New app provides green fuel map for the U.S.

Leonardo Academy's Cleaner and Green Fuels app is available for iPhone and Android. It maps sources for BioDiesel, CNG, E85, Electric, Hydrogen, LNG and LPG. The data originated with the Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center.

Natural Gas Vehicle Summit - Europe

How to Develop a Profitable & Sustainable Natural Gas Vehicle Market for Europe

October 24-25, 2012, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Brussels, Belgium. Register here.

Natural Gas Fleet Vehicles North American Congress - Oct. 23-24

The Congress will be at the Renaissance Houston Greenway Plaza Hotel in Houston, Texas. More information and registration are here. The conference is said to be "[t]he most comprehensive, commercially focused North America Congress entirely dedicated to natural gas for fleet vehicle applications with an agenda directly reflecting the entire spectrum of interests and experiences spanning from start up costs to infrastructure development and vehicle operations."

T. Boone Pickens Speaking To The Presidential Nominating Conventions

T. Boone Pickens explains the security risks that come with Saudi oil in a video entitled "Democratic National Convention."

The main concern is the oil from Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States moving through the Strait of Hormuz. About 17 million barrels a day move out of the Persian Gulf. Only about 2.2 million is bound for the United States.

That means our Navy, Marines, Army and Air Force are paying the price to protect the 87 percent of the oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz bound - mainly - for Europe.

If we can get on our own resources and trade imported diesel for domestic natural gas as the principal transportation fuel for heavy-duty trucks, we can say goodbye to those 2.2 million barrels a day and bring our service members home.

Here's his message to the Republicans.

Alvin Grimes, Air Collector

Alvin Grimes has been collecting air samples and has joined the American Lung Association's campaign for clean, healthy air.

Mr. Grimes with some of his air sample collection displayed.

The American Lung Association is offering a State Of The Air app that provides updates on your local air quality.

Natural Gas Truck And Bus Markets Expected To Grow

CalStart NewsNotes Blog reports on some positive indications in the sales of new vehicles of all sorts, including hybrids and natural gas vehicles.

Trucking powered by natural gas is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% between 2012 and 2019, and the market for natural gas buses is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19% during the same period.

The source article is here at NGTNews.

"The United States has the cheapest fuel in the world"

DCVelocity interviews T. Boone Pickens about the "Pickens Plan."

People think it's a free market for oil. It's not a free market for oil. OPEC sets the prices. Twenty million barrels come through the Strait of Hormuz every day. Only 7 percent of that goes to the United States. But we have our military over there to protect that. According to a study by the Milken Institute, we spent $7 trillion from 1978 to 2010 on Mideast oil. A great part of that was military spending, but it's still connected to the price of oil.

"[N]atural gas prices here are at $2.78, and in Europe it's $14, in Beijing it's $14 to $16, and in Japan it's $18."

Q: Do you have a realistic number for the size of the conversion potential?
A: Eight million trucks out of 250 million vehicles in America. Heavy-duty trucks use 20,000 to 30,000 gallons a year. That totals 3 million barrels a day. We import 4.4 million barrels a day of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) crude. So you can knock out 70 percent of OPEC oil by going to domestic natural gas for heavy-duty trucks.

Electric Buses

A story at NGT News refers to a report from Pike Research on the increasing popularity of electric buses. "Bus operators are interested in electric drive options because they offer environmental and energy security benefits, quieter operation, as well as fuel savings." But they cost more than diesel or CNG buses. China is the biggest market for electric buses now, and that's expected to continue in the near term.

In the meantime CNG/LNG is here and platforms from Light Duty to Medium Duty to Heavy Duty are available - the infrastructure is here....in the Coachella Valley. We have public fueling Stations in Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Thousand Palms, Palm Desert and Indio. LNG is publically available in North Palm Springs and will soon be dispensing in Thousand Palms at the Flying A Truck Stop. For more station location go to the Clean Cities Website - Alternative Fuels Data Center to locate a CNG/LNG Public Fueling Station near you. They are there now!