New record at the pump: 80

[Eugene]

We ferment corn for the same reason u eat it. It is quick and cheap to grow, we have a ton of it, and the sugars in it are easily broken down.

I wouldn’t say that we have a ton of it. Not at the scale we need to replace oil with ethanol. It takes 450 pounds of corn to produce the ethanol to fill one SUV tank. That’s enough corn to feed one person for a year. I’m sure you know that.

Everything other than corn, sugar, or the equilivants (wheat, sugar beets, etc) is years and years away from being ready to cut your gas bill.

Not true.

http://www.calcars.org/howtoget.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prius#Future_of_the_Prius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aptera_Motors

You can buy a Prius and modify it to run 40 miles a day on grid electricity for ~30k out of pocket It does not make much financial sense (not as much as buying a used econobox like Toyota Corolla) but you can cut your gas bill today.

Those batteries on Prius’ are a problem. Think about the battery on your laptop. After a certain period of time, no amount of charging will do it. Same for the cars, from what I hear. Those batteries aren’t environmentally friendly – and probably not cheap either.

Prius NiMH batteries cost ~$700/kWh and last for around 10,000 charge/discharge cycles (depends on the mode of operation). They can be recycled.

[Arty]

Hydrogen gas combustion engine is the future!

2H2 + O2 = 2H2O

Both BMW and Honda have the technology. Note: It is not hydrogen fuel cell which is pretty much a scam. No more green house gas either!

We can get the hydrogen from algae or electrolysis of water from any renewable energy source.

[Arty]

Hydrogen gas combustion engine is the future!

2H2 + O2 = 2H2O

Both BMW and Honda have the technology. Note: It is not hydrogen fuel cell which is pretty much a scam. No more green house gas either!

We can get the hydrogen from algae or electrolysis of water from any renewable energy source.

[Arty]

Hydrogen gas combustion engine is the future!

2H2 + O2 = 2H2O

Both BMW and Honda have the technology. Note: It is not hydrogen fuel cell which is pretty much a scam. No more green house gas either!

We can get the hydrogen from algae or electrolysis of water from any renewable energy source.

[Arty]

Hydrogen gas combustion engine is the future!

2H2 + O2 = 2H2O

Both BMW and Honda have the technology. Note: It is not hydrogen fuel cell which is pretty much a scam. No more green house gas either!

We can get the hydrogen from algae or electrolysis of water from any renewable energy source.

[Arty]

Hydrogen gas combustion engine is the future!

2H2 + O2 = 2H2O

Both BMW and Honda have the technology. Note: It is not hydrogen fuel cell which is pretty much a scam. No more green house gas either!

We can get the hydrogen from algae or electrolysis of water from any renewable energy source.

[jpinpb]

esmith – I was wondering about the battery life in the long run. When you first buy a laptop, the battery will last many, many hours, very long time. Eventually the life charge diminishes. Would that be the case w/the Prius battery. I wasn’t aware the battery is recyclable. That’s good. I thought we’d have piles of them in landfills.

Arty I love the algae idea. Do we have enough of that versus corn?

[jpinpb]

esmith – I was wondering about the battery life in the long run. When you first buy a laptop, the battery will last many, many hours, very long time. Eventually the life charge diminishes. Would that be the case w/the Prius battery. I wasn’t aware the battery is recyclable. That’s good. I thought we’d have piles of them in landfills.

Arty I love the algae idea. Do we have enough of that versus corn?

[jpinpb]

esmith – I was wondering about the battery life in the long run. When you first buy a laptop, the battery will last many, many hours, very long time. Eventually the life charge diminishes. Would that be the case w/the Prius battery. I wasn’t aware the battery is recyclable. That’s good. I thought we’d have piles of them in landfills.

Arty I love the algae idea. Do we have enough of that versus corn?

[jpinpb]

esmith – I was wondering about the battery life in the long run. When you first buy a laptop, the battery will last many, many hours, very long time. Eventually the life charge diminishes. Would that be the case w/the Prius battery. I wasn’t aware the battery is recyclable. That’s good. I thought we’d have piles of them in landfills.

Arty I love the algae idea. Do we have enough of that versus corn?

[jpinpb]

esmith – I was wondering about the battery life in the long run. When you first buy a laptop, the battery will last many, many hours, very long time. Eventually the life charge diminishes. Would that be the case w/the Prius battery. I wasn’t aware the battery is recyclable. That’s good. I thought we’d have piles of them in landfills.

Arty I love the algae idea. Do we have enough of that versus corn?

[DWCAP]

Esmith,-
I would say we have a ton of corn. Until this ethanol craze we were paying farmers not to grow it because we were killing our market. (I know all about stupid Gov subsidies, but it is gonna happen so I am not waisting space arguing about it.) The problem is you are right, we dont have enough to make up for our oil dependency. Especially when you consider how much “oil” we use to grow the corn (fertalizer, running tractors, shipping….) But it is a place to start the market until we can get something better going. MTBE was poisnening our water, which one is better? High food prices, dirty air or undrinkable water?

Now I totally agree with you about the electric car thing. I was more refering to the idea that we use non-food inputs to make our ethanol. You know, mow the grass, gas up the car. I am hoping that my truck will last me till a real electric car is available. I drive 6 miles to work, 6 miles back. If I had even a plug in hybrid that got 40 miles without any gas, id give the Chevron station on the corner the finger everyday as I went by. Maybe id stop in Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Id prefer a full electric vehicle though.

FLU, I was extolling the virtues of the Telsa companies new hot rod to my GF on Friday. If I ever win the lotto or discover the next big thing, I am buying one. Gonna buy some place in nowhere Nevada too and use it as it was ment to be.

JPinPB- Those batteries can and are being recycled. And Telsa says their electric car batteries will be about 70% at the end of 5 years. Its a sports car, so the timing is alittle different, but basically think no gas for 3-5 years, then 2g’s or so (1 years gas) for new batteries.

BTW
An amazingly large amount of stuff can be recycled. Much to the dismay of my roommate I try to recycle just about everything I realistically can. The two of us together, plus my GF who is over like 23/6, (yes i said that) create about 1 can of trash every 2-3 weeks. Realistically they could pick up the recycling from us weekly and the trash monthly and cept for the smell we would be ok. I dont have kids though, they change everything.

[DWCAP]

Esmith,-
I would say we have a ton of corn. Until this ethanol craze we were paying farmers not to grow it because we were killing our market. (I know all about stupid Gov subsidies, but it is gonna happen so I am not waisting space arguing about it.) The problem is you are right, we dont have enough to make up for our oil dependency. Especially when you consider how much “oil” we use to grow the corn (fertalizer, running tractors, shipping….) But it is a place to start the market until we can get something better going. MTBE was poisnening our water, which one is better? High food prices, dirty air or undrinkable water?

Now I totally agree with you about the electric car thing. I was more refering to the idea that we use non-food inputs to make our ethanol. You know, mow the grass, gas up the car. I am hoping that my truck will last me till a real electric car is available. I drive 6 miles to work, 6 miles back. If I had even a plug in hybrid that got 40 miles without any gas, id give the Chevron station on the corner the finger everyday as I went by. Maybe id stop in Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Id prefer a full electric vehicle though.

FLU, I was extolling the virtues of the Telsa companies new hot rod to my GF on Friday. If I ever win the lotto or discover the next big thing, I am buying one. Gonna buy some place in nowhere Nevada too and use it as it was ment to be.

JPinPB- Those batteries can and are being recycled. And Telsa says their electric car batteries will be about 70% at the end of 5 years. Its a sports car, so the timing is alittle different, but basically think no gas for 3-5 years, then 2g’s or so (1 years gas) for new batteries.

BTW
An amazingly large amount of stuff can be recycled. Much to the dismay of my roommate I try to recycle just about everything I realistically can. The two of us together, plus my GF who is over like 23/6, (yes i said that) create about 1 can of trash every 2-3 weeks. Realistically they could pick up the recycling from us weekly and the trash monthly and cept for the smell we would be ok. I dont have kids though, they change everything.

[DWCAP]

Esmith,-
I would say we have a ton of corn. Until this ethanol craze we were paying farmers not to grow it because we were killing our market. (I know all about stupid Gov subsidies, but it is gonna happen so I am not waisting space arguing about it.) The problem is you are right, we dont have enough to make up for our oil dependency. Especially when you consider how much “oil” we use to grow the corn (fertalizer, running tractors, shipping….) But it is a place to start the market until we can get something better going. MTBE was poisnening our water, which one is better? High food prices, dirty air or undrinkable water?

Now I totally agree with you about the electric car thing. I was more refering to the idea that we use non-food inputs to make our ethanol. You know, mow the grass, gas up the car. I am hoping that my truck will last me till a real electric car is available. I drive 6 miles to work, 6 miles back. If I had even a plug in hybrid that got 40 miles without any gas, id give the Chevron station on the corner the finger everyday as I went by. Maybe id stop in Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Id prefer a full electric vehicle though.

FLU, I was extolling the virtues of the Telsa companies new hot rod to my GF on Friday. If I ever win the lotto or discover the next big thing, I am buying one. Gonna buy some place in nowhere Nevada too and use it as it was ment to be.

JPinPB- Those batteries can and are being recycled. And Telsa says their electric car batteries will be about 70% at the end of 5 years. Its a sports car, so the timing is alittle different, but basically think no gas for 3-5 years, then 2g’s or so (1 years gas) for new batteries.

BTW
An amazingly large amount of stuff can be recycled. Much to the dismay of my roommate I try to recycle just about everything I realistically can. The two of us together, plus my GF who is over like 23/6, (yes i said that) create about 1 can of trash every 2-3 weeks. Realistically they could pick up the recycling from us weekly and the trash monthly and cept for the smell we would be ok. I dont have kids though, they change everything.

[DWCAP]

Esmith,-
I would say we have a ton of corn. Until this ethanol craze we were paying farmers not to grow it because we were killing our market. (I know all about stupid Gov subsidies, but it is gonna happen so I am not waisting space arguing about it.) The problem is you are right, we dont have enough to make up for our oil dependency. Especially when you consider how much “oil” we use to grow the corn (fertalizer, running tractors, shipping….) But it is a place to start the market until we can get something better going. MTBE was poisnening our water, which one is better? High food prices, dirty air or undrinkable water?

Now I totally agree with you about the electric car thing. I was more refering to the idea that we use non-food inputs to make our ethanol. You know, mow the grass, gas up the car. I am hoping that my truck will last me till a real electric car is available. I drive 6 miles to work, 6 miles back. If I had even a plug in hybrid that got 40 miles without any gas, id give the Chevron station on the corner the finger everyday as I went by. Maybe id stop in Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Id prefer a full electric vehicle though.

FLU, I was extolling the virtues of the Telsa companies new hot rod to my GF on Friday. If I ever win the lotto or discover the next big thing, I am buying one. Gonna buy some place in nowhere Nevada too and use it as it was ment to be.

JPinPB- Those batteries can and are being recycled. And Telsa says their electric car batteries will be about 70% at the end of 5 years. Its a sports car, so the timing is alittle different, but basically think no gas for 3-5 years, then 2g’s or so (1 years gas) for new batteries.

BTW
An amazingly large amount of stuff can be recycled. Much to the dismay of my roommate I try to recycle just about everything I realistically can. The two of us together, plus my GF who is over like 23/6, (yes i said that) create about 1 can of trash every 2-3 weeks. Realistically they could pick up the recycling from us weekly and the trash monthly and cept for the smell we would be ok. I dont have kids though, they change everything.

[Author]

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