Gas prices have gone up so dramatically in recent months that people are understandably nervous. One way they’re dealing with that is buying hybrid vehicles like the Prius. The Prius is virtually synonymous with hybrid, but maybe there’s a better choice? Check out this video from Edmund’s on YouTube. You might be suprised!

According to Japan’s business news source, Nikkei, Toyota is planning a Prius with solar panels by Kyocera Corp. Toyota has not unveiled any design plans for the solar panels. The solar panels will power the air conditioning on the Prius. If the solar panels on the Prius are only used to power the car’s air conditioning, in my opinion, it would be like a kind of waste as the solar panels could be used to power the car instead improving gasoline fuel efficiency.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has been under intense pressure from the U.S. and other oil consumers to increase its crude output to help slow the soaring price of oil.

The kingdom already announced modest increases and said it would pump 9.7 million barrels a day beginning in July. But those increases have not done much to stem the skyrocketing price of oil, which closed near $135 a barrel on Friday.

The high prices are affecting consumers and economies across the United States, Europe and much of the world. Many countries have experienced social unrest as rising fuel prices have driven significant increases in the cost of food and other basic goods.

The cost of gasoline has also become a sore point in the U.S. presidential race, with President Bush and Republican candidate John McCain calling for lifting of a long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling to increase domestic oil production. But Democratic candidate Barack Obama has said such steps will do nothing in the short term to ease American consumer’s pain.

It was unclear if Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi’s remarks Sunday at a closed-door session during the high-level oil summit in the port city of Jiddah would quell concerns.

Al-Naimi, who was expected to formally make the announcements in a speech later Sunday, reiterated his government’s position that the recent run-up in prices has not been caused by a supply shortage. But he said he also believes each country must do what it can “to alleviate these difficult conditions.”

For the remainder of the year “Saudi Arabia is willing to produce additional barrels of crude oil above and beyond the 9.7 million barrels per day which we plan to produce during the month of July, if demand for such quantities materializes and our customers tell us they are needed,” al-Naimi said in the speech, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press in advance.

The conference’s final statement restated the participants’ concern over volatile oil prices, but attempted to strike a balance over the cause. Producers, like Saudi Arabia say it is due to speculation, while the United States maintains it is due to insufficient supply.

“Spare capacity throughout the oil supply chain is important for the stability of the global oil market,” said the statement, which also noted that “the transparency and regulation of financial markets should be improved.”

In the final news conference of the summit, al-Naimi urged the two sides to compromise.

“We all, whether producers or consumers, should cooperate together to stabilize the market — it shouldn’t be left for one side alone,” he said.

Al-Naimi also said that the kingdom was willing to invest to boost its spare oil production capacity above the current 12.5 million barrels per day planned for the end of 2009, reversing previous statements that the country would not go beyond that figure.

“In addition, we have identified a series of future crude oil mega-increments totaling another 2.5 million barrels per day of capacity that could be built if and when crude oil demand levels warrant their development,” he said.

The U.S. and other Western nations have put increasing pressure on Saudi Arabia to increase production, saying insufficient oil production has not kept pace with growing demand.

Earlier Sunday, King Abdullah also said Saudi Arabia was not to blame for soaring oil prices and instead pointed his finger at speculators, high fuel taxes in consuming countries and increased oil consumption in developing economies.

“There are several factors behind the unjustified, swift rise in oil prices and they are: speculators who play the market out of selfish interests, increased consumption by several developing economies and additional taxes on oil in several consuming countries,” the king said.

Abdullah urged the summit’s delegates to “uncover the truth” and dispel rumors to get the “real and full reasons” behind the skyrocketing price of oil.

Saudi Arabia increased oil production by 300,000 barrels a day in May, and a Saudi official confirmed Saturday that the country would add another 200,000 barrels a day in July — for a total of 9.7 million barrels a day.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also called for future commitments from producers for increased oil and gas supply but urged that all countries should improve energy efficiency and develop alternative sources of energy, including nuclear power.

Earlier Sunday, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman again called on Saudi Arabia to increase production, saying it has not kept pace with growing demand.

Bodman said world oil consumption growth has averaged about 1.8 percent per year since 2003 with the largest share of that growth coming from developing countries like China, India and countries in the Middle East, he said.

But for the past three years, global oil production has remained constant at roughly 85 million barrels a day, and OPEC production has remained largely flat, he said in a written statement.

“I believe that most of us agree on one thing: Prices are too high at present. And unless we act, the situation will remain unsustainable,” he said in the statement.

The kingdom called for Sunday’s unusual meeting in Jiddah between oil producing and consuming nations as a way to show that it was not deaf to international cries that high oil prices have caused social and economic turmoil.

The Gulf nation also has become increasingly concerned that record oil prices could hinder growth in the U.S. and other major industrialized economies, potentially leading to a decline in oil demand and a sharp drop-off in prices.

Also Sunday, Abdullah called for the creation of a $1 billion energy initiative for poor countries to help them combat the rising cost of fuel. He also said Saudi Arabia would contribute $500 million to help give poor countries loans to finance development and energy projects.

Natural gas can be found in oil fields, dissolved or isolaed natural gas fields, and in coal beds. When methane rich gases are produced by the decay of non-fossil organic material, they are referred to as biogas. Biogas can be found in swamps, marshes, and landfills, sewage sludge and manure by using anaerobic digesters and enteric fermentation in cattle.

Natural gas is a major source of electricity generation thru the usage of gas turbines, and steam turbines. Particularly high efficiencies can be achieved through combining gas turbines with a steam turbin in combined cycle mod. Natural gas is about cleanest burning fossil fuel and produces roughly 35% less carbon dioxide then petroleum and about 45% less then coal. Fuel cell technology may eventually provide cleaner options for convertiing natural gas into electricity, but as it is not yet price-competitive.

Coal is a non-renewable energy source because it takes millions of years to create and we’re consuming more every year than whats being produced. The energy in coal comes from the energy stored by the plants and animals that lived millions and billions of years ago. Think back to some of the first life forms that were on the planet.

Roughly 93% of the coal used in the United States is for generating electricity. Except for a small amount of net exports, the rest of the coal is used, as a basic energy source in many industries, including steel, cement and paper industries. The four major uses of coal are:

• For electric power
• For industry
• For making steel
• For export

Coal makes up roughly 50% of the electricity that is produced in the United States. Besides electric utility companies, industries and businesses with their own power plants use caol to generate electricity. Power plants burn the coal ot make steam, the steam in return turns turbines, which generate the electricty for consumers.

When coal is burned it gives off carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas that is linked with global warming and many respiatory and health related issues. During the coal burning another gas hat given off is nitrogen oxidie and mercury. Combining the two in the atmosphere produces acid rain, and smog.

The fossil fuels are burned to release their chemical energy that they store. Fossil fuels are currently composing close to 85% of the energy consumption in the world today.

When fossil fuel is burned the byproduct is a dangerous and some times deadly mix of posionous air. The small particles that can exisit in the air for inefinate periods of time, most the time for several weeks can travel for miles. The particles are sometimes smaller then ten microns in diamter reach deep within the lungs. When particles become smaller then 10 microns they are able to enter the blood stream, irritating he lungs and carry with them toxic substances such as heavy metals and poluutants.

The most commonly used method for nuclear energy today is fission, other methods like fussion, and radioactive decay also exisit today. All current methods involve heating a working fluid such as water, which is then converted into mechanical work for the purpose of generating propulsion. Today more then 15% of the worlds electricity comes from nuclear power.

The navy has build over 150 nuclear-powered vessel in recent years and a few radioistope rockets have been produced as well.

The economics behind nuclear power is some what tricky subject and controversial. Since mutli-billion dollar investments ride on the choice of an energy source, which power source is most cost effective depends on the assumptions used in a particular study.

In 2001 the Economist stated that “Nuclear power, once claimed to be too cheap to meter, is now too costly to matter” cheap to run, but very expensive to build. Since inflation and other methods of fuel are slow developing and costly the operating expenses of nuclear energy are also expected to increase several digits as well.

The most significant use for nuclear energy is for the generation of electrical power and to power some ships and submarines. The nuclear energy these ships require are made from heat and steam from the nuclear reaction power stream.

There are other less used uses for nuclear reactors and their technology but none that deal with power, or energy so we won’t be covering them.

Pure methanol is required by rule to be used in USAC sprint cars, midgets, modifieds, etc etc, other dirt track series and Champcars.

Methanol can also be used in radio control, control line and free flight airplans, cars, and trucks as well. Some drag racers and mud racers will also make the use of methanol their primary fuel source as well.

Since methanol is not as combustable as regular gasoline, a high combustion engine has to make use of the fuel. Mainly a supercharged engine in top alcohol dragsters and the above mentioned racers. Even up until the end of the 2006 Indianapolis 500 racers used methanol in their cars.

Aside from the power it takes to combust methanol, it’s not commonly used to fuel vehicles these days due to their aluminum engines. Methanol easily corrodes aluminium, and attacks the oxide coating that protects the aluminium from corrosion.

When methanol is produced from wood or other organic materials, the resulting organic methanol has been suggested as a renewable alternative hydrocarbs. However you still can not use the pure bioalcohol in vehicles today due to the damage it will do to your metal piping and rubber seals of the engine.