Recent Gas News/GasBuddy Blog

Free Press -- What did Enbridge Energy Partners know about crude oil spilling from a ruptured pipe in west Michigan?

And when did the energy company -- and its Canadian parent, Enbridge Inc. -- realize it had a potential disaster seeping into the Kalamazoo River?

U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, member of a House subcommittee that oversees the nation's network of oil and gas pipelines, said the panel is launching an investigation to answer those questions. Schauer, a Battle Creek Democrat who lives 15 miles from the spill, continued his verbal assault on Enbridge on Friday, saying it failed to promptly report the leak to federal authorities, delaying their response.

The company's president and CEO, Patrick Daniel, apologized again for the mess the company created, even as he defended Enbridge's response. The  (go to article)

BBC -- Chris Hogg has been to see the heart of the clean-up operation

China is struggling to clean up what has being described as the country's worst oil spill, a fortnight after a fire at an oil depot caused crude to leak into the sea for several days.

An army of volunteers and fishermen has been mobilised to help clean up the pollution from the area around the port of Dalian, one of China's most important strategic oil reserves.

But conditions are grim for those involved.

The scene at a small harbour where they are collecting the oil is like something out of the 19th Century.

Fishermen covered in oil, some of them working just in their underwear, scrape up the toxic sludge that spilled out of the jars they have brought back from the open sea.

No one is wearing protective goggles, facemask  (go to article)

FT.Com -- After walking along the rows of half-assembled Jeep Grand Cherokees in a Chrysler plant on Friday, President Barack Obama tried to put the troubles of the US auto industry in the rear-view mirror.

The industry, which employs 1.7m people, was on the brink of collapse when he took office but now – 18 months and 85bn taxpayer dollars later – is showing tentative signs of strength.  (go to article)

http://www.winnipegsun.com/ -- This wasn't the world's first muscle car, but...  (go to article)

KMA 960 -- (Ames) -- Researchers at Iowa's Biomass Energy Conversion facility say the substance that could serve as America's best fuel source for the future is one you've probably not heard talked about much. Norm Olson is project manager at the Biomass Energy Conversion facility, or BECON. He says ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3, offers a way to incorporate the energy benefits of hydrogen with the convenience of a liquid.
 (go to article)

Gas 2.0 -- I haven’t quite made my mind up on the Volt. I like a lot of things about the Chevy super-eco-car, like its many standard features, emphasis on technology, and the fact that it can be an every day car. I don’t like the $41,000 starting price (which comes down to $33,500 after Federal tax credits… still pretty expensive).

Know what else I don’t like about the Chevy Volt? Premium fuel only. Seriously GM?
Premium fuel is actually required in many cars today, most of them in the high performance category. When I owned a ‘95 Pontiac Trans Am, I had to put in premium fuel. My heavy foot and the thirsty 5.7 liter V8 guzzled a lot of gas in short order, and I’d cringe when I pulled up to the gas station. Premium gas tends to run 20-30 cents per gallon higher than regular unleaded. That’s a couple  (go to article)

New York Times by CLIFFORD KRAUSS -- HOUSTON — BP’s volatile oil well in the Gulf of Mexico may finally be locked down and filled with cement within a matter of days.  (go to article)

STATE OF MICHIGAN JOINT INFORMATION CENTER -- LANSING, Mich. – Governor Granholm today continued to push for sufficient resources to adequately address the oil spill in southwest Michigan. The governor also has asked the U.S. Coast Guard to assess the situation and provide recommendations for stopping
the advance of oil.
State agencies were on scene again today meeting with local, state, federal, and private sector responders, and providing much-needed help to citizens and wildlife impacted by the spill. The state has also activated a Joint Information Center (JIC) to coordinate the dissemination of public information to the news media on this ongoing situation.
Highlights of the state’s efforts include:
· Michigan today launched a new website with response efforts and public
information, including video footage and photos,  (go to article)

CNN -- Athens, Greece (CNN) -- The Greek government ordered the country's armed forces to help deliver fuel as truck drivers voted to continue a contentious strike, state media reported.

Officials said Friday that military vehicles would be used to ensure the supply of fuel to airports, power plants and hospitals, and navy boats could help carry tanker trucks to islands, according to official news agency ANA.

Greece's 33,000 licensed truck drivers went on strike this week to protest government plans to open up their industry and issue new licenses.

The government is required to make the changes under the terms of loan packages from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Gas stations on several Greek islands have been dry for days, and shortages of fruits and vegetables ha  (go to article)

CNN.com -- Just about everyone who worked to build the new Interstate Highway 35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, knew that their project would never be "just a bridge."

Although stylish curved piers and a bright white color mark a visual departure from its predecessor, it's what's baked into the bridge that makes it truly unusual.

Three-hundred-twenty-three high-technology sensors dot the structure, spitting out a constant stream of data regularly analyzed by engineers at nearby University of Minnesota.

At a total cost of about $1 million including wire connections and power sources, the sensors don't eliminate the need for visual inspections, but they do provide an extra layer of maintenance security.

 (go to article)

The Globe and Mail -- Shawn McCarthy, Kevin Van Paassen and Cigdem Iltan

Ottawa, Marshall, Mich. — From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Chief executive officer Pat Daniel is personally spearheading the company’s efforts to restore its reputation among residents affected by its Michigan oil spill and, as importantly for the company, among regulators who have so much sway over its operations.

Mr. Daniel has been meeting with residents in the Battle Creek area to assure them the Calgary-based company will compensate them for all their costs and damages, and has hosted daily news conferences on the cleanup operation.
 (go to article)

usnews.com -- .Louisiana’s brown pelicans have more of a chance of avoiding Big Oil than you do.

..sneakers and bike have petroleum products in them. Sure, you can shut off the AC, but the electric fans you switch to have plastic from oil and gas in them. And the insulation to keep your home cool also started as oil and gas. Without all that, you will sweat, and it’ll be all too noticeable because deodorant comes from oil and gas too.

..can’t even escape petroleum products with a nice cool fast-food milkshake – which probably has a petrochemical-based thickener.

Oil is everywhere..petrochemicals are in our blood.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested humans for environmental chemicals and metals, it recorded 212 different compounds. More than 180 of them..started out as..gas or oil  (go to article)

Globeandmail.com -- By Shawn McCarthy, Kevin Van Paassen and Cigdem Iltan

Excerpts

Enbridge chief executive officer Pat Daniel is personally spearheading the company’s efforts to restore its reputation among residents affected by its Michigan oil spill and, as importantly for the company, among regulators who have so much sway over its operations.

Enbridge also faces hefty cleanup costs, which have yet to be tallied. One analyst suggested the cost could reach $40-million (U.S.) – a relative minor hiccup for a company that made a profit of $1.56-billion in 2009.

Still, industry observers suggest the high-profile spill could contribute to a tighter and more costly regulatory system, which was already brewing  (go to article)

Globeandmail.com -- By Bob English

Excerpts

In the motoring age’s early days, the affluent few who could afford cars purchased gasoline from fuel company depots and then in cans or from hand-operated pumps installed by entrepreneurial general store owners.

"Dedicated “gas stations” began to appear by about 1910 as oil companies started to create distinct brand identities ...with its capacity of about 600 or so gallons (2,300 litres)..."

The modern tankers ...haul 30,000 litres or more to meet the volume demands of the 20 million vehicles now on Canada’s highways and 250 million on U.S. roads, which now consume some 400 million U.S. gallons (1.514-billion litres) of fuel a day – more than a gallon (four litres) for each and every one of us.
 (go to article)

UPI.com -- NEW YORK, July 30 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices continued a see-saw week, closing near $79 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude oil prices climbed sharply off a morning low of $76.83 to $78.98 per barrel, despite disappointing gross domestic product data.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday the GDP in the second quarter grew 2.4 percent, slightly less than expected, but confirming a general slowdown in economic growth. In the previous quarter, the GDP grew 2.7 percent.

August contract No. 2 heating oil prices gained 0.0146 cents from a prior settlement to $2.0518 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline
for August delivery added 0.0228 cents to $2.1202 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices for September fell 0.075 cents to $4.902 per million British the  (go to article)

MSNBC / Associated Press -- BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Federal officials now estimate that more than 1 million gallons of oil may have spilled into a major river in southern Michigan, and the governor is sharply criticizing clean-up efforts as "wholly inadequate."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the update Wednesday night, shortly after Gov. Jennifer Granholm lambasted attempts to contain the oil flowing down the Kalamazoo River. She warned of a "tragedy of historic proportions" if the oil reaches Lake Michigan, which is still at least 80 miles downstream from where oil has been seen.

Granholm called on the federal government for more help, saying resources being marshaled by the EPA and Enbridge Inc., which owns the pipeline that leaked the oil, were "wholly inadequate."
 (go to article)

MSNBC / Associated Press -- NEW ORLEANS — A ruptured wellhead in Louisiana's Barataria Bay has spread a slick of oil covering 6 square miles, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.

Oil, natural gas and water spewed from the abandoned underwater wellhead hit by a barge pushed by a tug.

The Coast Guard ordered the last recorded owner of the well, a company called Cydeco, to pay for the clean-up costs.

Wild Well Control Inc. of Houston has been hired to secure the well and Environmental Health and Services has been hired to manage the cleanup, the Coast Guard said.

By late Wednesday, 10,500 feet of containment boom and 3,000 feet of absorbent boom has been deployed to contain the spill.

Thirty-one boats have responded to the spill, said Coast Guard Capt. John Arenstam.

The Coast Guard said a tow  (go to article)

Lancaster Sunday News -- The nationally averaged cost of a gallon of regular, 10-percent ethanol blend was $2.71 last week. It's typically cheaper than straight gas. But motorists go out of their way to buy the pricier stuff from John's Gulf, 517 Union St., owner John Kirchner said.

"The conventional gas is definitely better," he added. "As long as we can get it we'll keep selling it."

Gasoline/ethanol blends have become standard service station fare since passage of a 2007 federal renewable fuel standard intended to cut pollution and foreign oil dependence.

Nationally, said Al Mannato of the American Petroleum Institute in Washington, "About 90 percent of the gasoline in the United States has 10 percent ethanol in it."

Straight gas isn't fading without a fight, though...  (go to article)

Washington Post -- It's much easier to look for a magic solution than it is to adapt to reality. Take energy, for instance. These days "clean energy," also known as "green energy," is being presented as the magic solution for global warming, our dependence on foreign oil, and the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Maybe even for warts and bad breath. A typical example of the hype, from one of President Obama's speeches about BP: "The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean-energy future is now."
Embracing a future -- whatever that means -- isn't the same as solving a problem. That's a lesson I learned almost 40 years ago,  (go to article)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) -- GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Here are some answers to your Frequently Asked Questions about West Michigan's oil spill, including how to help:  (go to article)

solar-aid.org -- http://solar-aid.org

http://solar-aid.org/projects/health/sunnymoney-microfranchising.html

http://solar-aid.org/project_lighting_malawian_homes/

Wezzie's father introduced her to the Kavuzi Micro Solar Assembly and Sales group (an official SolarAid distributor) in 2008. Initially trained in assembly she raised enough money over the course of the year to care for not just one but two baby girls! She coped brilliantly with twin sisters and was able to provide access to all the care they needed.

Wezzie said: "Thanks to SolarAid, the money that I was paid after assembling panels saved the life of my children, I could easily take them to the hospital, buy better drugs from the pharmacies and buy milk...  (go to article)

ROAD&TRACK -- The best sports cars are wickedly fast, have razor-sharp handling and pretty much guarantee you’ll be smiling after every drive. Yet when it comes to resale value, many of these dream machines can turn into a money-losing nightmare due to huge depreciation.
However, some sports cars manage to buck the trend and hold onto their value year after year. Cars like the Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport and Porsche 911 Carrera have built enormous fan bases after many decades of production. Others, like the Jaguar XK and Audi S5, woo buyers by managing to balance driving thrills with elegant exteriors and a modicum of practicality.
Of course, there are also sports cars that are simply the hottest must-have machines of the moment. The Nissan GT-R manages to defy physics with its incredib  (go to article)

M-Live -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not know if there is oil still coming from a section of pipeline that burst on Monday, spilling more than 1 million gallons of oil into a stream that leads into the Kalamazoo River.
 (go to article)

MSNBC.com -- BP gas station owners across the country are divided over whether the oil giant stained by its handling of the Gulf spill should rebrand U.S. outlets as Amoco or another name as part of efforts to repair the company's badly damaged reputation.

Some who saw their sales plunge after the spill say BP has already sought a fresh start by naming an American to replace its British CEO, so why not change the name on gas station marquees to Amoco, which once stood for American Oil Co.?

But some station owners worry that a name change is risky given all the marketing dollars already spent building up the BP brand.
 (go to article)

Associated Press -- Chris Kahn, AP Energy Writer, On Friday July 30, 2010, 4:16 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Chevron's second-quarter earnings tripled on better refining margins and higher prices for oil and natural gas, the company said Friday.

The results easily beat most Wall Street expectations. The San Ramon, Calif., company is the latest oil major to report big gains in the second quarter as demand for oil and gasoline has pushed prices higher. Exxon Mobil Corp. posted income of $7.56 billion in the quarter, its best result since the last three months of 2008. Royal Dutch Shell Group boosted second-quarter earnings 15 percent, and ConocoPhillips said profits nearly tripled in the April-June period.

Chevron Corp. reported net income of $5.4 billion, or $2.70 per share, for the three months ended June  (go to article)

Women's E-News -- On July 19, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, reported low levels of "odor-causing pollutants associated with oil" on the Gulf shore.

Some people with sensitive noses "may be able to smell several of these chemicals at levels well below those that would cause short-term health problems," the EPA said.

The CDC noted on its Web site that pregnant women may be affected by the strong smell and advised them to "stay indoors, set your air conditioner to reuse indoor air and avoid physical activities that put extra demand on your lungs and heart."

A special respirator, N95 with an odor control feature, may help relieve nausea, although it is not needed for safety, the CDC says.

The agency also says the oil may contain chemicals that could cause harm to a fetus under some conditions.

 (go to article)

Daily Finance -- GM came up with these driving-range numbers based on current EPA testing procedures. The rub is that the EPA has no rules for calculating the final fuel ratings of plug-in electric hybrids -- the numbers consumers would need to comparison-shop and figure out how much they might have to spend on fuel per trip or month.

GM once touted 230 MPG for its Volt by using a method under consideration by the EPA. That number raised eyebrows and then disappeared from the Volt marketing campaign when the EPA reportedly decided not to use that formula. Nissan also tossed out an eye-popping 367 MPG for its LEAF last year, using the same proposed method, but it has stopped promoting that figure as well.

See full article from DailyFinance: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/autos/chevy-volt-mpg-rating/195  (go to article)

The Windsor Star --
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. -- U.S. President Barack Obama took the wheel Friday of the new Chevrolet Volt electric car as he toured the Detroit region to tout his economic policies and the revitalized auto industry.

"Pretty smooth," the president said as he drove a short distance at the wheel of the Volt, the car seen as a key to the future of General Motors, outside the factory in Hamtramck, Michigan.

"They don't let me drive much these days."

The president's slow-speed photo-op drive came only after his security team inspected the vehicle and he buckled his seatbelt in the sedan, in a quite ride different from his normal one — a specially armoured White House limousine.
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Obama+takes+wheel+defends+auto+industry/3343065/story.html#ixzz0vCN0  (go to article)

Wall Street Journal -- General Motors Corp. said today said it will increase U.S. production capacity for the Chevrolet Volt electric car in 2012 by 50%, to 45,000 cars from 30,000. The car maker attributed the increase to strong consumer interest in the vehicle.

The car maker made the announcement as President Barack Obama toured the Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the Volt is being built for sale later this year.  (go to article)

American Chronicle -- BATTLE CREEK, Mich. - Michigan's governor on Wednesday sharply criticized attempts to contain a large oil spill making its way down the Kalamazoo River after the company responsible said it had redoubled its efforts to clean up the mess.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm called on the federal government for more help, saying resources being marshaled by the Environmental Protection Agency and Enbridge Inc. are "wholly inadequate.
 (go to article)

Edmunds -- Just the Facts:
•GM plans to increase purchases of components and services from Southeast Asian-based suppliers.
•GM executive says the automaker needs to build vehicles in the markets where they are sold.BANGKOK, Thailand — General Motors plans to increase purchases of components and services from Southeast Asian-based suppliers to up to USD 1.6 billion per year within three years, Martin Apfel, president of GM Thailand and GM South-east Asia Operations (GMSEA), told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok yesterday.

Apfel said GM needs to build vehicles in the markets where they are sold. "For that to become a reality, we need more component localization," he said. The vast majority of the spending increase will be in Thailand, where the company currently spends around $20  (go to article)

The Toronto Star -- Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter
In a surprise move, Metrolinx has announced that it will own, operate and build the highly anticipated rail link between Union Station and Pearson airport, after the province failed to reach an agreement with SNC-Lavalin.

It had long been expected that the private company would build and operate the premium rail service for the government.

“While the province and the Union Pearson Air-Link Group (UPAG), a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin, were able to make significant progress negotiating, financial market conditions prevented acceptable terms,” Metrolinx said in a news release Friday. “The government will continue to work with UPAG to build on the design and development work that has been completed to date.”

 (go to article)

New York Times -- GENERAL MOTORS introduced America to the Chevrolet Volt at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show as a low-slung concept car that would someday be the future of motorized transportation. It would go 40 miles on battery power alone, promised G.M., after which it would create its own electricity with a gas engine. Three and a half years — and one government-assisted bankruptcy later — G.M. is bringing a Volt to market that makes good on those two promises. The problem is, well, everything else.

For starters, G.M.’s vision turned into a car that costs $41,000 before relevant tax breaks ... but after billions of dollars of government loans and grants for the Volt’s development and production. And instead of the sleek coupe of 2007, it looks suspiciously similar to a Toyota Prius. ...  (go to article)

Reuters/MSN -- Oil giant BP rejected a request from Texas for a $25 million cash advance to clean up shorelines sullied by the Gulf oil spill and got a scathing response from top Texas officials, according to letters given to Reuters Thursday.

BP denied a July 5 request from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott for a $25 million "block grant."

While BP will not grant the cash advance, it promised to pay Texas for clean-up costs as they arise.

In a scathing response letter, dated July 22, Texas Governor Rick Perry and Attorney General Abbott urged BP to advance more clean-up funds quickly.

"BP has taken steps to ensure every other Gulf Coast state is prepared to respond, yet you shortchange the state in which you have chosen to domicile - and whose beaches you threaten with tar balls."
 (go to article)

Gas 2.0 -- When President Obama came into office, he brought with him promises for new alternative energy vehicles including EV’s. He wants 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015, a goal easily achievable. Additionally, the Obama administration threw billions of dollars at electric vehicle and other alternative energy startups. But has the spigot been turned off?

Not quite. A new energy bill making the rounds in Congress would allocate $4 billion for natural gas vehicles… and just $400 million for EV’s. Has the tide turned against electric cars yet again?
One of the biggest arguments for natural gas has been its relative abundance in the U.S. Can’t argue with that; North America sits on top of some very rich natural gas deposits, enough so that we could conceivably ween ourselves off of f  (go to article)

GasBuddy Blog -- Well, if a picture is worth 1000 words, what is video worth? If one video is worth 10,000 words, then this blog post will be way too long!

For today's post, we'll send you to a website that has most of BP's ROV cams on one screen, so I hope you have a decent sized monitor! Even if you don't have a big monitor, you should be able to see a glimpse into what BP engineers watch around the clock. A few minutes watching this doesn't get too boring, but I can't imagine being the one to watch these cameras on 12 hour shifts!

To see the ROV cameras on one screen, head over to this website. Note- you'll be leaving GasBuddy, and we aren't responsible for any content on that site. Having said that, there are quite a few video feeds...  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- Chevron Corp., the second-biggest U.S. oil company, said profit tripled, exceeding analysts’ estimates, after recovering demand for petroleum-based fuels lifted energy prices.

Second-quarter net income jumped to $5.41 billion, or $2.70 a share, from $1.75 billion, or 87 cents, a year earlier, San Ramon, California-based Chevron said today in a statement.

Chevron follows Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips in reporting surges in earnings this week after recovering economies around the world boosted demand for diesel and other fuels. Refining earnings at Chevron jumped more than sevenfold to $975 million. U.S. oil futures averaged $78.05 a barrel in the quarter, up 31 percent from a year earlier.
 (go to article)

ABC NEWS/MONEY -- It was bound to happen. Are you as disgusted as I am?

Mark Miller, whose environmental clean-up firm has hired nearly 1,500 workers in the Gulf Coast in the past month, takes issue with the term "spillionaire" -- those who are cleaning up from the oil cleanup.
"There are probably companies or people who became 'oil spill' experts in the Gulf of Mexico the day the spill happened," said Miller, owner of the New York-based Miller Environmental Group, which was founded in 1971. "The 'spillionaire' term, which originated with the Exxon Valdez spill, was more geared towards the instant expert and instant contractor that capitalized on that event and really didn't come with the real structure and capability and experience."  (go to article)

Time Magazine -- President Obama has called the BP oil spill "the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced".

The Deepwater Horizon explosion was an awful tragedy for the 11 workers who died on the rig, and it's no leak; it's the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. It's also inflicting serious economic and psychological damage on coastal communities that depend on tourism, fishing and drilling. But so far — while it's important to acknowledge that the long-term potential danger is simply unknowable for an underwater event that took place just three months ago — it does not seem to be inflicting severe environmental damage. "The impacts have been much, much less than everyone feared," says geochemist Jacqueline Michel, a federal contractor who is coordinating shoreline assessments in Louisiana.  (go to article)

Associated Press -- Harry R. Weber, AP Business Writer, On Friday July 30, 2010, 8:12 am EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- BP gas station owners across the country are divided over whether the oil giant stained by its handling of the Gulf spill should rebrand U.S. outlets as Amoco or another name as part of its effort to repair the company's badly damaged reputation.

Some who have seen their sales plunge because of protests say BP has already sought a fresh start by naming an American to replace its gaffe-prone British CEO, so why not change the name on gas stations marquees as a further symbol of that culture shift.

Others worry that a name change is a big deal that is risky given all the marketing dollars already spent building up the BP brand. They also believe a successful turnaround with the existing brand  (go to article)

Business Insider -- Two facts about oil spills we're quickly learning:

* Before Deepwater Horizon, they got little to no coverage.
* The oil company or local government will always tell you the spill is small.Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/text deleted
 (go to article)

msnbc.com -- Firm will recover when 'whole truth of the accident finally emerges,' he says

Tony Hayward, who resigned as chief executive of BP in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, has said that he was turned into "a villain for doing the right thing."

In his first interview since deciding to step down, Hayward told the Wall Street Journal that he did everything possible after the Deepwater Horizon exploded, by taking responsibility for the spill and spending billions on the clean-up operation and efforts to stop the leak.

The newspaper said he was unrepentant about BP's response to the spill and that he resented criticism from the Obama administration, although he also admitted that he "understood their frustration."

 (go to article)

AP -- BEIJING – China's worst known oil spill is dozens of times larger than the government has reported, and some of the oil was spilled deliberately to avoid an even larger disaster, an American expert said Friday. China's government has said 1,500 tons of oil spilled after a pipeline exploded two weeks ago near the northeastern city of Dalian, sending 100-foot- (30-meter-) high flames raging near one of the country's key strategic oil reserves. It has not updated that estimate since a few days after the spill.

 (go to article)

The State -- Toyota is recalling nearly half a million cars, most of them large sedans sold in the U.S., for problems that can cause the steering wheel to lock up. It’s the latest indication that the automaker is still struggling with vehicle problems even as it works to overhaul quality control.The recall, announced Thursday, affects 412,000 vehicles in the U.S. – 373,000 Avalon sedans and 39,000 Lexus LX 470 SUVs.
Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/07/30/1396025/toyota-recalls-412000-more-vehicles.html#ixzz0vAJz3Ik5
 (go to article)

The State -- NEW ORLEANS — Incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley was set to outline his company's long-term efforts to help the Gulf of Mexico recover from the oil spill Friday morning, and will be getting help from a Clinton administration-era emergency management official.

The oil giant said Dudley would be in Biloxi, Miss., to announce that former Federal Emergency Management Agency head James Lee Witt will support its recovery efforts. Local officials, especially in Louisiana, have been clamoring for more long-term commitments in the face of reports that the oil spill is dissipating, at least on the water's surface.
Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/07/29/1394957/gulf-cleanup-will-change-once.html#ixzz0vAIcv8pr
 (go to article)

The Reporter -- Three adjacent stories landed on the same page of my local newspaper on a recent morning.

Taken together, they add up to a message that is probably greater — and grimmer — than the sum of its parts.

The first was an update on the BP oil spill. By the time you read this column, the disaster's terrain may have shifted a bit, but then officials were trying hard to convince us and themselves that the end is in sight. The well is capped!

But it's disquieting to consider that plugging the familiar billowing gusher — the symbol of this catastrophe — has the effect of increasing the pressure elsewhere in the couple of miles of well casing between the oil reservoir and the ocean floor. The well's integrity is uncertain and capping it could produce unintended consequences.

Officials are  (go to article)

Detroit Free Press -- EPA is hopeful Lake Michigan can be spared
BY ERIC D. LAWRENCE, JOHN WISELY, CHRISTINA HALL and JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

KALAMAZOO -- Cleanup crews said Thursday they had stopped the westward spread of an oil spill heading down the Kalamazoo River, but officials from various agencies offered conflicting accounts of how far the slick had spread and whether oil continues to leak from the source  (go to article)

GreenCarReports.com -- By John Voelcker - If you've been to New York City lately, you may have noticed an increasing number of hybrid taxis on the roads: mostly Ford Escape Hybrid SUVs, but also Toyota Camry Hybrid and Nissan Altima Hybrid sedans, and a scattering of others too.

It's part of a long-term plan to green the fleet of 14,000 yellow cabs operating in the city, since they rack up far higher mileage than private cars--close to 100,000 miles a year when running two 12-hour shifts a day.
 (go to article)

Time Magazine -- President Obama has called the BP oil spill "the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced," and so has just about everyone else. Green groups are sounding alarms about the "catastrophe along the Gulf Coast," while CBS, Fox and MSNBC are all slapping "Disaster in the Gulf" chyrons on their spill-related news. Even BP fall guy Tony Hayward, after some early happy talk, admitted that the spill was an "environmental catastrophe." The obnoxious anti-environmentalist Rush Limbaugh has been a rare voice arguing that the spill — he calls it "the leak" — is anything less than an ecological calamity, scoffing at the avalanche of end-is-nigh eco-hype.  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- U.S. funding for transportation projects such as Amtrak passenger rail, highway building and transit would rise almost 5 percent to $79.4 billion next year as part of a spending plan passed today by the U.S. House.

Highway construction funds would increase 10 percent to $45.2 billion in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 from $41.1 billion, under the legislation approved 251-167.

The Amtrak rail subsidy would jump 13 percent to $1.77 billion, and transit aid would increase 5 percent to $11.3 billion. The Federal Aviation Administration budget would climb 6 percent to $16.5 billion.

The bill “will put people in America back to work,” said Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick, a Michigan Democrat, before the vote. “Our crumbling roads and bridges can be fixed.”  (go to article)

Bloomberg -- President Barack Obama flies to the heart of the U.S. auto industry today on a mission to convince taxpayers that their investment in the bailouts of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC will bring a return.

Heading into a congressional election season in which polls show the public skeptical about the $84.8 billion rescue and anxious about economy, Obama is using the backdrop of Detroit- area plants owned by GM and Chrysler to promote what he says is an industry revival that has saved more than a million jobs.

Obama previewed the argument he’ll make in an interview broadcast yesterday.  (go to article)