Question 1:

Do some research and determine approximately how many gasoline powered vehicles there are in the United States as well as the average number of vehicle miles traveled (per vehicle) annually.

a) If the average fuel efficiency of these vehicles is 20 mpg what is the annual total number of gallons of gas consumed in the United States?

b) If fuel economy remains constant, but the average number of vehicle miles increases by 3% per year, how many gallons of gas will be required annually in the year 2035?

c) If average fuel efficiency increases to 75 mpg in the year 2035 and the total number of vehicle miles driven is 1/2 of what was driven in 2015, how many gallons of gas would then be required in the year 2035?

2. This question will use two primary data products:

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx...

https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/realprices/

To get an idea of volatility, look at the real time prices of gasoline and notice the sharp transition from June 2008 to January 2009. Also, in general, note that summer time prices are higher than winter time prices (set the real time price of gasoline to monthly)

Use the data available in the two links above to answer the following questions and document your process at all times.

a) Determine and report the average use of gasoline over the 3 month period june, july, and august for the years 2006, 2008,2010,2013, 2017.

b) Determine and report the average real time gasoline price (this is the blue line) during these same 5 time periods.

c) What percentage reduction in the use of gasoline was there from 2008 compared to 2006.

d) What percentage increase in the use of gasoline was there from 2017 compared to 2013.

e) From this information, comment on the sensitivity of American driving habits to the price of gasoline.

3. Research and report on some of the current practical and technical problems associated with the storage of hydrogen as well as ON board storage in the case of vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

4. Research and report on the Geothermal capacity of the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana). Identify any current or planned projects that are underway. Also, research the performance of the Geysers project Geothermal plant in California and explain why it is losing capacity over time.

5. Research and report on the total power requirements in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana) in units of Megawatts. How much of that power is currently in the form of hydroelectricity and how much of that power is currently based on wind?

From this, and given the potential of geothermal energy in this region, comment on whether or not it is feasible to remove all the hydroelectric dams in this region.