New tools to extend car mileage. Garmin has a new EcoRoute HD cable that plugs into your cards onboard diagnostics port (OBD II) and communicated via Bluetooth to their GPS navigation units.  Fuel flow, in take, oil pressure, throttle position, etc are send to the GPS for analysis and display.  This data is used by their ecoRoute software. ecoRoute HD will be compatible with many current and future nüvi models, including 1260, 1370, 1390, 1490 and 1690.

Garmin has free ecoRoute software for some of their nuvi GPS navigation devices that adds a “less fuel” option as a routing preference. When selected, the Garmin nüvi GPS will determine if more fuel efficient routes exist based upon road speed data and vehicle acceleration data for a given route.

It is compatible with Garmin nuvi 205, 705, 1200, and 1300 series of GPS’s. Amazon has most of these models on sale.

Got sick on an airplane flight?  It could have been the water.

The EPA has just published the Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR) to ensure that safe and reliable drinking water is provided to airline passengers and crew.  What prompted this was that in 2004, the EPA found all aircraft water systems to be out of compliance with the national primary drinking water regulations (NPDWRs).  According to the air carriers, it is not feasible for them to comply with all of the monitoring that is required in the existing regulations.

Subsequently, EPA tested 327 aircraft of which 15 percent tested positive for total coliform.  EPA considers this to be a high percentage of positive samples.  In response to these findings, EPA embarked on an accelerated process to tailor the existing regulations for aircraft public water systems.  In the interim, EPA placed 45 air carriers under Administrative Orders on Consent (AOCs). Until the final ADWR compliance dates, air carriers remain subject to the existing NPDWRs and AOCs where applicable.

It is great they are beefing up the system.  You can play safe by bringing an empty water bottle with you.  Fill it at the airport at water fountains located after security.

Gas prices are on the way up. It is logical that living in a city would reduce transportation costs compared to living in the suburbs.  You could ride mass transit, walk, or bike to work or to errands and restaurants.

A recent study by the Urban Land Institute quantifies the additional costs incurred in the San Francisco Bay Area by suburbanites. “Bay Area Burden: Examining the costs and impacts of housing and transportation on Bay Area residents, their neighborhoods and the environment.” It shows that there is a disconnect between where people work and where they live resulting in wasted time commuting and money spend on cars and gas.

San Francisco has a household median income of $66,523 and estimated monthly transportation costs of $792.  Moving to suburbs greatly increases transportation costs. Antioch $1311, Livermore $1281, Redwood City $1064, Novato $1246.

They arrived at the figures using block-level census household information and modeling factors such as population density and transportation options.

Live closer to work and you will also increase your happiness.

While buying some new tires, I was a sign saying that they used Nitrogen Inflation.  Time to look into it. The Get Nitrogen Institute would love everyone to fill their tires with Nitrogen.

“When it comes to tire inflation, nitrogen has many advantages over oxygen. With nitrogen tire inflation, improvements can be noted in a vehicle’s handling, fuel efficiency and tire life through better tire pressure retention, improved fuel economy and cooler running tire temperatures.”

Consumereports.org did analysis in 2007 and found that there were some benefits in lessening tire pressure loss, but very small ones.

“The results show nitrogen does reduce pressure loss over time, but the reduction is only a 1.3 psi difference from air-filled tires. The average loss of air-filled tires was just 3.5 psi from the initial 30 pressure setting. Nitrogen-filled tires lost an average of 2.2 psi from the initial 30 psi setting. More important, all tires lost air pressure regardless of the inflation medium, so consumers should check their tires’ air pressure routinely.”

Good to know my new tires have nitrogen but we’re not running out to keep them nitrogen inflated in the future.

Money Magazine has a good article on how to Cut your spending by $500 a month.  Many of the tips help benefit the planet while saving you money.  We’ve covered many of the tips in the past.

Some more interesting ones:

“Shop once a week. The more trips you make to the store, the likelier you are to buy on impulse because you see more tempting items. About two-thirds of purchases are unplanned; cut that in half to save $143 a month (if you spend $100 a week on groceries).”

“Go easy on dry cleaning. Cut the number of trips you make in half: 65% of clothes that are dry cleaned can be washed by hand or machine”

“Cut the cost of next year’s camp… Monthly savings up to: $297* … and other child-care expenses by signing up for a flexible spending account, a valuable employee benefit that hardly anyone uses.”

“Look, but don’t touch. In fact, maybe you shouldn’t even look. There’s a reason retailers lay out sweaters and shirts on tables like hors d’oeuvres: They know you won’t be able to resist touching them, and that if you touch them, you may not be able to resist buying them.”