associations have spawned more mini-dictators than any other element of our society. I truly get outraged when I hear of deliberate intrusions on personal rights. I have a friend who writes for the LA Times, and his association president physically changed the light bulb on his porch because it wasn't the right shade. There are other stories of associations that don't allow homeowers to work on their cars in their own driveway. Some associations don't allow motorcycles or even pickup trucks on the homeowner's property. Some don't even allow basketball backboards or tree houses. And now they dictate how you dry your clothes.

Please, someone show me a comprehensive, independently funded study that concludes that any of the aforementioned household improvements truly brings down the value of a house or a neighbor's house. I don't want a realtor's opinion. I want hard facts over the course of a decade that proves a clothes line lowers the value of a neighbor's house by $50,000 or $60,000. This home-value argument is a complete fascist smokescreen for control freaks. And don't give me the classic argument: if you don't like it you don't have to live there. Every new development that might be affordable to new homeowners is instituting these stupid restrictions. Either you live there or you find a home another hour's drive away from your work. A general set of guidelines to address health concerns and basic upkeep for a neighborhood is okay, but force a homeowner to hang a particular curtain? It's just not right.

At least in Florida, according to Beam, the legislature understands personal freedom and has granted homeowners the right to hang out their underwear. Bravo!

Related:

• Oh, so a Hummer is NOT greener than a Prius

[Source: International Herald Tribune]

Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, has seen the light and it comes in the form of a biofuel. The St. Petersburg Times reports that after reading a paper written by Mario Fernandez, a former sugar trader from Key Biscayne, Gov. Bush has seemingly become one of the nation's foremost advocates of ethanol. In an interview, he said, "This one was one of those light bulb deals for me."

Mr. Fernandez' paper argued that ethanol would provide a three-fold win by reducing America's dependence on foreign oil, helping the environment and bringing biofuel production to Florida farmers.

In April, Gov. Bush wrote a letter to his brother, the President, advising that the 54 cent per gallon tariff on Brazilian ethanol be removed. Included with the letter was a 9-page paper written by the Florida Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) which recommended a plan to pump 15 billion gallons of ethanol into the marketplace by 2015. This would account for about 10% of the US's annual gas consumption.

Bush says his new stance on ethanol came from a convergence of climate issues, the environment and Florida's role in the hemispheric free trade debate.

Bush believes that global demand for biofuels will offer room for both the US and Latin American production to co-exist. However, his efforts are bound to face an uphill battle. Bradley Krohn, president of US EnviroFuels, says "The (Florida ethanol) industry needs that 54-cent tariff in order to grow. Otherwise we are simply shifting our dependence from the Middle East to South America and inhibiting the financial community from investing."

The tariff does not expire until 2008.

[Source: St. Petersburg Times]

The city of Oakland Park recently selected the Ford Escape hybrid as the replacement for one of its 11 city vehicles. The Community Development Department will be using the eco-friendly compact SUV which replaces a 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier.

Oakland Park is one of the latest Floridian cities and counties looking to replace their older vehicles with hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles. The counties of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach have been adding hybrids to their fleets since 2000. Same with the cities of Broward, Coral Springs and Hollywood. Originally the Oakland Park city commissioners were considering purchasing five hybrids but are still unsure of the technology. States Mayor Steve Arnst, "I work in the business and I'm not sold on hybrids. What happens if they go through water and it knocks out the electrical panel? I want a vehicle that is useful and is not going to be breaking down." Thus the city decided to purchase one to see how much it will ultimate cost in fuel and any repairs.

Related:

• Florida energy bill promotes renewables, conservation
• "Huge" potential for alternative fuels in Florida

[Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Florida Governor Jeb Bush, after meeting with Brazilian Minister of Agriculture Roberto Rodrigues, wants the federal government to reconsider its stance on foreign ethanol and abolish all tariffs on the alternative fuel. States Bush, "We don't put a tariff on crude imported from a country like Venezuela, but yet we put a tariff on ethanol, which is a renewable source of energy that provides a clean alternative. We're at a point now where we need to develop strategies to begin that process."

Much of Bush's advocacy stems from ethanol's current cost. Despite the 51 cents-per-gallon federal tax credit enjoyed by domestic ethanol producers, consumers pay roughly the same price per gallon of ethanol to regular gasoline. Worse, the corn-based version grown is not as effective as gasoline, making consumers reluctant to switch. Both issues could be resolved if ethanol is imported: Brazil's sugar-based ethanol is not only more efficient than its corn-based counterpart, but would cost a third to half compared to gasoline. Current federal law imposes 54-cent-a-gallon tariff on any sugar-based ethanol which effectively removes the cost advantage. Corn growers oppose the removal of the tariff.

Related:

• Florida energy bill promotes renewables, conservation
• Letting the best ethanol win
• Corn growers happy with ethanol demand

[Source: Environment News via Heartland Institute]

Think Florida and you think orange juice, right? Well, in the processing of orange juice there is a lot of leftover peel and pulp. These materials are just one of the many sources of biomass for alternative fuels like ethanol available to Florida, according to this article in the Lakeland-area Ledger. Other possible sources include sugar cane, animal manure and yard wastes, which Florida has a lot of since it ranks in the top ten states in agriculture production. The oil rigs off the coast don’t produce nearly enough oil to meet the state’s needs (the article is a little unclear on this point, but it seems to say Florida only produces about one percent of the oil it uses).

Pretty soon here at AutoblogGreen we will have referenced some sort of green energy project or future outlook from every state in America. If you know of an incredibly local story (like the science fair from yesterday), let us know.

[Source: The Ledger, Tip by Joel A.]