just call me 'au currant'

Today I received an email update about President Obama's plans/thoughts on Jobs & Gas Prices with a super neat-o graphic breaking down some 'Quick Facts' about the Obama Energy Agenda & Gas Prices.  Obama administration, have you been following my blog?  I jest, but I feel like I've been writing about some of these same things so I'm quite proud that I'm trending 'current'.

Take a look at my post 'a, b, c's' to see why it is so important we take a look at our energy consumption (specifically oil in the post).  And, it's really exciting to see our government so dedicated to pursuing this important issue.

As you might imagine, studying energy and natural resources abroad brings a good perspective.  Yes, the US is the butt of many jokes (in the kindest of ways).  And, rightfully so.  We make up 5% of the world population and yet consume 20% of the energy (source).

There's so much more to say but the night grows late and I must get some rest for another full day of studying.  So, I leave you with the graphic below and check out the full thing here

The increasing gas prices has the administration outlining solutions.  Of course, solutions take some time.  First, they talk about increasing domestic oil production. That can help in the short run if we have the appropriate infrastructure (and commitment from oil companies- oil extraction is a whole other study, and, as you can imagine has to do with prices, interest rates and making the most money.  Let's just say it's not a simple as saying 'let's extract more!').  Also, this is not a long term solution being a finite resource.

The administration's next solution is better gas milage for cars- always a good thing. We've got smart engineers, they can make it happen (also, reference my last few posts about the Skoda).  And, they propose improving transportation and investing in cleaning public transport- cool but this will take some time as the technology is coming along but still needs some refining (ha, refining... like oil.. I'm so funny).

Last, but not least, is the 'clean energy future' seen below.  80% of electricity produced from clean sources by 2035?!  I like it!  As they note at the bottom in the fine writing- it sets out an ambitious target.  Truth.  But, by no means impossible.

We are looking at this exact concept in one of my classes right now.  Technically energy is in continuum.  Total energy is constant.  It simply transforms between different forms.  I won't get into the numbers details but if you think about the energy coming at us from the sun and the wind whipping around us- there is plenty of energy to fuel our every day activities.  The real issue is capturing, converting to usable energy and storage.

And with this, I bid you a good night,
lisa liv

P.S. Obama administration, if you would like to hire me for the summer- that would be super.

Dads and cars

My Dad knows a lot about cars.  He loves tinkering and he's mighty good at it.  One of his high school gigs was working at Bethurm's Auto Repair in Corona, CA.  He's always my first call when my car makes a funny noise, or, worse, stops running.  (well, I must admit, I don't have a car anymore since I don't need one in Norway.  And, I'm quite enjoying using public transport.  Old people speak to me in Norwegian all the time.  It's really cute.  I digress)  I remember as a girl I had seen a commercial for an 'Aspire' car and mentioned it to my Dad.  Dad didn't believe said model existed until we saw one not too long after in a parking lot.  I felt victorious.  I knew something about cars Dad didn't.  Ha!

Since then, I concede to his auto prowess and I'm very thankful for his skills.  He's the man.

But, I recently had another little 'Aspire' moment with my a, b, c's blog from a few posts back.  Dad found it hard to believe the Skoda Greenline could get 60+ miles to the gallon.  I pleaded my case noting our Danish friends had said they get 25 kilometers to the liter.  Being a good American living in Europe, I'm doing my best to learn the conversions (we couldn't all possibly work with the same measurement system could we?  oh and cooking has been a real treat too having to get used to milliliters and grams).  So it's approximately 4 liters to a gallon and approximately .62 miles to 1 kilometer.  Here we go with a little math....

25 kilometers/liter x 4 liters/gallon = 100 km/gallon
100km/gallon x .62miles/km = 62 miles to the gallon

And, of course, I double checked myself with a quick internet search on the Skoda before I posted.  I want to make sure this blog is accurate!

In true Dad fashion, he did some of his own research with a few added bonus nuggets about gas vs. diesel I wanted to share.  I believe he broke things down to nice and simple and I hope this is useful to you:

"Good morning Lisa,  

Dad did a little R&D on the Skoda Greenline and it does have some impressive numbers.  First, it is a Diesel and diesel fuel does have more energy content per gallon than does gasoline.  By this alone, it will get better mileage and that is why big trucks here in the US are Diesel.  Europeans drive many more diesel cars than we do here in the US.  Why?  Better fuel economy plus diesel is cheaper than gasoline – in Europe. 

Not so in the US.  Diesel here is more than gas so the attraction of diesel powered cars is less than Europe.  Why is gas cheaper here than in Europe?  Multiple reasons but primarily for two reasons: 

US refineries were designed and built to convert more of the crude oil into gas since this is what American drivers want (diesels in the old days were noisy and smelly and ones garage smelled terrible)

Diesels were heavy and had low performance (acceleration)

Diesels are more expensive to make

These differences have changed today: diesels are quiet now, they don’t emit “smoke” like they used to, and the car does not smell like a truck.  Plus, in Europe they’re “acceptable”.  Anyway, the Skoda (which is owned by VW) is impressive.  The Larsen's car probably has the 1.2 liter 3 cylinder turbo diesel.  With good aerodynamics and a few other tweaks, it’s mileage of 60 mpg+ is the real deal.

Can Americans learn to love such vehicles?

Love The Girl,

Dad, PhD (you can see I just love this stuff)"

Yes, I can see you love this stuff and I love that about you, Dad. And, here's the old car nut professor back in the day. Isn't he cute?!

I suppose this means I should post about my Mom on Father's Day? Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Now I am off for my last very serious week of studying for finals. It's been an intense few weeks but I continue to learn and find everything very interesting. There's sooooo much to learn!

hugs from the land of the midnight sun,

lisa liv

the social network

I'm relatively new to twitter and sometimes feel it's a bit decadent (does every intimate detail of someone's life really need to be broadcast?).  But, it is a fun way to keep up with people while being abroad as well as let people in to funny random things that happen on a daily basis in Norway.  And, a feature I do like is being able to subscribe to what is essentially a news feed from some different sources like Paste Magazine (Music), The Economist, NPR News and the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration).  Not to long after writing my post a, b, c's, these updates filled my twitter feed.....

Ouch.  Almost $1 up in both gas and diesel from a year ago. People have to be feeling this on their budgets.  Gas is a relatively inelastic good in the short run (I know, I'm getting all economics-y on ya) meaning peoples behavior doesn't change much.  The bigger question will be the effect higher prices have on the long run.  Do we start getting serious about smaller cars?  Or investing better in usable public transportation?    The probability this stimulates important R&D in alternatives is good.  And, the future will remain to be scene.  But, I have an idea.  Instead of moaning about how high gas prices are (which, might I remind us, the rest of the world laughs at because we have some of the lowest gas prices), let's use that good old American ingenuity and figure out some new and better solutions.  We've always been pioneers, why not keep exploring new territory?

And, what the hey... click here if you want to follow me on twitter ;)

socially yours and studying for finals,
lisa liv