That, my combustion engine loving friends, is what I paid today for a full tank of gas in my SUV. Truly.

Of course I had to wait in line to do it…

Unlike a gas line of the 70s (oh how the environmentalists want to see those again) people were happy to wait. E85 (85% ethanol) was $1.85 a gallon and regular (10% ethanol) was $2.50. Who wouldn’t wait for that???

My wait wasn’t too bad, though… I was close to the front. We were only there for about 25 minutes.

Of course a cheap gas event draws a lot of people. There were plenty of police on hand to manage the traffic.

This lucky guy got to point people to the back of the line. All the way back. After a while I don’t think he could actually see it…

Here’s a bit more evidence of the police presence…

The deputies were actually standing at the pumps. As were people to pump your gas, run your money and swipe your card. It was all about volume and traffic. The event was incredibly well organized, though. They even “tagged” your car if you were getting E85. Don’t worry, it was a magnet. (Now it’s a frisbee that can stick to the fridge.)

We were prepared. The girls had snacks and sippies. And “CARS” was in the DVD player. (Yes, it was fitting as this whole thing was a promotion for the Iowa Corn Indy 250. Yes, it’s a real event.) And while you waited there was Edgar, the “E” Man, to entertain the kiddos. (And if you visit their Flickr slideshow you will see me in photos 56 (our truck being visited by Edgar), 62 & 63 (I got a high-five for using E85).

Caelan was less than thrilled when he visited our truck.

Like I said, the event was very well organized and the line moved quickly. With one way in and one way out

there weren’t too many traffic problems. Well, except for people who had to back in to their pump and almost hit others. I’m not saying that happened to me, but I’m not not saying it, either. The gal who pumped our gas was incredibly kind and talked to the girls while the nearly empty tank was filled. For $31.01.

Not that I’m rubbing it in or anything…

I have some questions for people who do believe that man is changing the climate.
First, if man is the main driver in climate change, why are all of the other planets in the solar system getting hotter when Earth gets hotter and cooler when Earth gets cooler?
Second, for those that are skeptical that the Sun isn’t one of the main factors in our planet’s climate – why does it get cooler at night? Why do we have seasons when Earth oscillates?
Third, of all of the “greenhouse” gasses in the atmosphere, all of mankind’s endeavors are responsible a very small percentage. What, exactly will making all of us energy poor do to help?
Fourth, CO2 is necessary for plantlife and the more they have, the better they do. So much so, that many greenhouses put 1000% of the “normal” level of CO2. What is so bad about having more trees and plankton absorbing the 1% or 2% extra CO2 caused by my heavy breathing?

Man-made Global Warming – The Debate is not over!

Mainly the whole “Global Warming” hype is about Al Gore cashing in and a way for the UN to tax, regulate, and otherwise control, err, I mean guide us to a better life. Me, I believe that the current state of energy is about 30 years out of date. And the number one reason that we are in this state is that Congress really, really likes the tax revenue from it.

However, there are other ways to live a lifestyle that includes computers and televisions, but without a utility bill. Here’s a few I found recently.

A bunch of good information on energy

A product that gets more energy from the sun

Next generation solar. Uses mirrors to focus light, thus reducing the amount of expensive collectors and silicon needed.