What is happening with alternative energy?

What is happening with alternative energy? Every day we watch the price of petrol climb and climb.

[Adrian Vance]

Butanol was well developed during World War I with most of the work done in England. The patents have long expired, but British Petroleum, "BP," is building facilities to begin making it from cheese whey and other such English kitchen leftovers.
I have patents pending on new processes which include n-butanol production such that the entire nation could be fueled from on big farm 14 miles on a side in Arizona at a location where water is available. But, I am not the first inventor to solve a problem and see it ignored because of money-grubbing politicians who are taking money under the table to promote that which happens in their states and districts.
America is corrupt and the people will suffer because they have not cared enough to run the scoundrels out of office. I am predicting a complete collapse in October of 2009. Start packing....
Adrian Vance

[Womba]

Big business killed until they have a handle on the technology.
Then they will give it to us at inflated prices.

[sixty plus]

The alternative energy ideas that have been pushed by the government couldn't have done worse if they had been intentionally chosen to fail. Which is, I suspect, exactly what happened. Look at the profits that the petroleum industry is reaping and ask yourself, who had the most to gain when these alternative energy plans went bust?

[dcmgbusaworld]

The reason many congressmen and senators cannot find these solutions in the popular magazines read by the public is that they do not have time to read these magazines, because they are busy writing legislation, meeting with interest groups, going to committee meetings, and speaking and voting on the floor of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate.

I saw a concept car in WIRED magazine about two months ago that got 340 mile per gallon. Why not put it into mass production???

How about windmills to generate electric power to charge up electric automobiles???? The list goes on and there are a number of solutions to these problems.

There seems to be a lack of understanding of the principles of chemistry and physics in the House and the Senate with a notable few exceptions. Because of this it is necessary for the public which is familiar with these scientific principles to assist our representatives with needed information that can be utilized in the formation of public policy.

Did you ever consider sending a copy of these articles to your senator or reprenetatives????

All magazine articles are not created equal. I remember reading in a similar magazine a few years ago that the solution to the geenhouse gas problem was putting it containers and putting it unground.

It would be much better if we use that carbon dioxide to stimulate the growth of corn and soybeans up to 30% increase in production!!!!!

[Mike]

The House of representatives knows full well what alternative energy is and how it can help this country. Right now they are looking at a bill that would extend the tax credits for using alternative energy on your home. It is not expected to pass the house because the money that would be used to fund the incentives offered was to be generated by taxing big oil, but some U.S. representatives believe that the tax would be too much on the big oil companies who are now boasting about record profits

www.solarpower-home.com

[hill billy]

when germany had all oil supplies cut..in ww2 it took them less than a month to make oil...several ways its done...first gasoline is made from coal,,,,petro [what you call gas ] is made from crude oil...coal oil...is the same as diesel fuel..coal oil made from coal,diesel from crude oil...gasoline and diesel was used years before they every pumped crude oil..your grand maw,,called a kerosen lamp..a coal oil lamp...because they used coal oil...it burned brighter and cleaner..in the 70s one study showed how one nucler power plant could produce enough coal oil to replace all oil used in u.s.a. and they claimed we had enough coal to last 10.000 years...how has americans got so dumb..lack of science in school..

[Former Nuclear Employee]

Actually, in all seriousness, politicians don't see these developments because their Lawyers first and everything else second. Lawyers don't take Chemistry or Biology in school.

That said, there are several excellent technologies undergoing certification. A Aviation fuel of 50% Butyl Alcohol is currently being certified across all aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory. The U.S. Air Force expects to get nearly half it's fuel from Coal to Liquids technology in 10 years. The projected wholesale price is 88 cents a gallon.

MIT and Westinghouse just finished a study on altering the shape of nuclear fuel. The new shape, called Annular, increases power output by nearly 50% on existing reactors while simultaniously lowering operating temperature 600 degrees. Please take these things and do some Googling for yourself, get informed.

An excellent Pilot plant that showcased a new catalyst tech. for Coal to Liquid conversion with very little CO2 emissions.
http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/press/20...

[Bilance]

1 million kmq of forest.. is sufficient to produce
500 million tonnes of ethanol...
It's more than all Us oil production...

1 million kmq of forest can be easily recovered from South America, Mozambico, Papua, Borneo etc...

Also bagasse are a source of energy at low cost for the poor nations that produce it...

[diduKnow]

last word: ride a pony

diduKnow wrote:

we could all go back to ole school.
last word: ride a pony!

[Minimum Standards]

Oil is going away. That's the end of the industrial age. I read every day somebody has a magic bullet to keep us in our drive-thru lifestyle. But, sorry, we cannot farm our way out of this by redirecting Doritos production into our gas tanks, we cannot make up the difference with our waste, we cannot pave our streets with recycled plastic bags. The days of the Ram pickup truck and 24/7 climate control are really over.

[Gerry]

Maybe I am looking at this to simplistic, but the answers are simple.
>First you create an energy council. They can cut the red tape and examine future alternatives.
>Second, you need to fix the dollar because we have to compete with other currencies for oil. That will be hard to do.
>Third, you get rid of corn ethanol.
>Fourth, you drill for off shore oil. Only 15% is available at this time.
>Fifth, you pick the two best alternative energies and invest in them.
>Sixth, the last I saw on PBS NOVA the plug in hybrid is the most possible and in fact doable today. You plug your car in at night. The car runs on battery for the first 60 miles and after that gasoline. This would cut out half of the gas we use as most people commute to the store or work on short distances. So if you drive less than 60 miles per day you will never pay for gasoline.
>Seventh, I would give (our government and our tax money) 1 billion dollars to each car company that builds cars in this country. And I would tell them in eight years all cars will be hybrids. The billion dollars will shut them up. This will help get us away from Middle East oil. This will also get the price down with less demand. Other countries will follow and the price of oil will fall further. With the price falling this will help the airlines and anything else that relies on oil.
>Eighth, there are 15 nuclear plants on paper and we also have coal that can be used in FutureGen plants for our electrical grid and the energy council needs to push this fast. But not too fast that you get shoddy workmanship.
>Ninth, the problems include relying on parts for nuclear power from other countries since we don't have those parts. All alternative energies have various problems. All 600 drilling rigs are in use. So at best drilling could only start in 5 years. So with all of this it takes time, even if you start now. That means 5 years, 10 years, 15 years on various aspects of our energy needs.

An assessment will be needed on the amount of copper and other commodities needed for batteries. I have heard other pie in the sky alternatives and there are just too many problems with them, along with supply and demand, pricing, and geopolitical situtations.

Now if we could only have a president that knows what he is doing. Unfortunately, the president we have is incompetent.

This is my answer. Even if you start something today it would take at least 15 years to see results and frankly I don’t see us lasting 10 years under the present situation, considering the growth of China and other countries.

[G and O]

I have an idea. Some clever person could start a horse drawn buggy business around the lake, much the same way the Amish do in their communities. We are in a micro-environment, and therefore should be looking at ways to become sustainable over the next ten years. The predictors of the oil reserve of fossil fuels suggest we will run out in the next ten years, and we locals know what a daunting task it is to commute over the passes at either end of the lake. A local business could build buggies and harness, and there are many horse ranches in the Lake County area. We need to begin formulating a plan for sustainability on many different levels, this may solve part of the transportation problem.

[BEAN]

What the hell is alternate energy,burning water Buffalo dung!chicken shit methane gas!hooking up a burro to your SUV?''or better yet..turn food into moonshine so our vehicles can get stoned,while people are starting to worry about the cost of a gal. of milk.
These dam elights...force feeding this crap. These three jerks..three men in a tub, do, say nothing.Its against nature to drill,or explore,...but OK for many to go without necessary things.like getting to work,or feeding ourselves.
So far its Gore-aid.the fat creep has been making millions,personally with this campaign of the plausable-impossible.
Would not it be great,if one of these Meat heads wanting to be President,vowed ,and promised too start a maximum effort to solve this energy problem?Like the great JFK,did with the go to the moon concept, he asked us to do it,and we did..Or like a Manhattan project,where all the genius get together,unlimited funds,no influence by Kooks on both side and solved the dam thing. So its 5yrs,10 yrs,20 yrs,no matter, this country can do it.if we,know they are trying,that alone will make this insane sacrifice meaningful.
If not start walking,get wool sweaters,huddle,in winter,feed your kids mush...That can't happen??
To day the chinks exceeded all in the amount of pollution they are putting out..the loony plan is we we grow back to 1800, and every body else blows smoke in our eyes are they are passing us...wake up!!

[G and O]

Hey Bean,

You must be smoking some of that Buffalo dung and not using all of it in your ride! As far as hooking up your burro to the SUV, unless alternative fuels are developed, such as bio-diesal etc., that SUV you bought will be a big waste of money and a horse-drawn buggy the only way to get around. That is the message forward-thinking leaders like Al Gore are trying to get across to Americans before the fuel reserves are depleted. Your SUV should stand for Stupid Useless Vehicle.

[Gerry]

Alternative energy would include LNG (liquid natural gas) which is actually used in fleet vehicles. Hydrogen which requires a huge tank for the car. Various battery power, composite material for lighter cars, etc. All of these have problems that will not be solved on the near term and are very expensive. The only thing that makes sense is the hybrid plug-in which is happening now. The first 60 miles will be run on a battery charged by electricity. We may have to add nuclear plants and clean coal fired plants for the electrical grid. However, all of this is possible now and will also reduce emissions. This would cut (I would guess) half of our fuel consumption. A win win for everyone.
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9930421-54.h...

[G and O]

Hi Gerry,

I agree with you. How do you think the mindset of most Americans can be changed from buying SUV's and choosing a Hybrid instead? I drive an older Subaru wagon with almost 170,000 miles on it, which has taken me and my dogs everywhere any SUV could have, with far less gas consumption. I plan on continuing to use it for a while longer primarily, as I can't afford to buy another car. It has been virtually trouble-free as well. My sister drives a 2004 Honda Accord Hybrid, and my mother a 1998 Honda Accord, both get excellent gas mileage. Since my mother and her husband are working artists, potters by trade, they have invested in a large newer van to transport their wares to shows all over CA. This however is a business-related necessity, ordinarily not something they would choose to own otherwise.

[BEAN]

G and O wrote:

Hey Bean,
You must be smoking some of that Buffalo dung and not using all of it in your ride! As far as hooking up your burro to the SUV, unless alternative fuels are developed, such as bio-diesal etc., that SUV you bought will be a big waste of money and a horse-drawn buggy the only way to get around. That is the message forward-thinking leaders like Al Gore are trying to get across to Americans before the fuel reserves are depleted. Your SUV should stand for Stupid Useless Vehicle.

Ha! smoke dung? Hey ya never know...of course you somewhat correct...But I still think a national effort ,not unlike what I alluded too is the answer.

To day china surpassed the world in their pollution out put.They also just bulit the longest sea bridge in the world,constructed the largest airport terminal in the world,a new secret submarine base,and will "Bug" the Olympic hotel.

Gore and other visionaries(HA!),should inquire of the Chinese,how do their citizens pay for gas,less than $2. a gal/I think its under than that today.China regulates the oil supply,we subsidize the oil company's.WHY?going on for years,way back to Carter.Where was Gore then?I guess he grew a beard,got fat,and became a hypocritical elites.Millionare too!

But no!.we will put on the economic "Straight Jacket" stifle our economy,tax our energy in a punitive way,and call that...WHAT??

Today the congress is pushing the farm bill,this to subsidies them millionaire farmers to grow corn for "Moonshine"....meanw hile they have a hearing going on about food shortage..in another room ,but of course...MADNESS!...well have fun,the laughs on us!!! Pass the dung!! LOL!! Stay well!! CIAO!

[G and O]

Thanks for that clarification Bean. Your logic is intriguing, however the writing along with your communication style are hard for me to follow. Peace.

[Gerry]

G and O wrote:

Hi Gerry,
I agree with you. How do you think the mindset of most Americans can be changed from buying SUV's and choosing a Hybrid instead? I drive an older Subaru wagon with almost 170,000 miles on it, which has taken me and my dogs everywhere any SUV could have, with far less gas consumption. I plan on continuing to use it for a while longer primarily, as I can't afford to buy another car. It has been virtually trouble-free as well. My sister drives a 2004 Honda Accord Hybrid, and my mother a 1998 Honda Accord, both get excellent gas mileage. Since my mother and her husband are working artists, potters by trade, they have invested in a large newer van to transport their wares to shows all over CA. This however is a business-related necessity, ordinarily not something they would choose to own otherwise.

You can read what I posted before. The plug in hybrid still costs 9000 dollars more, but with mass production that could come down. If you drive less than 60 miles on a nightly charge every day then you wouldn't ever pay for gas.

I would call for an energy council to take this out of politics. I would also pay off the car companies so that they start building all cars in eight years. But even if we started today it would take twenty to thirty years to replace and get most of those cars on the road. And you certainly by that time need more nuclear energy and clean coal fired plants called FutureGen.

The biggest problem is politics. That is what really is killing us. I would let the oil companies drill off shore and Alaska. And get royalty payments from them since our country is broke. Our politicians do the opposite and just keep spending and putting stupid laws in place.

Thirty years of ups and downs in the oil industry and frankly I am tired of this

[Sammy]

Just beware of the Snake Oil salesmen selling solutions that don't work.

SNAKE OIL:
Hydrogen Fuel/Fuel Cells - It takes more energy to produce the Hydrogen than the Hydrogen will produce.

Water Cars & HHO - Yes, cars will run on electrically separated H2 and O2 from water, but will produce less power than consummed in the separation process.

Bio-Fuels: If the idea is to sequester carbon, so you put it in a plant, then burn it, guess how much carbon you've sequestered .... ZERO!!!

Electric Cars .... so you charge the battery and run the car with zero emissions. Congradulations! Now, where did you get that electricity to charge the battery? It doesn't live in your wall! Probably from your local COAL FIRED POWER PLANT!!

Compressed Air Cars .... First you get the power to compress the air from the Wall (see above). Then you lose heat energy to the environment as the compressed air tank cools to ambient temperature. Then the air tank cools below ambient when releasing the air .... Again, you get out less than you put in!! And where did you get the juice to put the air energy in??? Yup! Most likely somewhere nasty!!

Think it through people! Beginning to end! Where does the energy come from, where did it go and how much did you waste getting there?