Petrol / fuel should fall to £1 a litre before Xmas

Diesel is a funny one- it's driven as much by refining/processing demand and capacity than petrol which tends to stay with the oil price alone.
 
Didn't drop below a pound in our area :( it would be lovely to fill it up for less than £100 just once please ....

#firstworldproblems
 
dejongj said:
Didn't drop below a pound in our area :( it would be lovely to fill it up for less than £100 just once please ....

#firstworldproblems
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Morrisons, Sainsburys and Tesco are 99p/L for unleaded nationally.
 
jonbeeza said:
Try mixing your diesel with Biodiesel, you might be able to get the price to an average of 75/85p per litre or even less. Might look into it myself :)
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Of course, then there's all those fields of Maize we're growing for the biodiesel that are left bare at this time of the year...
Increasing water run off from the fields...
leading to all the flooding in our Northern City Centres.

It seems we're not doing a very good job of managing the environment :(
 
Phil V said:
Of course, then there's all those fields of Maize we're growing for the biodiesel that are left bare at this time of the year...
Increasing water run off from the fields...
leading to all the flooding in our Northern City Centres.

It seems we're not doing a very good job of managing the environment :(
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If only the green lot would have let us go nuclear....
 
Phil V said:
Of course, then there's all those fields of Maize we're growing for the biodiesel that are left bare at this time of the year...
Increasing water run off from the fields...
leading to all the flooding in our Northern City Centres.

It seems we're not doing a very good job of managing the environment :(
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I think if you're going to make a claim like that, Phil, you really ought to provide a reference to the science behind it.
 
StewartR said:
I think if you're going to make a claim like that, Phil, you really ought to provide a reference to the science behind it.
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Actually I thought I'd do some research myself. This article from the Guardian last year does a good job in spelling out how maize production can be potentially harmful to the environment.

"How a false solution to climate change is damaging the natural world" - http://gu.com/p/3ngc2

But to blame maize production for the floods would require data on where maize is being grown that it wasn't previously being grown, and I haven't been able to do that. Anyone else?

PS Maize is grown for biogas, not biodiesel, so it's completely off-topic here.
 
Fusion powered cars would be amazing. Virtually no risk and and powered for the lifetime of th vehicle at no recurring cost.

Much better than recycled dinosaur.
 
That reminds me. Must top up the flux capacitor...
 
StewartR said:
I think if you're going to make a claim like that, Phil, you really ought to provide a reference to the science behind it.
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The original pieces I read were the BBC and Guardian, so not so sure how that'd count for much (clearly a lefty agenda) :eek:

Here's a govt site though, and Soil Association

And clearly it's not largely agri diesel, but it is bio fuel amongst other things.

Edit: crossed post
 
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StewartR said:
Actually I thought I'd do some research myself. This article from the Guardian last year does a good job in spelling out how maize production can be potentially harmful to the environment.

"How a false solution to climate change is damaging the natural world" - http://gu.com/p/3ngc2

But to blame maize production for the floods would require data on where maize is being grown that it wasn't previously being grown, and I haven't been able to do that. Anyone else?

PS Maize is grown for biogas, not biodiesel, so it's completely off-topic here.
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Add to that, in 2013 less than 1% of UK arable land was used for growing plants for biofuel production, I doubt it has miraculously increased that much, and in 2014, maize growth for biofuels only accounted for 0.5% of UK arable land.
All we need now is proof that those fields surrounds all the flooded northern cities. ;)
 
99.9 @ local Asda if I buy a litre and pay with a pound coin how do they give me change?
 
nilagin said:
All we need now is proof that those fields surrounds all the flooded northern cities. ;)
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Maybe this answers my own question and this is total maize production not just for biofuels.
http://www.ukagriculture.com/crops/grain_maize.cfm
"Whilst it is has been accepted that the UK climate is barely warm enough to grow maize for grain, earlier maturing varieties and rising summer temperatures have renewed interest in the crop. In the last few years around 2500 hectares have been grown annually, mostly in the far south of the country."
 
Wee man said:
99.9 @ local Asda if I buy a litre and pay with a pound coin how do they give me change?
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You won't be able to buy just one litre. There is a minimum, it used to be 2 litres but I think it may have changed. Simple solution, put in fuel to an amount in price not quantity of fuel.
 
Wee man said:
99.9 @ local Asda if I buy a litre and pay with a pound coin how do they give me change?
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They don't have to. Standard currency rules apply. They can round it up. Likewise when you buy six litres they have to round it down ;) it's neither here nor there but cheaper than a pound.
 
nilagin said:
Maybe this answers my own question and this is total maize production not just for biofuels.
http://www.ukagriculture.com/crops/grain_maize.cfm
"Whilst it is has been accepted that the UK climate is barely warm enough to grow maize for grain, earlier maturing varieties and rising summer temperatures have renewed interest in the crop. In the last few years around 2500 hectares have been grown annually, mostly in the far south of the country."
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Most maize is grown for silage rather than for grain. Growing it for grain requires warmer temperatures, hence the reason why it's mostly in the far south. Bit it can be grown for silage further north, and it's the silage-grade stuff that's used for biogas.
 
Phil V said:
The original pieces I read were the BBC and Guardian, so not so sure how that'd count for much (clearly a lefty agenda) :eek:

Here's a govt site though, and Soil Association

And clearly it's not largely agri diesel, but it is bio fuel amongst other things.

Edit: crossed post
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The BBC and Guardian articles are about Somerset, where it's reasonably clear that farming practices have contributed to the propensity for flooding, but not maize specifically.

The other two articles highlight the fact that maize production leaves soil more bare and prone to water runoff than other crops, but they are not geographically specific.

It's interesting stuff, to be sure. I think your wider claim, that the people who you'd hope would be looking after our countryside aren't necessarily doing a very good job, is sound. But I don't see any evidence that growing maize for fuel is in any way contributing to the current floods, which was your headline.

PS Maize is used to produce biogas, which is burned in power stations. Biodiesel is most commonly produced from rapeseed, at least in the UK. Not the same thing at all, and nothing to do with the price of automotive fuels.
 
StewartR said:
The BBC and Guardian articles are about Somerset, where it's reasonably clear that farming practices have contributed to the propensity for flooding, but not maize specifically.

The other two articles highlight the fact that maize production leaves soil more bare and prone to water runoff than other crops, but they are not geographically specific.

It's interesting stuff, to be sure. I think your wider claim, that the people who you'd hope would be looking after our countryside aren't necessarily doing a very good job, is sound. But I don't see any evidence that growing maize for fuel is in any way contributing to the current floods, which was your headline.

PS Maize is used to produce biogas, which is burned in power stations. Biodiesel is most commonly produced from rapeseed, at least in the UK. Not the same thing at all, and nothing to do with the price of automotive fuels.
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I know - I wasn't being that specific - food for thought though, I'm not a fan of biofuels, because let's be honest - feeding humans should take precedence.
 
Phil V said:
I know - I wasn't being that specific - food for thought though, I'm not a fan of biofuels, because let's be honest - feeding humans should take precedence.
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growing plants simply to burn seems just "wrong" (ok i guess tobacco/weed is burnt but not as fuel) - there should be far more wind farms and other renewables to allow truly "clean" vehicles
 
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We're kidding ourselves if we think we can in any way manage the environment.
Still, it keeps the worriers occupied. :-)
We're simply along for the ride.

Oh...unleaded still under a quid here :-)
 
viv1969 said:
We're kidding ourselves if we think we can in any way manage the environment.
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I blame the moon landing TBH, the moon's delicate orbit was thrown out of kilter, with that damned lunar landing / take off thrusters,
and men leaping about on it.
If God had meant us to land on the moon, he'd have made it closer and more hospitable :D
 
Cobra said:
I blame the moon landing TBH, the moon's delicate orbit was thrown out of kilter, with that damned lunar landing / take off thrusters,
and men leaping about on it.
If God had meant us to land on the moon, he'd have made it closer and more hospitable :D
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With free coffee and a pub. :-)
 
OldCarlos said:
Monstrosities that pollute some of the most beautiful scenery in the world! (+ they aint exactly `carbon neutral` to produce)
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Not to mention they only operate within rather narrow wind speed parameters.
I don't find them ugly though :-)
 
basegreen said:
Fusion powered cars would be amazing. Virtually no risk and and powered for the lifetime of th vehicle at no recurring cost.
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Decommissioning/recycling at the end of their useful life might be more problematic than at present?
 
OldCarlos said:
Decommissioning/recycling at the end of their useful life might be more problematic than at present?
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Not necessarily - they would likely be self contained power units which could be pretty easily removed/stored. Unlike fission, there's no nasty by products either.

Long way off, mind you :)
 
viv1969 said:
Not to mention they only operate within rather narrow wind speed parameters.
I don't find them ugly though :)
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Since Ford installed theirs at Dagenham, the number of days they aren't turning are very few. The electricity can also be stored for the days they don't operate. Shame the observation platform was never installed on the most recent one as originally intended.
 
OldCarlos said:
How do they `store` their electrickery?
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In giant none polluting, easily recyclable batteries of course.
Being Ford, I'm sure they have loads laying about too.
(With or without acid)

:D
 
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