For Discussion:

http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/

sounds like an interesting, attainable plan. I look forward to others comments. Please, keep politics out of this. This is a bi-partisan issue, affecting all of us.

 

I thought that was interesting as well when I heard about it.

A few thoughts on the technical side:

1. Can you convert any car to compressed natural gas? If so could it be done in a way to make a high performance car?

2. What sort of fuel effeciency do you get on natural gas? Its cheap per gallon, but probably not as effecient. At what price does it stop making sense? E85 has this issue, and in many markets does not make sense since E85 isnt enough cheaper to offset the loss of effeciency.

3. If a lot of vehicles start going to natural gas, wouldn't that drive up the price?

And one thought on the economic side of things:

One of his biggest points is how much money we are sending overseas. Just take a look at the crazy things they are building in Dubai and you have to be a little scared whats going to happen in 10 to 20 years if we keep sending all our weath out of this country.

 

Yup, if Natural Gas is used as a main stream auto fuel look for the price to triple from its current level. Most of the North East uses this as there main heating fuel source. I can always park the car and take the bus, but I can't not heat my house in winter.

I'm going to have to put NG cars in the bad idea column

Using mid-west wind farms to make hydrogen on the other hand would be a great idea.

 

I'm for the wind farms. But I've heard on another thread that if they are close to peoples homes or where people live and work that the sounds high and low can drive them crazy. I know I was surprised to hear this too but there is some merit to the story.

That's easily fixable as the wind farms need to be away from cities and populated areas. Even talk of the ones in the ocean have some some good opportunites.

In CA many of our busses and taxi's run on CNG. There is some talk about the police doing the same. I'm not sure how much it is but the Gas Company does have some stations around. Not sure what needs to change in the IC engine but Crown Vic's and Impala's in taxi duty are running on CNG.

As with many good ideas for energy change they need a strong voice and some power to get moving. Big oil doesn't give up these huge profits w/o a fight.

 

Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

Didn't we just have a thread about this like three days ago?

 

If we did, sorry hadn't seen it, and I am usually pretty up on this board's happenings.

 

We use NG to heat our homes and the cost of it just goes up and up. I came from a farm town and some of the farms used wind generators. I didn't hear any noise but I wasn't around them 24/7. I know all my farmer friends loved it.

 

How big? I think the noisy ones are those 400ft towers with 100ft. blades that GE is building. (They do work on them in Schenectady so I see the blades come by on truck all the time. They are huge)

 

They weren't that big. I know the electric company would pay them every month for the extra power the fans generated. All there farm electricity was basicly free after purchase. My buddy always acts like it pays for itself quickly. Residental areas would not be feasable but I guess when you have large areas of land with no trees, wind is easy.

 

Yeah, here it is:

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=619140

 

We've got seven 250-foot units up by the Lake in Buffalo. They are Clipper 2.5MW Liberty turbines. You can't hear these ones - at least I can't - unless you're standing right beneath it...

The neat thing is that they replaced an old, unuseable eyesore of a building. They're very attractive-looking when spinning, being right next to the water and all.