Alternate Fuel
Times have changed: Let the Dinosaur Die
Times have changed. It used to be that gas was plentiful, and cheap. Our design and driving habits demonstrated our interest in power, not economy. The tables have turned, and it looks like high gas prices are here to stay. Even if they open up drilling on U.S. soil, the prices are unlikely to drop. It’s time to look at the alternatives. Here are a few of the readily available alternative fuel sources we have today:
Electric Cars
The electric car is far from new, but technologies do change. There’s been a big push, federally mandated, to offer alternative fuel vehicles, such as electric cars. Electric cars are more efficient for city driving and stop and go traffic. Unfortunately the recharge time is several hours up to overnight, there is poor performance, and limited range.
The question still stands as to how long these batteries will last. Batteries for an electric car are expensive, and must be properly disposed of through recycling. The good news is that there are electric cars with well over 100,000 miles still running with the original batteries.
Ethanol or E85 fuel
E85 is the commercial name for the fuel mix that combines 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Here’s the problem: the car must be designed or modified to operate on E85 gas. While there are a few cars and trucks on the market that run E85, and regular gas as well, we’re not likely to see many running to their dealer to buy a new car just to save a little at the pump.
The good news about E85 or ethanol based fuels: they are good for the environment. With less unburned hydrocarbons we have a cleaner environment and less smog. Performance is equal to regular gas.
Biodiesel
Along with ethanol, made from vegetable sources, we also have biodiesel. Did you know that the diesel engine was originally designed to run on a vegetable oil? Biodiesel is a little different than “raw” vegetable oil, though that is what it’s made of. The difference between using raw vegetable oil or the modified biodiesel is that biodiesel can be run in your diesel truck without modifications to the engine. You need preheaters and other modifications to run pure raw vegetable oil. This source of fuel is safe and degrades quickly, meaning less toxicity from spills.
Videos
Dinosaur Fuel News
Propping Up the Past: Fossil Fuel Subsidies Should Go the Way of the Dinosaur - Justmeans
Propping Up the Past: Fossil Fuel Subsidies Should Go the Way of the Dinosaur Justmeans Ending subsidies for dirty fuel would make gas more expensive. Maybe that's not a bad thing Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies could save as much as Germany's annual greenhouse gas emissions every year by 2015 -- half of the carbon emission savings ... |
Hunting Dinosaurs on Venus - Smithsonian (blog)
 Smithsonian (blog) | Hunting Dinosaurs on Venus Smithsonian (blog) A letter from a man named Arthur described how he'd like to travel to Venus to find out for himself if there really are dinosaurs there. I would like to submit my name for an application for a space trip to Venus. I have always been interested in this ... |
County pushes for oil, gas leases - Vernal Express
County pushes for oil, gas leases Vernal Express The leases, sold at auction, were withdrawn by Salazar because they were too close to Utah's Arches and Canyonlands national parks and Dinosaur National Monument. Utah counties Carbon, Duchesne and Uintah along with several energy companies brought ... |
EcoSpeed: Save gas with clever driving - Guyism
EcoSpeed: Save gas with clever driving Guyism Not everybody can afford a new, gas sipping vehicle. A lot of us are still stuck with a dinosaur from ten years ago: in fact, the average age of the American car has been creeping upwards since the '60s and just hit a new high of 10.8 this year. |
Program Brings Science to Life at Christian Heritage Academy - Patch.com
Program Brings Science to Life at Christian Heritage Academy Patch.com The first highly visual and exciting presentation invited students to explore what life would have been like for dinosaurs, help a paleontologist discover fossils, and reconstruct a life-sized dinosaur. At the second presentation, students explored the ... |
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