News Diesel Vs Unleaded - I Don't Get It

[anthony]

I know a fair bit about petroleum, the refining process, etc... and the thing with it, is that Diesel is the heaviest of the fuels and comes out first in the refining process. Its the dirtiest as well. Diesel has always been cheaper than unleaded.

Now though, because diesel is also good for the environment as it doesn't pump nasty stuff into it, unlike unleaded and gasolines, we now pay more for it. Its the cheapest to make, it has always been cheaper, but since the inception of carbon footprints and such nonsense, greenhouse gases, blah blah blah, they decided diesel is worth more because car manufactures are switching away from unleaded towards diesel.

It is just ridiculous that the stupid mentality is that to help the environment you must pay more to do it, instead of less.

Is it just me? Am I missing something? Diesel here is now $1.50 a litre compared to unleaded at $1.30 a litre. They want you to be green, yet punish you for doing so. Anything green costs more. I don't get it.

 

[catjudo]

I DON'T know much about petroleum or refining and I have frequently wondered why there has been a shift to diesel costing more than regular unleaded when for so many years it was always less expensive. Is it really that simple...charging more for it just because it's better for the environment?

Our current national average for regular unleaded is $3.77/gallon and diesel is $4.07/gallon. People here complain MUCH about our fuel prices...I can't imagine what kind of uproar there would be if they were having to pay the prices you are.

 

[anthony]

Yep... that's all its about. Diesel is good for the environment, so it is taxed much higher than unleaded, even though in the same breath, the Government will claim the push towards a diesel vehicle because unleaded is bad for pollution.

I don't really understand our Governments logic here, in that they are swapping completely over to hybrids as all Government vehicles, however; hybrids cause more damage to the environment due to parts and processing required to build them, than they will ever re-cooperate from the benefits gained using them. Never wrapped my head around that one.

IMHO, I think biodiesel and hydrogen are the future, not electric cars that require nasty batteries to store power, and then require charging from.... wait for it.... an electricity grid that is polluting the environment to create the power that you think your being "Green" by using with your battery (major pollutant).

It all drives me a bit more insane than I feel I already am at times.... :whistling:

 

[Deleted member 487]

"Going green" is a fraud and always has been.

 

[cherryblossom]

Honestly, being told to turn my lights off and use 'energy efficient' light bulbs pisses me off. The whole 'green' thing has gone completely mad in my opinion. Whether I turn off my lights and use candles for the next 20 years, will make sod all difference to the environment. Volcanoes world wide are pumping out more pollutant gases than I can ever offset (and don't even get me started on Asia's 'power production' and 'green' offset). My new 'energy efficient' (AKA give off f*ck-all light) light bulbs can't just be thrown in the trash at the end of their life, they have to be taken to a specialist unit due to the mercury they contain. So now I pay a fortune for my electric to light the bulbs that don't give enough light, so I have to turn on several lights, and lamps at night to be able to see to read. I pay more electric charges (because I need 3 bulbs on, to light my book up enough to read), then I can't just throw the bulbs away (because of mercury), so I have to drive to the tip in my car which uses petrol to dispose of my light bulb! WTF!! It's bonkers!! While China continues to build 2 power stations a week, I'll sit in a half lit room trying to squint at my book!! And I'm supposed to believe that I will help the environment - give me a break!!

Governments and oil companies are just getting rich quick, while we all get poor quick because we want to drive from A to B. There is no answer (because they're all greedy b'tards) because they all care more about their money than the environment :ninja:

 

[tangerinetrees12]

Wow, me and my boyfriend were just discussing this yesterday! I asked him the same thing you did, Anthony - If it's more fuel efficient and better for the environment, why are they charging more?! He said that they're charging more simply because they can. And they're gonna keep jacking up the prices until people start revolting. It's just corporate greed. And ridiculous.

 

[lovinbiker]

IMHO, I think biodiesel and hydrogen are the future, not electric cars that require nasty batteries to store power, and then require charging from.... wait for it.... an electricity grid that is polluting the environment to create the power that you think your being "Green" by using with your battery (major pollutant).

Have to agree with you fully here Anthony, I read somewhere that birth to death of a car like the toyota prius has much worse enviromental effects due to the batteries etc than any normal car. Electric cars are a joke just a gimic, same as energy saving bulbs!
LB

 

[KP the nut]

IMHO, I think biodiesel and hydrogen are the future, not electric cars that require nasty batteries to store power, and then require charging from.... wait for it.... an electricity grid that is polluting the environment to create the power that you think your being "Green" by using with your battery (major pollutant).:whistling:

I'd go for the hydrogen option.

Whilst we are at it can all new houses be built with solar panels and a grey water system. It really annoys me that whilst water is precious we use clean water to flush toilets.

 

[ronin47]

Diesel's better for the enviornment? That's news to me. I prefer to just take a bicycle anyway if I can.

Green is not always more expensive. The lady I worked for over the summer lives in a townhouse that runs off of solar power. Instead of paying an electric bill, the owners of the townhouses actually pay her every month for the extra solar power that goes into the power grid.

 

[anthony]

Diesel's better for the enviornment? That's news to me.

Yep, diesel doesn't actually pollute anywhere near as bad as unleaded or leaded, being leaded has lead added, and unleaded is further refined through what's called a cracker, which cracks the molecules to boost the octane of the fuel. This is very simply put.

Diesel, whilst it still will produce carbon monoxide, being the nasty, its is extremely minute compared to other fuels that have been further refined. If every vehicle ran on diesel, as an example, you would end pollution issues surrounding vehicle fuels, pretty much. As all diesels also use catalytic converters these days, refining this a further 90% +/- the output of diesel CO compared to an unleaded engine, is vastly different, let alone if you remove that further processing, the results change significantly.

Most of the pollution is also attributed to the first few minutes of a car being started, as the catalytic converter is cold, thus not functioning and most of the CO goes out the tailpipe. Again... huge different between CO output from diesel to unleaded.

Never got into those energy efficient light bulbs... we just use all low voltage lighting... our next place, we may swap them out for LED lighting... you don't get more efficient than those unless you don't use light.

 

[Nicolette]

To add insult to injury they are now saying on the radio that fuel will rise up to 15cents per litre next week simply just due to the Easter holidays.

 

[anthony]

Yer... tell me they aren't just greedy when fuel goes up for holiday periods, then drops again immediately afterwards. How do they get away with that crap?