Here are some interesting stories about what others are doing to conserve fuel. http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/24/pf/gas_gripes/index.htm I especially like the "Van Pool" and bio-diesel idea.
I like this thread in regards to alternate fuels although interlinking it with terror seems to make people crazy. I realize they are linked in many ways but I believe it hurts the alternate fuels cause to link patriotism into it when they are so many real and tangible reasons to support it. I also wanted to add the part that I was most impressed with in that special I watched. There was no loss of performance in either the hybrid (switched to electricity when stopped or in traffic), the hydro, or the cooking oil fueled van. In fact they all went plenty fast enough at 80 miles per hour plus. The only funny thing was the converted van sometimes smelled a bit like fried chicken but thats still a lot better then diesel fumes. (The guys wife said she sometimes got hungry riding in the van)
Lol, although that was pretty funny, it does remind me that one of the biggest issues with alternate fuels is a PR one. They are closely associated with hippies and Ed Begley Junior. The truth is they don't have to be tiny cars that go 4 miles an hour. I recently read an article on why they have not taken off and a lot of it has to do with their design. They tend to look like "future cars" and are designed to look different. It talked about how if the major car companies designed them as high performance, sleek vehicles there would be people lining up to buy them. Of course you need the support system like Germany has so that their is a hydro station always within 50-100 miles. That isn't as difficult as it seems. Instead we have the Ed Begley "official hybrid car"
With all the technology out there I am sure there is a way to build a car that doesn't use fossil fuel and can run faster and in a more efficient way than any car on the market... but the power of the fuel corporations is just too big to fight against.
It seems to already exist and be supported to some extent outside the US The problem with that is its not a republicans/democrats issue, its a politicians issue. Through their massive donations, fuel companies have stricken fear into all politicians and their re-election hopes. When a politician comes out to speak on the subject of alternate fuels, they get portrayed as a weirdo in the media, like they are talking about science fiction. Even the term "alternate fuels" has a certain imagery to it. They are more different than alternate.
Yeah, they used to have a quirky image (hence the prius photographed above - which is free in london for congestion charge) But this is no longer true. The new lexus LS600h is due for release and has a V8 (they reckon runs like a V12) Honda VTech engines are very fast and efficient. Ford Escape Full Hybrid "You won't have to sacrifice any of the power, room and capability" http://www.fordvehicles.com/features/news/detail/index.asp?id=1457 It looks like a Ford Escape, It smells like a Ford Escape and drives like a Ford Escape (only better). ----------------------------------- Our cars and SUVs combined are less efficient today than they were in the 1980s "Saudis are as happy as kids in a sandbox over the fact that soaring oil prices are giving them a windfall budget surplus estimated at $26 billion or more for this year." "Toyota uses its hybrid technology for its full-size SUV, the Highlander, and a Lexus luxury full-size SUV, only in part to increase the mileage - but also to increase the engine's power" http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050825/EDIT/508250329/1003 ----------------------------------- I doubt people will think you smell like a vegan if you drive one of these: http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosconsumer/0507/13/G03-245495.htm ----------------------------------- $3400 tax credit for some Hybrids in 2006 http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/12457622.htm biofuel, alternative energy and terms like that do sound uncool, one day oil will be the 'bio fuel' and 'alternative energy' will be Gas and coal Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are a while away yet, so Hybrids will have to be used whilst the hydrogen stations are set up (gas stations can install a big machine that generates the hydrogen itself, so there is also no need for delivery trucks or anything like that either. Profit margins for these oil (soon to be renamed 'energy' companies) will be huge. Its just going to cost them investment now, demand will drive the change.
Sure, when this thread was about terror and an email campaign, it got 70 replies in about an hour. Start talking about real ways to cut oil dependency and it dies. Thanks for all the links DA, I really enjoyed reading all of them.
We can not have you unhappy , so here it is: Overall U.S. Consumption U.S. gasoline demand is approximately 44 percent of the United States' petroleum needs. (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration) A big part of this 44% is also commercial transport. Who wants to fly with a plane that is using batteries?
So lets not let it. I have been riding my motorcycle non-stop for months now. When we do things to entertain ourselves, my wife and son, we walk downtown instead of driving. It's a lot more fun, good excercise and uses NOT GAS!
http://english.people.com.cn/200507/26/eng20050726_198224.html Interesting new way to stop these terrorists!!! I hope they develop it into a real big car though fuel efficiency (even if reduced to one-third of the mileage mentioned there) should be more than enough. I was a news researcher before, hence wanted to give this thread a twist and this is good news for all of us. Regards, Dilip Samuel
As so often in the past, inventions like this were cut of by the big players (oil giants), car industries and so on. Some times they bought patents with huge sums and strungulated the projects. Lets hope this time that the pressure comes from the people to go for it, without that its bound to fail again. Great find, thanks
you guys know as long as our goverment is run by people from the oil industry very little progress is going to made