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July 31, 2008
Ending the inflationary cycle
I have been so engaged in the move (truly the most harrowing one of my life) that I have barely been able to keep abreast of news developments, much less blog about them. But that did not mean that I missed Barack Obama's fascinating assertion about tire inflation. Via Ace, the exact quote: "we could save all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling if everybody was just inflating their tires."While it's being ignored by the MSM, I'm not ignoring it here -- despite the pressures of the most difficult move in the history of this blog! As it happens, I care very much about inflation. Especially tire inflation. My 1964 Ranchero (which I have taken back from aggressive WASPS) has had a serious inflation problem, and I have had to repeatedly put air in the tires to prevent the recurrence of slow leaks:
But that compressor draws plenty of juice, and it seemed to me that if I kept filling my tires that way, the electricity required to pump the air into them might cut into whatever offset the country would get from having them properly inflated, and it might not make up for the oil the Republicans are talking about drilling. So, based on the principle of THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY, I finally decided to do something to really address the problem. My tires are old, and suffer from slow leaks which aren't readily fixed. And with all the talk about inflation, I figured that replacing the bad tires might do more to save the planet from Republican drilling than would my continued (ultimately Sisyphean) cycles of inflation, and reinflation. So it was off to the Hub Tire Center for new tires. In this video I explain in full: As you can see, it is not cheap to buy tires. I don't mean to nit-pick, but I wonder whether anyone has worked out the economics of whether it would have been cheaper to just keep putting air into them. I don't know how much oil drilling I offset today, but I think I can truthfully state that I have slowed the inflation rate. UPDATE: My thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the link, and a warm welcome to all! posted by Eric on 07.31.08 at 11:56 PM
Comments
Barack Obama does not need to work tirelessly! How dare you speak of him thusly. The Obama's works are mysterious. The air he makes he makes by willing it to be so. Anyway, not to get all I, Pencil on you, but don't forget about the cost of the resources that go into that tyre. The metal that must be mined and refined into steel wire. The petroleum that must be mined to make the synthetic rubber. The cost of delivery, of storage, of inventory, of retail. Then the disposal of your old tyres... Amos · August 1, 2008 04:39 AM Obama is an airhead? I thought every one knew. M. Simon · August 1, 2008 11:02 AM Obama missed the easiest problem around when it comes to gas mileage. K T Cat · August 1, 2008 11:15 PM I figure you probably know your own problems, but did you make sure the slow leaks weren't wheel problems before putting on a new set? I'm guessing if the wheels are 40+ years old they might have a defect or two that can cause leaks. JorgXMcKie · August 1, 2008 11:54 PM Don't forget to factor in the effects of the old tires on the environment. I'm pretty sure you can't compost them. See the NY Times article from 1996: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E0DE1639F937A25750C0A960958260 DrRecyKill · August 2, 2008 01:00 AM Replaced 2x cars' tires + 1x motorcycle tire this summer. My budget is over-tired! I really had no choice, and boy, do they nail you for the little things - it's like US Air and soda. His tire leaks, and the gas he's putting in is air. djr · August 2, 2008 07:35 AM As usual, Michelle Obama has the last word: Barack Obama will require you to inflate your tires. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism about its effect on fuel efficiency. That you put down your divisions over how best to inflate your tires. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones about inflating your tires. That you push yourselves to be better inflators. And that you engage your tires in a meaningful way. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed...and underinflated. MarkJ · August 2, 2008 08:48 AM There's no way to win this one. Your old tires must be disposed of properly and it takes a lot of energy to transport them to a landfill, and even more energy to recycle them. Your new tires are manufactured by using a fair amount of petroleum and electricity. You could have kept your old tires and used nitrogen to inflate them. You wouldn't need an electric pump, just some nitrogen bottles. Of course, it takes energy to make nitrogen, compress it into the bottles, and transport them to your house. No matter what you do, it takes energy to do work. We could revert to the horse and buggy days, except for the methane issue, and the food horses require. We should stop griping and wait for technology to provide a real answer. Until then, enjoy your petroleum products! CR · August 2, 2008 08:58 AM Your website is failing to load in IE 7.0. You are having the same problem Instapundit just reported with siteminder. LGF has a report. Brian Macker · August 2, 2008 08:59 AM There's no way to win this one. Your old tires must be disposed of properly and it takes a lot of energy to transport them to a landfill, and even more energy to recycle them. Your new tires are manufactured by using a fair amount of petroleum and electricity. You could have kept your old tires and used nitrogen to inflate them. You wouldn't need an electric pump, just some nitrogen bottles. Of course, it takes energy to make nitrogen, compress it into the bottles, and transport them to your house. No matter what you do, it takes energy to do work. We could revert to the horse and buggy days, except for the methane issue, and the food horses require. We should stop griping and wait for technology to provide a real answer. Until then, enjoy your petroleum products! CR · August 2, 2008 09:00 AM Oynklent Green [OTC:OYNK] has developed a process for converting the dead bodies of corrupt politicians and trial lawyers into useful renewable biofuel. The same process could be modified to extract oil from used-up automobile tires. If every town of 50,000 or so had an OYNK oil-from-tires extractor, instead of costing money to dispose of old tires, it would make money. Energy is people! Alistair O'Finn · August 2, 2008 12:28 PM Here's the deal: If you put air in the tires you won't prevent the recurrence of slow leaks, you'll perpetuate them. john b · August 2, 2008 01:21 PM When Obama is inaugurated, you won't need to put air in your tires, the tires will breath deeply in the fresh spring air of his sunshine. Fat Man · August 2, 2008 02:16 PM Post a comment
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Do you not realize that Barack Obama is working tirelessly [cough] to make the very air that you so casually put in your tires?
You will get your comeuppance when President Obama makes wasting air illegal, as it should be.