2007 Choices: Flexible Fuel Vehicles

That's all well and good but I think people are overestimating just how much of an impact they'll have. Ethanol is cheaper but it also burns faster than gasoline so you're just going to be filling the tank more often. And, any savings you might see in fuel will be lost with food prices and other items going up to offset the higher cost of corn.

No, I don't think most people are overestimating. They're realists like you Steve.

I think you need to perhaps consider how MUCH IMPACT you and your neighbors WOULD indeed have, if you consciously made an effort to buy domestic energy, not OPEC.

E85 won't be THE ANSWER to all our problems by any means...it will be ONE OF MANY ANSWERS to get US off OPEC fuels, reduce the economic dependence upon Persian Gulf countries and Venzuela.

If we had ZERO oil interests in the Gulf, imagine if our money wasn't going there to fund violence?

If we had ZERO oil interest in the Gulf, imagine how much LESS military presence we would require there to protect our legitimate national interests.

Biofuels such as E85 and Biodiesel, Biomass and other non-fossil fuel sources will mean a MINIMUM of 20% reduction in foreign need over the next ten years.

- Better for the environment
- Better for our US economy
- Better to reduce military spending
- Better to fund FARMERS than HARMERS

I am not too educated on this topic, but it seems to me that this flex-fuel marketing spin is just that. When I recently looked online to locate a gas-station that provided ethanol based fuel for my friend, I was surprised to see that there were only a handful in my entire state (TN). Additionally I was very surprised to find out that the fuel does not provide gas mileage that is as good to conventional fuels. To even further disappoint me, I was surprised to find out that lobbyists (imagine) are pushing for corn crops and tax advantages for corporate corn farms to grow corn to be used for ethanol when corn is one of the lesser favored crops that can be used for fuel. And lastly, there are very few locations that can refine this fuel let alone distribute it and retail it.

It just seems to me that a government that is concerned about oil money going to foreign countries that could be snared for terrorism would think outside the box and divorce themselves from the oil lobby and oil corporation and oil money and push for a switch to an truly alternative fuel source and provide incentives to companies that develop such new technologies.

In the mean time, it would be nice if Congress would help stack the deck in favor of our smaller farmers so to keep them profitable. I still would rather see farms producing high quality and safe food within this country rather than having our farmers make fuel and food suppliers provide ingredients obtained from China.

Perhaps the information I have obtained is not accurate, but it is unsettling if true.

As a last point, I've always been astounded that US citizens would prefer to buy anything from overseas rather than from their own country, their own neighbors, their own citizens. Most likely fuel won't fall into that category.

Angelo, I understand your perspective, but Ethanol is a young industry and what you say is true of almost all young industries.

As for corn, it is just one souce used to produce ethanol. The real surge will come when cellulous ethanol takes off in the next few years. It makes sense to begin converting the fleet now in anticipation of this trend.

We have a little problem called global warming. This means we have an excess of salt water from the polar Ice Caps melting. Why dont we get off of our collective behinds and start using the excess of water? Salt water can be electrically altered into hydrogen. We have a little thing in the sky called the Sun. Its cost is no more than the glass we would have to produce to make the solar cells Lots of desert here in the US (Sand). Have you taken a drive across this country and seen the vast expanses of unused land that could be covered in solar cells and wind generators? As long as the Petroleum Cowboy is running this country we will never see the full potential of what alternative fuel sources can deliver. Think of the amount of jobs it would create here in America to build a new fuel infastructure. It would be huge and there would be no need for unemployment. We built a pipeline in Alaska to move petroleum why cant we tackle another huge project like an ifastructure for alternative fuel sources. Its all about the money petroleum is pumping into the pockets of the most powerful people. As long as we allow this to continue it will.

Bruce,

Good points. I'm not 100% with ya on the "Petroleum Cowboy" thing, but I'm tracking with you.

Angelo,

You touched upon the #1 reason why our addiction to OPEC fuel will take years to shake: convenience.

That's why federal fleets (including military) and business are now the early adopters on this issue. As it becomes more convenient to buy alternatives over the coming years, consumers will complete the paradigm-shift.

That costs big money. Independent ma-and-pa operations don't have the funds to bring E85 or Hydrogen to your door.

Let's face it, we consumers want fuel spoon-fed to us, right down the block. Satisfying that intense desire, you'll find fueling stations (infrastructure) are already in place - for OPEC fuel.

Heck, there are three CITGO stations located within a few miles of my home. Even though my very soul knows not to buy there, and I've sworn off Chavezuela from my debtor list, my Mini-me devilish craving for convenience says "but it's right heeeerrre, so closssssse John; stopppppp, stoppppp."

So, to counter the craving, I satisfy it in a most rewarding way. I turn in the next drive and grab a Wendy's Frosty at the drive-up window. Ahhhhh....so cool, so refreshing. It's not long till the hankerin' for Hugoil goes away. Then, I continue on to the right station. Phew, hypocrite-ic disaster avoided - for just ninety-nice cents US.

I'm tellin' ya, it works. I recommend purchasing stock in Wendy's as the alternative fuel paradigm shift continues. You'll thank me for that tip later.

;)

Convenience is everything with us Americans. Do you know that there is a fuel station that can be made and placed in every backyard in America that would produce hydrogen that would fuel your home and your car? Would it cost you up front? Yes it would but the technology is there. Does anyone understand that the technology of Hydrogen has been around longer than Petroleum? Do you understand that with some minor adjustments and materials in your car you drive right now could run on Hydrogen? Do you know there are no emissions except water from burning Hydrogen? Most people think the Petroleum industry would dry up if we didn't burn it in our cars? That is a huge false, think about everything in our plastic world we use everyday. There is still a huge market for petroleum even if we stop burning it in our cars. Would the profit margin go down? Yes but it would still be huge.
John do a little research on how much Our President has made from the Petroleum industry since he first took office and see how much he has made as the President of the United States and you will find where his intrests lye. Just my opinion but I was taugh that money talks and BS Walks. We need to find an alternative fuel source and tell the Middle East to take a flying leap.

Bruce, good points. Even the presidential quip I can't entirely disagree with. Hey, his father brought home the bacon through oil, which I have no qualms with, so I wouldn't say it's all about money - it's got a lot to do with family and friends too.

But we're all imperfect humans. By the way, President Bush HAS been pushing hydrogen quite heavily. He is very optimistic of hydrogen-fueled vehicles being a realistic, attainable goal in the near future.

Don't let his support for hydrogen become a reason for you to lose your passion for it though, OK?

Love your points on hydrogen. Please inform us more on those points - perhaps publish some articles, and feel free to post on www.biofuel.gather.com? This is why I'm writing on here, to get us all well-informed, so we can ACT.

You were taught right. Money talks and BS walks.

So, let's figure out ways for folks to profit from or SAVE from hydrogen.

- Let's figure out how we can DEMOCRATIZE energy itself. Produce energy at home, and sell it back to the electric companies? The "Electronet" is the term being used to describe that phenomenon. I love it.

Your a good man John!!!! I have a 1950 willeys pu that I am going to be doing some experiments on with regards to hydrogen. Have you seen how salt water reacts to being bombarded with microwaves? It burns at about 1500 degrees. Now we can have multli port injection with individual coils on each cylinder. What if we had individual microwave units on each cylinder and had a mixture of saltwater and air instead of Petroleum. There is no end to the posibilites.
My Father worked at a plant in Detroit Michigan called Carboloy. They made man made industrial diamonds using furnaces and giganic presses. They used Hydrogen in there furnaces that was produced on site at the company since 1960. It realy makes me crazy that we are still using petroleum to propel our cars and heat our houses. I will go to the Bio Fuel site and check it out. The thing is that most of the information I have is from books that have been produced by our government (US Department of Energy, Office of fossil energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Bruce, we need to get together brother. I want to see that 1950 Willeys pickup, and I've got a 2003 Dodge Ram that I'm totally willing to test out too.

Awesome. Maybe two hacks can change the world (just a little).

SO, they were making Hydrogen, in 1960.

There's a great site for biofuel & renewable resources - Colorado's National Renewable Energy Lab (Golden, CO).

Link for you: http://www.nrel.gov/

John & Bruce, I am SO on board with the topic of your conversation. I wish everyone else in this country was as well. It is really sad that with all of the alternative fuel technology & options out there that we are STILL relying on OIL the way we have been for years! I pray for the day when it is mandatory (yet cost effective) that we drive automobiles that do not produce harmful emmissions.
It is especially sad that even with GLobal Warming being a VERY real deal, the people in office still care more about their bottom line than about the overall state of the world we live in. I realize that the shift from oil will not be easy & it will probably cost more (at least in the beginning)...but it is worth it by far! I want my children to have planet Earth to call home...