Fuel

Self-described "weather nut" Richard Lelonek of Baltimore watches local rainstorms on weather radar. He says they often seem to split as they reach Baltimore, "almost as if a wall were present," then merge again beyond the city. If so, "global warming surely would be the cause," he says. I don't see how. Local "heat island" warming of urban streets and roofs in summer can fuel convection - rising hot air - over cities, increasing downwind rainfall. But I'd bet what you're seeing is just some quirk of local radar echoes.

NEW YORK -- AMR Corp. earned a surprise fourth-quarter profit and Southwest Airlines Co. said its net income fell, demonstrating how fuel-pricing decisions dictate carriers' finances even when their planes are full and fares are rising. American Airlines parent AMR posted a $17 million profit compared with a year-earlier loss as its jet-fuel bill slid 8.5 percent. Southwest's profit dropped 19 percent on a 41 percent jump in fuel spending. Fuel expense rose at Southwest, the most profitable U.S. airline, as contracts for locking in prices also increased.

Have no fear for the resilience of the automotive industry. It has confronted the ominously obvious and said: Poppycock. Gas prices are soaring again toward the high discomfort zone. Detroit's reliance on energy hogs hurt sales enough to drop longtime global leader General Motors to second place behind more fuel-efficient Toyota. Wasting fossil fuel is now viewed as a threat to national security as well as environmental health. And the technology to substantially ease the problem lies moldering on the shelf.

General Motors Shares fell $2.48, or 8.5 percent, to $26.79, the biggest drop in more than two years on concerns that 2008 industry sales may slide and the U.S. may adopt tougher fuel-economy standards for light trucks.

JERUSALEM -- Israel declared the Hamas-run Gaza Strip to be "hostile territory" yesterday, setting the stage for possible cutoffs of fuel and electricity, and overshadowing a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to prepare for a November peace conference. Israel did not say when it might cut the flow of power or fuel to the impoverished coastal enclave. A statement from the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said his government would study the legal ramifications before imposing such sanctions and seek to avoid a humanitarian crisis.

City Council unanimously backs repeal of death penalty Baltimore's City Council weighed in on one of the most contentious issues facing lawmakers in Annapolis this legislative session by voting unanimously yesterday to support a proposed repeal of the state's death penalty. The nonbinding resolution has no effect on the law, but supporters say it shows the General Assembly that Baltimore officials are united in supporting repeal. Gov. Martin O'Malley, the city's mayor from December 1999 until January of this year, also supports repealing the death penalty.

As the German-owned Lehigh Cement Co. prepares for growth at its Union Bridge plant, company officials hope to gain permission soon from Carroll County commissioners to permanently store an alternative fuel source and to expand mining at a higher-quality limestone quarry in nearby New Windsor. The county commissioners said they are close to approving an amendment allowing Lehigh to continue storing treated sewage sludge on its grounds. Lehigh officials said theirs is the first cement plant in North America to burn the pelletized sludge, known as biosolids, as an alternative fuel to power the plant's cement kiln.

With gas prices hovering near $3 a gallon, that bottle in the auto parts store or gadget on a Web site that claims to "improve fuel economy by 20 percent" can sound awfully enticing, but federal regulators caution consumers not to act too quickly. A recent consumer warning from the Federal Trade Commission showed that gas gadgets such as air bleed devices, mixture enhancers and fuel additives rarely pay off. In fact, they're 0-for-93. The Environmental Protection Agency's Ann Arbor, Mich.

Two heavy-rock bands promoting new releases -- Fuel and Trapt -- perform at Rams Head Live tonight. Famous for the songs "Shimmer," "Hemorrhage" and "Innocent," Fuel recently released Angels and Devils. California-based Trapt released a live album earlier in the year. Rams Head Live is at 20 Market Place. Tickets are $24.50. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Call 410-244-1131 or go to ramsheadlive.com.

Congress could be within days of approving an increase in vehicle fuel-efficiency standards for the first time in more than 30 years - if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decides she's ready to take on the fight among her fellow Democrats. Granted, it's likely to be a messy business. None of the options for delay is more promising, though. They simply brake the momentum of last month's historic Senate vote in favor of higher mileage requirements. If Democrats are to deliver on their pledge to advance America's energy independence, demanding more miles per gallon is by far the quickest, cleanest, most sweeping measure they can take.

WASHINGTON - -The popular "cash-for-clunkers" program in which the federal government put up $3 billion to reward car owners who traded in older vehicles for newer, more fuel-efficient models, will end Monday evening, according to the Obama administration. The program, which offered rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 to car buyers, proved wildly popular. The initial $1 billion in funding was snapped up so fast that Congress swiftly approved an added $2 billion before leaving for its August recess.

General Motors Co. said Tuesday that its long-awaited Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid is expected to achieve fuel economy of 230 miles per gallon in city driving. That would give the Volt, which is expected to arrive in showrooms late next year, by far the highest fuel efficiency rating of any car rated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The current EPA mileage leader is the Toyota Prius hybrid, which is rated at 50 mpg in combined city-highway driving. The Volt is designed to run on electric power only for about 40 miles, after which a small gasoline engine kicks in to recharge the battery, giving it a range of more than 300 miles.

For years, I have suffered with high expectations. If the car I bought in 1979 got 30 miles to the gallon, if the fuel-efficiency was that good back then, didn't it follow that, with technological advances, a similar car purchased by 1999 would be getting 50 - and by 2009, maybe 60 - miles per gallon? Wouldn't there have been a steady progression in fuel efficiency for all makes and models, including minivans and SUVs? Wasn't that what Americans wanted? John Davis, the host of Maryland Public Television's MotorWeek, has taken my questions and explained why this didn't happen: SUVs happened, trucks happened, cheap gas happened.

Those eager to take advantage of the cash for clunkers program today will need to idle those plans for a little longer. The government program applies to new vehicles purchased starting today, according to the legislation. But that legislation was signed into law only last week, and government officials have until July 24 to finalize the details and get the program running. Meanwhile, the National Automobile Dealers Association is advising its members to wait until regulations are in place before giving away federal cash incentives, or risk not getting reimbursed by Uncle Sam. The cash for clunkers program, officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System, provides $3,500 or $4,500 off the price or lease of a new fuel-efficient vehicle if consumers trade-in an old gas guzzler.

Joe Fitzpatrick has thought about replacing his 13-year-old Buick for months, but might hold off a little longer to take advantage of a new government program that will give him as much as $4,500 to trade in an aging gas-guzzler for a new, more fuel-efficient ride. The cash incentive means the Towson resident, who is 62, will likely add some extra features to his new car like a navigation system, Bluetooth communication system or heated seats. "More gingerbread on it," he says. Congress created a "cash for clunkers" program last week as part of a military spending bill that President Barack Obama is expected to sign.

Another example of Baltimore corruption Tuesday night the city school board hired its departing chairman for a newly created, high ranking position that will make him one of the highest paid employees of the system, based on the recommendation of the schools chief whom he helped hire. The job was not announced and did not exist previously, and the departing chairman is a real estate developer with no degree or previous experience in education. This does not pass the sniff test. The Baltimore Sun has this story right next to one in which the Sunpaper reports a bunch of people in city government and county government are taking cars home.

On the average day, Hugh Pocock burns just under half of the 8 pounds of food he eats and wastes the rest. The process of uncovering this specific bit of information about his own machinery may not be breakfast conversation. It involved meticulous weighing of all that went in his mouth and all that came out the other end for 63 days, calculating the difference and logging the findings. Pocock was not getting even with his wife for nagging him about leaving the seat up. Nor was he responding badly to potty-training his son. An artist and professor at Maryland Institute College of Art, he wanted to learn specifically what it takes to fuel his body and, more globally, explore man's relationship to the production of energy and the use and waste of natural resources.

Lore Rosenthal doesn't buy plastic bags anymore. Or pa- per napkins. Or fancy packaging when she can help it. She doesn't use her dishwasher or a big burner on her stove when a smaller one will do. She's aware of how long the water streams from her faucet. And how long the heat pumps from the oven. Rosenthal, a sign-language interpreter from Greenbelt, just wants to live as green as she can. "I am striving for a sustainable lifestyle," she says. "I want to reduce my carbon footprint and my ecological footprint."

Market incentives often aren't enough In his column "New way to save the bay" (Commentary, Feb. 12), Robert Wieland suggests that a new approach must be taken as an alternative to standard command-and-control environmental regulations. While I believe that market-based measures can play an important role in restoring the Chesapeake Bay, I also believe that regulation has an important role to play. Aviation offers a clear example of how this works. Today's aircraft fly three times farther on the same amount of fuel than planes did 40 years ago. Because the amount of carbon dioxide emitted is a constant multiple of fuel burned, this equates to about a 70 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emitted per passenger-mile.

TIP 26 Better driving habits can keep your car running longer If you've had to put off buying a new car, you might be thinking instead of how to get the most life out of your current vehicle. Start by slowing down. That's one tip offered by the Environmental Protection Agency on ways to conserve gas and increase gas mileage. The EPA says aggressive driving, such as speeding and rapid acceleration and braking, can lower gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town.