Monday, April 03, 2006
David S. Question
What do you know about alternative fuels? Do we really have alternatives to oil? What problems do alternative fuels put on our society? Is it cost effective? What are some of the advantages and/or Disadvantages? Please respond by e-mail at David.Schnepper@uap.com or posting response.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Alternative sources of energy are out there (both discovered and undiscovered) but a combination of economic feasability and politics have put them on the back burner for far too long. People in Europe have long been familiar with biodiesel cars that get 40-50 mpg but the oil industry's powerful lobbyists have kept those away from America for the most part. Hybrid vehicles are pointed towards getting the most out of a costly gallon of fuel, but adding solar power to keep those batteries charged would stretch it even further. Solar power itself has been around for years, but its high costs have kept it out of the main stream. Rising fossil fuel costs will make solar power even more attractive, as evidenced by Honda's recent investment in a multi-million dollar manufacturing facility out in California. As with any other technology the cost is only going to come down as higher demand spurs higher production; look at the price of a DVD player now compared to five years ago. I don't think we are in over our heads with this problem. I just think we have been a little sluggish to adapt to our changing circumstances. People don't like to change but eventually we will have to come around to alternatives to oil.
James Koltz
I don't know much about alternative oils, but if it will save us money, and is good to the environment, than i think we should use it. I don't know if we have alternatives to oil, it's a subject that I never really gave much thought or did research on. I saw a report on the new the other day that said "other countries are already using alternative oils that are partially made from corn." They also said, "the U.S. probably won't get access to this oil for maybe about another ten years."
Beverly Burnside
yes, i do belive that alternative fuels should be used more, expesally in the power industry. I belive that nuclear energy is the future for power production. I belive that nuclear energy is very safe alternative and should be used more.
Yes, we do have alternative to oil. We have several alternatives to oil. For example we have nuclear energy, wind, solar, ethonol, etc.
Alternatives will allow us to more effiently use our reasorces and have better and cheaper energy, and smoe alternatives are renewable.
..... to be continued
nick
I personaly dont know that much about alternative fuels, however I know that there are many different ones, such as ethonal, elictric hybrids, hydrogen, solar power, but none of these are truely effective or clean. If the government would step in and help the companies that are studying these new alternatives then we could find better alternatives to gasoline and diesle.
John Maxwell
I don't know a whole lot about alternative fuels..but I know they could save us money. So, I think we should switch because if gas prices keep going up I'm going to be walking. The enviroment will never be clean and there will always be debats about what is good for the enviroment and what isn't. We have alternatives such as solar power, wind power, and nuclear energy, but it might be years before we switch over.
Tiffany Hartke
I think there are more alternatives out there then we realize but they may not work in the equipment and engines we have now. Those would all have to be replaced, and that would be an inconvience to everyone, so most people would carry on as usual. Things that have come out, like ethanol, are making slow advances by putting a portion of it in our current fuel. However, some older cars don't seem to run on it very well. It is replenishable, but with the small amount we are producing, it isn't making a big cut in prices. Until we have an alternative that is cheaper, convienent and doesn't cause problems, people are going to continue what they are doing, and complain as they are doing it. I'm all for new fuels, but I think i'm under the same conditions as above.
Teresa Osterbur
cont. form above .....
yes, alternatives are very cost effective. it takes less money to produce a barrel of an alternative fuel than it takes to produce a barrel of oil.
nick
I think that there are more alternative fuels that there used to be. We have Ethanol that is made from corn. We also have hybrid engines that use both gas and electricity to power operate. That is not really an alternative fuel but it is better for the environment.
The only main problem that alternative fuels place on our society is that not all of the cars, buses, and other machines can use these alternative fuels. The conversion from gas to another fuel source would be a long and gradual process, but I think that it would be worth it. These fuels are less damaging to the environment and cheaper to produce.
There inexpensive manufacturing processes are what make them so cost effective.
David Floyd
Post a Comment