the buzz log

Starting in the new year, you'll be able to breathe easy with your e-orders. That's because when you ship with UPS, you'll be getting more than a special delivery. You'll be getting cleaner air: Brown is going green.

In a first for the delivery industry, and with a nod to the scary-high oil prices earlier this year, UPS teamed with the EPA to trick out UPS trucks into eco-friendly hybrids. This electric hybrid runs so quiet, some drivers actually thought the engine had stalled at stop signs during road tests.

These silent, clean-burning vehicles will still look like the familiar brown trucks, but will reduce fuel use by 40 to 50 percent while also cutting carbon emissions by 30 percent. The trucks cost more, but with the economies on fuel-savings, the company estimated it can make up the expense within three years. And the technology could turn all kinds of gas-guzzlers like off-road vehicles, buses, and extra-large SUVs into fuel sippers.

The first of the clean-driving UPS trucks will hit the road in Minneapolis in 2009.

Drive, baby, drive.

Filed under: Business, Gas Prices, Environment

What goes up must come down. That's true of everything, including the Buzz. Take a look at the rises and falls during this past weekend.

Praying for a rise in buzz
The laws of physics dominate buzz as much as they do any natural phenomenon: What goes up must come down. But try to tell that to Barack Obama. His international tour—a trip through the Middle East and Europe, including a buzzy speech in Berlin—dominated headlines throughout the week, and the weekend news clips kept the spotlight acutely focused on the presidential candidate.

The website Politico's attempt to measure the impact of Obama's travels drew a healthy round of interest in the Buzzosphere. Was the trip enough to make the first-term senator appear presidential? It's too soon to see any results in the polls. Even if Obama's prayers at the Western Wall in Jerusalem were supposed to be private, we're sure his supporters couldn't have wished for more buzz.

For every Obama action, one should expect an equal and opposite McCain reaction. Rival John McCain chose to criticize where Obama didn't go on his travels, generating a parallel universe of online views. There's little doubt that the laws of politics hold as strong a sway as those of nature in the Buzz.

Praying for a fall in prices
The rise and fall of fuel kept mouses clicking and fingers typing this weekend as well. Those of us dependent on our wheels kept queries for "cheapest gas" in the list of most sought-after search results. And thanks to a two-day dip, when the price of a gallon of gas dropped below $4, U.S. consumers seem to be wondering if prayers and the teensiest drop in demand may yet have a gravitation pull on the price of petrol.

Filed under: Recaps, Gas Prices, Elections

Searches for "gas prices," "cheap gas," and "local gas prices" are charting record-breaking ascents in the Buzz. That's no big surprise. But those queries aren't the only ways folks are using the Internet to outsmart (or understand) exorbitant prices at the pump. Here's a rundown of some of the fastest-moving and most notable "gas" queries we've seen lately...

• "Gas scooters"—rather than filling the tank of a four-door sedan, some drivers are considering a lighter, zippier ride.

• "GasBuddy"—this webpage collects information on gas prices in the U.S. and Canada from more than 180 local sites. Type in your zip code and find out what the stations near you are charging.

• "Best gas mileage cars"—the Prius? The Mini Cooper? The Civic Hybrid? Let the Web guide you to a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

• "Current world gas prices"—you think $4 a gallon is bad? Try getting behind the wheel in Hong Kong or Copenhagen.

• "Locking gas caps"—though rampant gas theft has yet to materialize as feared, auto parts makers and retailers are reporting runs on gas caps that lock. In Search, lookups are spiking for "siphoning gas," as well.

• "Water in gas"—is it really possible to convert your car to a "water hybrid"? Some news sources think so.

• "Brown's gas"—according to BrownsGas.com, "Brown's Gas is a technology in which water can be "burned" as fuel." We don't claim to understand how this works, but searchers have certainly boosted traffic to many of the sites that do.

• "Gas price history"—unfortunately, it's been nothing but up-up-up for U.S. gas prices over the past years. If only we could party like it's 1999.

• "Gas-saving devices"—not all fuel-reduction gadgets are created equal. Judging by some of the results of this search, it's wise to do a little research before plunking your hard-earned bucks down on any old gizmo claiming to save you gas.

• "Gas-powered bicycles"—like "gas scooters," this query seeks alternate modes of getting about in a cheaper fashion. Vroom! 

Filed under: Gas Prices