[Pops]

Thanks Mr. Bill, I’ve enjoyed many of your posts as well, more stuff on grass farming if you are interested:
http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic14556.html

[MrBill]

Thanks Mr. Bill, I’ve enjoyed many of your posts as well, more stuff on grass farming if you are interested:
http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic14556.html

Thanks for the link. Will go over it in detail. Okay, basically you have several problems where I am from, and one ironically is due to high oil prices.

Basically, in the area, there has been enough oil & gas leases that it drive up the price of a quarter section because the owner hopes to get rent for the land based on oil & gas leases and not just farming, or he or she works in oil & gas or related industry and therefore can subsidize their farming from an outside income. Both make marginal farmland more expensive than can be justified by ' current' prices and yields alone.

However, long term I am confident. In the area I am from, grassing makes sense. Hills and no chance to irrigate. Lot's of water, but the wrong soil type. It is marginal farmland for cropping although we can make a decent crop out of canola and or barley, but barely. The machines are too expensive. My step brothers cousins can do it because they are 4 and have 3000 acres of cropland and a feedlot operation. My step sisters husbands family can do it because again they are full time ranchers and have enough of their own land and enough land under lease to make it pay. But for the small operator, it is not cost efficient. The best I can do is buy and rent to them, with which high oil & gas lease prices is not economical unless I am speculating on higher prices in the future.

Also, due to poor soil, limited precipitation and steep hills the land is not super productive, and cattle have to be wintered. Therefore you need grazing land in the summer and hay or alfalfa for the winter, plus pole sheds to get the cattle out of the worst of the weather. I see grazing and pasture as the best bet, but will still need to over winter the breeding herd or just take on summer steers. Then I am exposed to price trends.

As well some of the land is more suited to wild animals like deer or maybe sheep, but with sheep it is hard due to coyotes. A fence system might work, but it is expensive to put in 6 foot fences everywhere and make sure coyotes cannot burrow under. Capital costs up front. Best when you have an outside income and it is a hobby right now.

Lot's of issues. Glad to know some others are doing the heavy intellectual lifting for me, so I look forward to reading your posts on these subjects. thanks.

[SC_Dave]

I am new here. 1st post so if I have posted in the wrong section please advise.

I have a diesel pick-up and I am more that curious as to why diesel is so much higher that regular gas. In my area of South Carolina it is anywhere from 20 to 40 cent higher than regular.

Am I wrong in my thinking that diesel requires less refinining that regular gas?

Thanks in advance for your input.

David

[TommyJefferson]

Diesel has different seaonal price pressures than gasoline because it is also used as a home heating fuel.

I want to say it requires less refinement than gasoline, but I'm not sure.

[Aaron]

Not substantially different.

It all comes out of the same barrel of oil.

Basically they just heat up the oil, which then separates into layers.

These layers are the various products from oil... kerosene, diesel, gas etc...

There is some speculation that beyond a certain price difference between diesel & gasoline... the market is being manipulated.

[nwildmand]

welcome to peakoil.com dave. stick around and become enlightend.

the reason deisel is mor expensive is it is a major part of jet fuel. and we all know what major fuel hogs airliners are. it is all supply and demand. if we had another 911 and the planes stopped flying for a few days the price of fuel would drop dramaticaly and deisel would be the same price or just a nickel higher than super unleaded.

another reason (and im not sure on this one) is i believe there is less % of deisel in heavy sour crude than there is in light sweet. but im not sure if this is even effecting us now.

[Denny]

I found this editorial quite interesting today in the Times: The larger question it poses to me is why did it take a Japanese company to come up with an apparent solution to the objectionable emissions of diesels? While our North American companies seem to be monekying wiht impractical concepts, like E85 and hydrogen that require a new fuel infrastructure. I feel our companies are losing their edge. What's become of our inventiveness in North America?

A Better Diesel 4 Oct 2006
When Europeans think of diesel, they think of the very cars — small and smart — that half of them are driving now. When Americans think of diesel, they think of semis and buses and pickups and, perhaps, one of the lumbering Oldsmobiles that did so much in the 1980’s to poison the promise of diesel technology here. Europeans and Americans differ in almost nothing more than they differ in diesel, including different emissions standards and different fuel quality. But in the next few years, as the rules on air quality tighten, Americans need a diesel engine that can meet the stricter standards.

Diesel engines offer more torque and greater fuel efficiency than gasoline engines, and they emit less carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The drawback is that they also emit more particulate matter and nitrogen oxide, which contributes to smog. Honda recently unveiled a new engine that solves that problem, using a special catalytic converter that turns harmful nitrogen oxide into simple nitrogen. Honda plans to introduce this engine in the United States in 2009, which just might give us time to improve the poor quality fuel that keeps diesels here from being as clean and as popular as they could be.

[ClubOfRomeII]

The larger question it poses to me is why did it take a Japanese company to come up with an apparent solution to the objectionable emissions of diesels?

Because they've been building better cars than the domestics for more than 20 years now, and decided to do diesels next?
As soon as Honda gets a nice little turbo diesel into an accord sized car here in the States, I'm buyin.

[canis_lupus]

Would like to see the Honda or Toyota version of the diesel Ford Expedition. I need big trucks that are not pickups. I think Honda or Toyota could excel here.

I'm buyin' too!

[Loki]

As soon as Honda gets a nice little turbo diesel into an accord sized car here in the States, I'm buyin.

Me, too, except I'd prefer a compact pick-up. I strongly believe in buying American, but as long as the American companies continue to refuse to step up, I won't hesitate to buy Japanese or European. I have ZERO interest in a 15-seat Ford F350,000 with enough torque to pull the Queen Mary. I just want to get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible.

[TommyJefferson]

why did it take a Japanese company to come up with an apparent solution to the objectionable emissions of diesels? While our North American companies seem to be monekying wiht impractical concepts

Because American automakers are prohibited by the EPA from selling small diesels in the US.
They have no reason to develop a product the law prevents them from selling.

[ClubOfRomeII]

why did it take a Japanese company to come up with an apparent solution to the objectionable emissions of diesels? While our North American companies seem to be monekying wiht impractical concepts

Because American automakers are prohibited by the EPA from selling small diesels in the US. They have no reason to develop a product the law prevents them from selling.

So Chrysler has been illegally selling Jeep Liberty diesels for the last few years? Maybe someone should tell the EPA about this?

[yesplease]

They aren't selling any 2007 models, of the Liberty I mean. Or the Jetta, etc... Because the insane NOx standards put into place by the EPA came into effect, and auto manufacturers can't bring in any new emissions devices until ~2008 because the entire country hasn't switched to USLD. In short it's goofy regulations, the EU has a much better setup regarding the whole deal.

[emersonbiggins]

They aren't selling any 2007 models, of the Liberty I mean. Or the Jetta, etc... Because the insane NOx standards put into place by the EPA came into effect, and auto manufacturers can't bring in any new emissions devices until ~2008 because the entire country hasn't switched to USLD. In short it's goofy regulations, the EU has a much better setup regarding the whole deal.

And, as a result, my 06 Jetta TDI has yet to drop off appreciably on its blue book value, even with 13k miles.

[yesplease]

Forget newer VWs, clean, low mileage VW Rabbit pickups with $200 WVO systems will sell for over $10k. Thats probably over twice the purchase price, and probably ten times their value in the ninties.

[ClubOfRomeII]

And, as a result, my 06 Jetta TDI has yet to drop off appreciably on its blue book value, even with 13k miles.

How do you like that car? I've come close more than once over the last few years to buying one, but every time I get close somebody I know buys one new and the CEL comes on, or something else breaks, or the turbo goes. I talked my insurance agent into buying one, and its caused him all kinds of trouble with MAF sensors, time and again. I test drove one and DARN I want one but the reliability for some of them just isn't quite there yet. Other times, people run the wheels off those things with nary an issue.
Hows yours?

[cube]

...I strongly believe in buying American, but as long as...

Why buy "American"?
For all we know the "American" car could of been manufactured in Mexico while the "Japanese" car was made in America. Which car would you buy? I'm not trying to knock on you for your beliefs but if you think that buying American -more jobs for the good old USA ...we'll you're mistaken.

Thanks to globalization the concept of "made in *insert country name*" doesn't mean much. For example a barbie doll:
1) The nylon hair comes from Japan.
2) The plastic components come from Taiwan.
3) The pigment used for coloring comes from the USA
4) and finally all the parts are shipped to China for assembly
Technically the doll was "made in China".....but what the hell does that mean anyways?
welcome to the world of globalization

[Frank]

American Car

[Loki]

My state is getting set to adopt California emission standards in a couple years. A lobbyist for the auto dealers said that would effectively bar diesel passenger cars and trucks. A spokesperson for the DEQ responded that the 2009 diesel standards would take care of that. Any Californians with the skinny on whether passenger diesel cars and trucks are/will be allowed in California? The article I read said that newer VW diesels aren't allowed in California but may be after 2009. I'd like to get a diesel one of these days, but I'll never buy a new car. I'm worried now that the adoption of these new standards will effectively bar me from buying a used diesel.

For all we know the "American" car could of been manufactured in Mexico while the "Japanese" car was made in America. Which car would you buy? I'm not trying to knock on you for your beliefs but if you think that buying American == more jobs for the good old USA...we'll you're mistaken.

You're right, and I often forget this, since I haven't been in the market for a vehicle for quite a while. My old Ford Ranger was made in the USA, but that was when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Where they make them now I have no idea.

[ClubOfRomeII]

My old Ford Ranger was made in the USA, but that was when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Where they make them now I have no idea.

My 2001 Ranger was built in Minnesota.