Eye Told You: About Time

We've been telling you about The Formerly Almighty Alcalde's Eco-Folly for two years now. Marty's move to the green was designed more to capture headlines than to save the planet and Albuquerque taxpayers got to pay for it.

Finally, after two years of telling you about the damage and the cost of E85 Eco-Fool, the Berry Administration has pulled the plug on the program and moved the city back to good ol' unleaded.

"It's no longer cost-effective for us to run on ethanol," said John Soladay, director of the city's Solid Waste Management Department.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

And Ford's failing fuel pumps?

Police Chief Ray Schultz said in some cases, the fuel pumps on police cars failed in the early morning hours, with no way to get them fixed immediately. The administration also said some sedans in the Fire Department fleet were unable to respond to emergencies.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Chief Schultz didn't do the problem justice. Our Eyes tell us Marty's Eco-Fool program caused fuel pumps to fail about every 2,000 miles. With 700 plus vehicles - a large portion of which are Ford Crown Victorias - it's pretty easy to see that there were a large number of vehicles out of service at any given time.

It's about time common sense broke out at the city hall and the Berry Administration deserves credit for making the right move. What was even more shocking is that even Councilor Benton is on board.

City Councilor Isaac Benton said he isn't concerned about the switch, especially because ethanol takes a lot of energy to produce.

"Even though it's made from agricultural products, it could be a problem in and of itself," Benton said in an interview. "I know there have been real questions about the mileage per gallon you see with ethanol. I don't really consider it to be a sustainable product."

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

 Not sustainable... Eye've been tell you that for some time (read it here). The simple truth is that when an "alternative" fuel costs more and requires over a gallon of fossil fuel to produce a gallon of the alternative fuel - not to mention some 1,700 gallons of water - it really isn't much of an alternative.

The Road to Tyranny

The greatest threat to our freedom isn't some Islamo-Facist group training in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan (although they remain a threat to our security), it's the internal threat created by good intentions. Whether it's global warming or healthcare these crises of convenience are serving to render liberty a quaint reminder of our past.

Our individual liberties are being consistently eroded by our good intentions. As a country and a society we are a generous people who want to see those less fortunate provided with an opportunity to better their lot in life. We also want to be good stewards of the environment in which we live. Our response is to give ever increasing authority to government eschewing our own responsibilities and delivering our liberties to those who are the most likely to abuse them and us.

Gov. Bill Richardson has issued an executive order today that contains a slew of new emission reduction directives designed to combat climate change, which the governor described as "the most critical environmental issue of our time."

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

In addition, the executive order specifically calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that stem from coal-fired power plants and mining operations.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Never mind that the global warming "scientists" are far too willing to substitute consensus for evidence. Never mind that the historical record indicates periods of global cooling and warming long before man's discovery of the useful nature of carbon based fuels. Ever increasing regulation will strangle innovation and for a state dependent on oil and gas revenue that has regulated itself into a $600 MILLION deficit, more regulation equals economic disaster.

American success is built upon American freedom. Whether it's regulating a gas created by every mammal on the planet in the name of saving said planet or creating a new health insurance system that will inevitably lead to poorer care and fewer choices, our personal and economic freedoms are under attack.

The Tea Party movement is a direct response to our government's attack on freedom. They understand that when government spends our money and binds us to financial commitments that cannot possibly be repaid for generations. Each dollar spent by government, each financial obligation incurred necessarily our economic options - our economic freedom.

If we continue down this road of empowering government rather than insuring liberty we will achieve the ends that are the goal of our country's Islamo-Facist enemies, economic collapse and governmental tyranny.

More Eco-Folly

Yesterday we told you about APD's decision to start using pure regular unleaded in their E85 vehicles. Today we find out that our assessment that common sense had broken out downtown was, shall we say... premature.

APD has just purchased a whole new fleet of vehicles for the K-9 unit. These trucks run on diesel fuel. (Yep, you know where this is going.) The decree has come down from the 11th and 5th floor mountains that like their AFD diesel counterparts, these diesel drinking machines will run on biodiesel.

The problem is that when these trucks are fed the eco-friendly fuel derived from grease, they make so much noise that they're bound to deafen their K-9 passengers. More importantly, our Eyes tell us that the owner's manual for the new K-9 carriers specifically states that running bio-diesel voids the vehicles' warranty.

So, why do you suppose the manufacturer doesn't want to pick up the tab for fixing bio-diesels? We suspect that at the very least the manufacturer suspects that biodiesel might damage the engine. Remember, these engines were designed to run on diesel fuel pumped from the ground and not taken from McDonalds.

You would think that APD would think twice before embarking on another experiment with our money. If the engines are not running correctly, they are not running efficiently. If they are not running efficiently, it stands to reason that they are probably using more fuel than they would if they were running the fuel the vehicle was designed for.

All of APD's vehicles run for long hours in rough conditions. It's foolish and unwise to risk taxpayer money and public safety in order to win awards for going green.

Gone Green

Last April we told you about Marty's March toward the Green. Marty mandated that the city would buy only E85 vehicles where possible. In short, vehicles burning E85 end up costing 20% more than conventional vehicles due to their significantly decreased mileage. If that weren't bad enough, it takes over a gallon of good ol' fossil fuel and 1,700 plus gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of E85 (read it here).

As you might have noticed, we aren't fans of global warming, climate change, or whatever they're calling it these days. Scientific "consensus" created a political movement whose only effect thus far has been to restrict individual liberty. We'd remind you that at one time scientific "consensus" held that the world was flat.

In any case, common sense seems to have broken out downtown (or at least a $50 MILLION budget shortfall). Our Eyes tell us that APD is abandoning E85 and filling their vehicles with good old fashioned gasoline. You know... petrol, gas, carbon based dinosaur juice.

It seems that the relatively new E85 fuel - in addition to costing all of us 20% more than regular unleaded - also does quite a job on fuel pumps. Since Congress has yet to develop a bailout plan for APD and the city doesn't have a money printing press in the basement, Marty has pulled the plug on his E85 experiment.

We could have told the Almighty Alcalde that his rush to be green (and get some ink) would cost all of us. Oh yeah... we did. So, in order to save some green APD's green is gone. Let's see if the Almighty Alcalde holds a news conference about this one!

Going Green - Drowning in Red

Mayor Marty has been touting his Albuquerque Green initiative for sometime (AlbuquerqueGreen.com). He's even received an award for his efforts.

[T]he conference announced that the mayors of Albuquerque, N.M., and Fayetteville, Ark., had won first place honors in this year's Mayors' Climate Protection Awards Program.

The awards honor mayors for measures to curb global warming and increase energy efficiency. Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez was recognized for shepherding a city program that promotes "green-tech'' companies, use of bicycles and purchase of cleaner city vehicles. The program has caused an overall reduction of city greenhouse gas emissions by 67 percent since 2000.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Of course it didn't take too long for the Journal to expose the Mayor's greenhouse gas reduction claims as, well... gas.

It is a claim every Albuquerque resident who cares about global warming could be proud of: Since 1990, city residents have cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent.

It is also untrue.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

It sure looks like The Almighty Alcalde pulled the wool over the Conference of Mayors and the Governator himself back in June of last year when he sold them on a 67% greenhouse gas reduction since 2000. You'd think that there would be some modification in the mayor's approach in light of the less than stellar results of his green scheme and the city's looming budget crisis.

The city is continuing to purchase a new fleet of vehicles that are designed to reduce greenhouse gases and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In fact, you may have noticed that APD sergeants are driving brand new E85 Tahoes. These new Tahoes are designed by General Motors to run on both E85 and regular gas.

E85 is a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. So what's the problem? A Tahoe running regular unleaded gasoline gets about 13 MPG in the city - running E85, the same vehicle gets about 9 MPG. In other words, E85 vehicles are about 69% as efficient as their gas powered counterparts.
In New Mexico, ethanol costs about 13% less per gallon than gasoline (E85prices.com). Comparing apples to apples, we're paying somewhere in the neighborhood of 18% more for E85 than we would for the same vehicle to burn gas. Many of you are thinking that you're willing to pay more to save the environment and combat global warming.

(Sidebar)
Have you notice that global warming has now become "climate change?" As if adherents to the consensus hadn't already blamed both warmer and cooler temperatures on global warming they've now begun to call global warming "climate change." We wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that this year has been one of the worst and coldest winters in a long time.

"Change" works either way and you don't get caught having to defend "warming" while record snows fall in the Midwest. You really don't need any more proof that "global warming" is a political movement not a scientific one than their willingness to change the name when it no longer fits the circumstances.
(End Sidebar)

The problem with saving the world for a mere 20% surcharge paid by the city is that we supply that premium with our tax dollars and it gets worse. Ethanol is subsidized by the government to the tune of $1.05 to $1.38 a gallon and it takes 1,700 gallons of water to produce that one gallon of ethanol. More importantly for those who are convinced that reducing greenhouse gas by reducing the amount of fossil fuels consumed, it takes over a gallon of fossil fuel to produce a gallon of ethanol (Townhall.com).

There are other consequences to Marty's march toward the green - our Eyes tell us it's having a direct impact on our safety. E85 isn't available everywhere and officers are forced to buy it rather than regular gasoline - that means more time out of service due to availability and the increase in consumption.

To reduce consumption (and we suspect cost), officers are now being told to turn off their engines when they're on a call. The problem here is that they can't turn off the equipment and radios that rely on the vehicles for power. Turn off the engine, kill the battery. The vehicle and its officer are out of service.

(Sidebar)
Our Eyes tell us that officers may want to take a look at page 46 of their new contract. It addresses the issue of take home vehicles. In short, the Chief of Police can take away all take home vehicles simply by notifying the union. Forty-five days later you're driving to work, even in emergency situations.
(End Sidebar)

AFD has switched to biodiesel in its fire engines. Like E85, biodiesel isn't readily available which requires engines to be out of service for an extended period of time. In addition, the engines weren't designed to run on biodiesel so the long term effects on the equipment aren't known.

In both of these cases the monetary consequences are obvious. But the more important consequence is the danger that the out of service vehicles place all of us in. How long will it be until someone loses their life because it's time for an officer to refill, or an engine needs more biodiesel? Or... has it already happened?

The Cost of Green

It starts with taxes and moves on to mandates; many of which have little to do with ensuring freedom, public safety, or any of the fundamentals of government but all of which cost us more and more money. The drain on our paychecks is undeniable and seemingly unstoppable.

Last year in the council decided it's time that we all turn green and soon it'll be time for all of us to start paying for the council's foray into social engineering. You see the council has decided that scientific consensus should translate into the rest of us paying for expensive 90% efficient heaters for our homes when when our current furnaces need to be replaced.

The ordinance (O-07-73) sponsored by Councilors Benton, Cadigan, and former Councilor and Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich, was passed unanimously last September and goes into effect in April.

Replacing that broken furnace is about to get more expensive in Albuquerque.

Requirements that go into effect April 1 call for homes to have 90 percent efficient furnaces. The rules apply to new homes or people who replace the furnace in their existing home.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

According to the Journal story, the city has mandated that you will have to be paying $400 to $900 more to install a furnace whether it's a new installation or a replacement; that's somewhere between 25% and 35% more than installing an 80% efficient furnace. What's interesting is that Comrade Benton tries to make a market argument (something he knows absolutely nothing about) to appease those of us who understand that we will be paying for his social agenda.

Benton suggested the cost of 90 percent efficient furnaces may come down.

"The market is going to change," he said. "People will start to get competitive with high-efficiency products as time goes on."

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

What?! What the #$@% is competitive about mandating high end expensive furnaces? Here's a refresher course on market economics, when choices are limited costs go up. When government mandates, costs go up. Councilor Benton is restricting the number and variety of heating units available by mandating a specific efficiency in order to reduce carbon emissions which have not been proven to have anything to do with global warming. The result is predictable - higher costs for consumers.

The folks over a Scott Ruch Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing and Electrical claim that the new heaters will save you money and make your house "more comfortable" and more evenly heated. However the savings according to the federal government, will average about $10 a month. In New Mexico that's probably no more than $30 a year, which means that it will take more than 13 years to pay for the increased efficiency and more likely 20 to 30 years. Your new furnace will probably need to be replaced long before the savings pay for the upgraded unit.

We also have a hard time believing that a new 90% heater heats a home more "evenly" than a new 80% model. Efficiency is a function of transferring heat from the furnace to the heated space rather than losing it through the exhaust. Even heating in a forced air unit would have more to do with air flow than with firebox efficiency.

Now let's take a look at the unintended consequences. Since the cost of replacing a furnace will be higher starting in April, there will be a rush on 80% (or less) furnaces. After April, people who weren't able to make the switch to a new 80% model will simply keep their old inefficient models as long as possible - a course of action that can even be life threatening.

In addition, some people will simply buy a cheaper model from a vendor outside the city limits and either install it themselves or have a contractor who's willing to "bend" the ordinance a bit and install the banned furnace. These are just a couple of the predicable unintended consequences - there are bound to be many more.

It costs a lot to be green and we don't believe that the citizens of Albuquerque should be forced to pay for the council's collective faith that man is at fault for so-called global warming. It's silly, it's foolish and it's an abuse of government power.