Factors Affecting The Fuel Economy

There are many factual reasons why we are told the fuel economy is being affected, but like me, I’m sure most of you have your own reasons why you think our fuel econmy is being changed and affected so tremendously. First I’ll hit you with a some fact based reasons that are affecting our fuel economy.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) they have evaluated the impacts of our fuel economy and particularly the reformulated gasoline (RFG) using a variety of studies. This includes a $40 million dollar joint research program between the auto and oil industries. These studies involved roughly 4000 individual observations. The EPA has found that the use of any oxygenated fuels and RFG causes a small decrease (about one to three percent) in our fuel economy. The EPA has also determined that a vehicles fuel economy also depends on the energy content of the gasoline on which it runs. The result of this study and discovery matches what they expected based on the combustion theory. This discovery is also supported by some other similar conclusions that were found by the oil industry through their own studies, which were done in both laboratories and on-road testing).

Now enough with all the factual mumbo jumbo about what has been changing our fuel economy. I’m sure most of you probably feel the same way that I do on this matter, but I really feel that our presence in the Middle East has brought on the struggle that we have had here on fuel. We have been over in another country meddling in other peoples affairs and so our own country is suffering because of it. It is completely understandable that other people around the world need our help, but when those in our own country are suffering too, shouldn’t we be more concerned about our own citizens first? I’m not saying that having a shortage on gasoline or having fuel prices that are too high is at all comparable to people being murdered innocently in other countries, but when people begin to lose their jobs because they cannot afford to drive to work anymore this causes a chain reaction that ultimately leaves our citizens suffering because our countries leaders are more concerned about other worldly affairs rather than those occurring in their own nation.