[034]

Funny you should mention ethanol... Seems that one could run a vehicle pretty well on ethanol or methanol, with the only downsides being that you can't see the fire in the day time if it catches on fire... /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif Just have to get a special carb with gaskets that won't get messed up by the alcohol... /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif And since our farms are the most efficient anywhere, and our farmers are really hurting due to depressed prices, it would seem that this would not only help us get cheaper fuel but help them out of the hole they're in... /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif Just imagine the gas prices if Gore had gotten in as President... We'd be just like europe, paying $4-6/gallon or worse, per liter... Most of that being from taxes... /wwwthreads_images/icons/frown.gif

Tim "Sandman"

ORC Land Use columnist:
My February article on ORC
(I'm finally back)

 

[034]

Clinton didn't crumble to popular cries about all the BS he caused, and gore is almost an exact clone of Clinton except worse. They'd have screwed us so badly there would be no recovery. Funnelling all sorts of money into propaganda to make the public think things are bad here in the environment, etc... Without regard for the economy. /wwwthreads_images/icons/frown.gif

Ethanol and/or methanol, while not being as efficient a fuel as gasoline, are more environmentally friendly, plus there is an infinite supply of them (we can grow what we need, new crop often, sustainable fuel supply) get to keep internal combustion engines longer. Propane works also as a fuel, however it's more of a non renewable resource. You do end up having to run more, but on the other hand I'll bet it'll be a good move to do this, because the mideasterners get to keep their oil, our farmers make some money and our economy becomes more reliant on things in the US, and better under our control... Even biodiesel would work ok... But simply because they're renewable they make more sense, and the infrastructure for that would still likely be easier to implement than that for hydrogen fuel cells (next big leap)... Just some thoughts... /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif

Tim "Sandman"

ORC Land Use columnist:
My February article on ORC
(I'm finally back)

 

[034]

Actually, you're thinking of the old democratic party that's for the lower classes. The clinton/gore form of democrats don't give a crap about the lower classes. Look at all the industries that were shut down in the west due to over regulating them? Sawmills shut down, loggers not even able to selectively log the forests (which is unhealthy for the economy and the forests), among other industries that the democrats just crapped on... /wwwthreads_images/icons/frown.gif Not to mention their forest rules they imposed made the risk of catastrophic fires worse.. Oh, and about the environment... Concentrate on third world countries before you concentrate more on fixing what's here... We're already by far the cleanest nation on Earth. We are bumping up to something called "the law of diminishing marginal returns". This means that as we get closer to the margins (100% pollution free for example) the expense we incur in doing it (reducing pollution more) isn't worth the amount of benefits we get from it. For example, the jump from having no emissions controls on any business, to having let's say 90% of the previous pollution eliminated was not nearly as costly to get some very major benefits. They could do relatively simple things to reduce their pollution. Now they're at the point where the only way to reduce the pollution any farther is almost to shut the industries down (we can't do that), and we don't get nearly the amount of benefits that occurred from the major jump... In otherwords going from that hypothetical 90% pollution free to 95% pollution free will cost an insane amount more and we won't get nearly the same amount of benefits we did by reducing it to that 90% hypothetical level.. /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif And this is what forces smaller companies out of business (thus crapping on the small guy, and preventing more small guys from being able to profit, and causing employees to lose jobs)... So the democrats and the powerful environmental movement isn't really in anybody's best interest... At least anybody who likes forests and having jobs available anyway... /wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif

Overall power of vehicles running on ethanol or methanol can be very high.. I seem to recall formula 1 vehicles, as well as monster trucks running on "alcohol" and they're pushing upwards of 1500 hp... So as you can see, alcohol powered engines can still make some very serious power...

Tim "Sandman"

ORC Land Use columnist:
My February article on ORC
(I'm finally back)

 

[034]

I find the flying car thing very un-nerving considering the number of idiots who currently drive cars who we shouldn't honestly trust with operating even a vehicle staying on the ground... What happens when we need to have them read navigation charts and inspect their aircraft? Or even fly the thing? /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif Scary...

I'll post a response to the above items soon, it's the weekend, and I try to avoid thinking from friday night to monday morning... /wwwthreads_images/icons/laugh.gif

Tim "Sandman"

ORC Land Use columnist:
My February article on ORC
(I'm finally back)