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Palmer, AK Car Consumer Discussions

CA steals (borrows) money from recycle fund

by gagrice on Fri Dec 04 16:01:07 PST 2009

So much for recycling. Just dump it all in the land fills. Or along side the highways. Another government Ponzi scheme fails: Loss of state payments forces closure of recycling facility BARSTOW • The elimination of the handling and processing payments the state pays to recycling centers caused one Barstow facility to close and may make times hard for the others. In July, the state cut 85 percent of payments used to reimburse local recycling centers for taking in bottles and cans because of a negative balance in the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund. Last month it eliminated the payments entirely. The fund is made up of unclaimed California Redemption Value deposits — the extra few cents people pay when they buy a soft drink, and are refunded when they recycle the container. In January 2009, the state considered borrowing about $131 million from the fund, according to H.D. Palmer, a California Department of Finance spokesman. At that time the fund’s projected balance was $81 million. In May the fund was projected to have a balance of minus $162 million, Palmer said. The reason for the negative balance is that people are recycling more bottles and cans and are buying fewer soft drinks, he said. The governor is working with the California Department of Conservation, which oversees the recycling program, to develop a fix and will submit it to the legislature next year. According to Chuck Riegle, vice president of public affairs for TOMRA North America, the reason for the negative balance in the recycling fund is because the state borrowed from it multiple times over several years. The date for repayment keeps getting postponed, he said. Earlier this month TOMRA and other recycling companies filed a lawsuit against the state over the eliminated payments. The Barstow TOMRA facility was one of about 40 other TOMRA kiosks that had to close, said Adrian White, president of TOMRA Pacific Inc. Statewide the company laid off about 67 people, he said. CA Ponzi scheme

Re: Motor Oil Tests [imidazol97]

by xwesx on Sun Oct 18 17:24:07 PDT 2009

1. Better? For me, only the standard 25,000 / 1 year OCI vs. the more typical 7500 OCI of other oils. Amsoil also has an oil with a 7500 mile OCI. You could probably look up research that indicates larger or smaller wear rings, etc., for different brands, but you always have to take those with a grain of salt because inevitably the tests are sponsored by one brand or another. From what I have seen, Amsoil and Royal Purple always score very high (or low, depending on the test!) in tests with comparable oils, but not always the best on any given test. All of the synthetics score better than conventional. 2. No, I change my oil annually simply because a UOA is, for me, cost prohibitive and the oil's manufacturer recommends annual OCIs. The oil is actually rated for 35,000 miles or 17,500 under "severe" conditions, but the filter is only rated for 25,000. I typically put around 17,000 a year on my vehicles using synthetic, but last year we had a long trip to Pennsylvania and back that put a lot of miles on the van. 3. I don't have a clue about the multilevel marketing. I know they have all of these titles for various dealers, such as "jobbers," "direct jobbers," "dealers," etc., but I don't get into all that mumbo jumbo. I buy all my oil using Amsoil's website, then pick up the product at the regional distribution center when I make a trip to the Palmer area. As I always drive through there at least once a year, it works out pretty well. Cost-wise, I save about $100 a year compared to conventional oil that I used to use; I spend about $60 per vehicle, which includes the filter and oil for the initial fill, and an allowance for additional oil added during the year (usually about a quart). It is no oil analysis, but I like that the oil drains (after a whole year) golden brown, only slightly darker than when I installed it, versus the tar black of conventional oil. I have not used other brands of synthetic, but I have quite a few friends who use Mobil 1 and they say theirs looks similar (brown, not black!) when they change the oil, but none of them use longer than 7500-mile OCIs. I would like to do a UOA, but there is no place local to do it, so it is pretty expensive between the shipping and cost of analysis.

lrguy44

by michaell on Tue Sep 22 07:06:36 PDT 2009

Michael, we are up here freezing in Superior - can you send up some of that tropical Castle Rock air? Don't you know we're on the dreaded "Palmer Divide"? I saw on the news that we may get 6-12" of snow with the next front. "Western and southern suburbs" - great. I'm so glad I've got the painters coming out next weekend to paint my house ...

Re: Did it! [kyfdx]

by xwesx on Sun Jun 14 08:07:09 PDT 2009

hahahah.... way to help him keep his accomplishment in perspective! :P I ended up at 36.3 on that tank I was tracking earlier, but that was a little better than the all-highway tanks on a recent trip to Palmer and back. So, I suppose I was better than it *could* have been.

Re: of course there is room... [m4d_cow]

by houdini1 on Tue May 19 07:55:06 PDT 2009

Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player are all very prestigious golfers with very good names...but they can't cut the mustard any more and go out and actually compete and win tournaments. The young guns have taken over, new names that most people haven't heard of. But they will. It's a changing of the guard and happens ever so often. Could the same thing be happening in the car business? The U.S car biz is certainly on the ropes thanks to Japan and Europe. And these two are now looking nervously over their shoulders at Korea, China, and India. If you want to stay on top today it will take a lot more than prestige and past greatness.... and that is good for all of us who love cars. If Japan hadn't showed up GM and Chrysler would be fat and happy today and we would all be driving $50,000. Dodge Neons and Chevy Chevetes while dreaming about a $100,000. Cadillac with beautiful blue velour interior and a one year or 12,000 mile warranty. :)

EPA helping more states with diesel issues

by larsb on Thu Oct 30 08:37:24 PDT 2008

Again, the EPA spending money on something they "hate" I guess: More retrofits (Atlanta, GA – October 23, 2008) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4, as part of the Southeast Diesel Collaborative, presented grant awards of $295,320 each to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources to establish state diesel emission reduction grant programs. These funds were awarded under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) and will include a portion matched by the state to fund the program to a total of $492,200. With this funding, diesel emissions are expected to be reduced by over 100 tons by the end of the useful life of the diesel engines affected. “EPA is proud to recognize the efforts of both North and South Carolina to improve air quality and protect public health,” said Jimmy Palmer, EPA Regional Administrator. “Emissions from diesel engines are a serious public health threat and environmental challenge, as well as a priority for EPA.”