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RE: ENERGY INDEPENDENCE: There's a biofuel called E85, that's only 15% gasoline, costs under $2 a gallon, and can run in existing cars with little modification.
There's continued excitement 'mongst the automakers and farm state folks over E85, a fuel that blends 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline as an alternative technology. (Much cheaper than developing new engines, because this fuel requires little modification of existing cars.)
Advocates say it's cleaner and, at about $1.79 a gallon, much cheaper than regular gasoline. And it's made from plants in the U.S.A., not the Middle East. Remember the famous "switch grass" suggestion in President Bush 's State of the Union address?
#1
#2Bio-diesal can actually be had for about .40 cents per gallon if you make it yourself. Mass production of bio-diesel should drive the price lower than that (in a perfect world). My father-in-law has a small trucking business and fuels his entire fleet with homemade bio-diesel. So Willie's a little late to for the prom.
#3He may have been a bit late to the prom, but he did make a grand entrance!
It really got me thinking that this was a commercially viable alternative.
Some of us city folk living in apartments would not really be able to concoct enough to fuel our Mercedes, and if one travels long distances, where does one get more fuel? Wesson or Crisco?
While E85 is an alternative for existing gas-burning vehicles, it is akin to a methadone approach for those addicted to oil and gas. I'm more interested in going cold turkey, so I won't be dependent on fossil fuels, period.
I have a couple of questions concerning bio-fuel:
Should I buy a diesel instead of a hybrid car?
What are the emissions like?
When should we expect more bio-fuel stations around the country?
In which companies should I invest? ADM?
#4Naturally Willie made a grand entrance, he's a SUPERSTAR! He's the Red Headed Stanger!! An IRS REBEL!!!
Seriously though Bio-fuels are commercially viable, if people and the industry want them to be. The bio-fuel/bio-diesel technology isn't new. Again the issue is making the gov't change it's focus on how the US is going to power the nation and the car's on the road. For instance, I have 1977 Toyota Landcruiser FJ40, which was gas powered from the factory. In top formit got about 15 MPG, on average. Not great. In 2001, I found out about an inventer named Somender Singh, from India. Singh made a simple modification to the cylinder head of gasoline engines that allowed for 20% greater mpg, an 18% gain in HP and higher compression, and more complete burning of fuel. I made this mod. to my Landcruiser, motorcyle and car. I was amazed! It worked just as Singh said it would. The mods cost me all of $200, in time and money for all 3 vehicles. When gas prices went above $2.70 last year I decided to convert my FJ40 to diesel and run the bio-diesel my father-in-law makes. The engine and accesories to do the conversion cost about $2000. I've already recouped the cost of the conversion in just 6 months. It costs me about $.40-$.50 a gallon to run my Toyota. My situation is somewhat unique. However the fact is, there are many people doing what I did. The fly in the ointment is BIG OIL. . .they're making billions doing what they do and it would cost them money to change over their processing and refining techniques. In the long run though it would be a workable solution. I've often thought that BIG OIL would eventually go to BIO-FUELS ONLY when the petroleum reserves dried up. That's the backup plan for them. . .oops, we're out oil now, so we're going to sell you bio-fuel for $4.00
a gallon because that's all we've got and YOU, Mr. Consumer have to have it. As for the emissions. . .the exhaust smells like french fries. . .and has much lower ozone volatility than petrol fuels, according to research I've read. The big payoff in bio-fuels, in my opinion, is political. It gets the US off the tit of OPEC and other dictatorships around the world that use oil as political muscle against us. It should put the US back in the drivers seat, stem the flow of cash to terrorists in the middle-east and lower carbon emissions significantly.
I think hybrids are a good idea in theory but I've read they have a higher overall maint. and enviromental costs at the current time. I think it's another gimmick to get into the consumers pocket. Most cars only cost a couple thousands dollars to produce. . .what you're REALLY paying for is the companies overhead and pension/retirement packages. I saw an article that compared a hybrid to an Cadillac Escalade and the Escalade seemed to be the more viable choice. I was actually very shocked by that and would want to look into that more before quoting it as fact. Consider this, I have a friend who built a kit-car, called a Tri-Magnum a few years ago. it's based on a motorcycle chassis and a custom frame. It puts any hybrid to shame. . .140mph top speed, great handling, 50+mpg etc. . all for less than $5000. If he can do that, IN HIS GARAGE, I have a hard time believing the auto industry can't build something like it for less. As for "bio-fuel specific" stations. . .I believe regular fuel-stations could pump bio-fuels right now. I don't believe anything special needs to be done. The tanker truck pulls up, puts bio-diesel in the stations underground tank. VOILA! Instant bio-diesel station. A "gas" station is nothing more that a big pump sitting on top of several big, underground tanks. Gasoline is much more volatile and dangerous than any type of diesel fuel. . .bio or otherwise. You can drop a lit match in diesel fuel and it won't ignite. If you do that with gas. . .BOOM!! Another difference is that petrol uses ingnition to start the burn cycle wheras diesel uses compression. Search for the mechanics on diesel engines. Again, I think what it boils down too is profit for big oil. . .How do you justify charging $3.00 plus per gallon for bio-diesel when it costs pennies to distill and market?. . . You can't justify it! In my opinion the only reason we don't have nationwide use of crop based fuels is because it would decrease those $400million pensions that the oil execs like to get.(EXXON)I mean did you see the pic of that guy? If I ever met him I'm sure I'd hate him. Smug, arrogant. . .and he's got the country by the balls! As for investment advice. . .my rule is 1/3 in savings, 1/3 invested in slow growth stock and 1/3 in real-estate. Preferably commercial. . .so you gain monthly income in addtion to equity. Hope this wasn't too much of a rant. . .it was fun though!! Best wishes to you all.
#5Thanks for this great info, Mike. I've quoted from it in a new article.
Willie Nelson has partnered to produce farm-grown fuel called Bio-Willie.
It started in Texas at Carl's Corner.
It would be great if the future of fuel were in the farms of America! Of course, as farmers all know, the yield and price is subject to weather and environmental conditions.
And then there are those subsidies...