Z284ever

More than one gallon of fuel to create one gallon of ETOH from corn...

Z28x

Electric is the future and the US Gov't wants America to get ahead start on the rest of the world while at the same time keep gasoline affordable and buy some time for people to transition without massive economic hardship.

shock6906

Does that graphic account for energy losses from beaming that stream of energy through ~22,000 miles of space and atmosphere back to the surface of the earth?

Z28x

I would assume so. I wonder how it works on overcast or rainy days. Water absorbs microwave.

shock6906

Seems like they're comparing the earth-based systems to the power received from the collection point at the satellite, not the ultimate destination point on the ground. That'd be a heck of a misleading comparison.

Looks to me like they're leaving out the transmission losses from space to ground, which would definitely be lower than what was collected in space.

jg95z28

Today's hybrids are a joke. I have referred to them several times in the past as this generation's "pet rock".

If hybrids are truly "sustainable" then why doesn't every hybrid sold today have every horizontal surface covered with solar panels to help recharge the battery pack during daylight hours? (You drive your car to work, you park on a surface lot, why not take advantage of free energy while you're at work for 8-10 hours?) Furthermore, why doesn't every hybrid today have an ICE (you know, the "range extender" ) that runs on bio-fuel? Its because the manufacturers can capitalize on the smug want to be tree-huggers who can afford to pay to appear "green" and feel good about themselves. (I keep picturing the South Park episode where they're all smelling their own flatulence.) Real tree huggers, you know the radical type that actually sit in trees, wouldn't be caught dead in a hybrid that didn't run on bio-fuel.

And while we're on the subject, bio-fuel doesn't have to take away a food source. 7/8ths of the planet is covered in water. Various scientists across the globe are already working on developing biofuels from algae. Algae can also be "grown" in contaminated water sources and in theory can be "fed" carbon dioxide and sewage to increase its growth.

We just need to start thinking outside the box and encourage our politicians to do the same.

Plague

While I think this is a good idea, 7/8's of that earths surface is not available for this. Algae blocks the sun and therefore kill the plants below it. Not that I don't think this is a good idea, just the 7/8's is misleading.

Z28x

Gasoline is way too cheap today and solar panels are currently not dense enough. Give it 5 years. People said the same thing about personal computers in the early 80's.

1fastdog

Necessity is the mother of invention, not political expediency...

jg95z28

I never meant to imply that it was.

Look at this way, with 7/8ths being water that leaves 1/8th which isn't. Eliminate all the portions that are used for infrastructure (housing, buildings, freeways, rail, airports, schools, manufacturing, etc.), eliminate the portions used to grow food (grain, vegetables, livestock, etc.), eliminate the rest that cannot be used to grow a fuel stock for biofuels (deserts, glaciers, mountains, canyons, parks, etc.), that leaves a very minute area where one could possibly grow switch grass or corn etc. to convert to biofuels. On the flip-side, even if you took a small percentage of the water area to use to produce algae, it is still substantially larger than all of the free land area available to growth land-based fuel stock. Furthermore, some areas that aren't suitable for any other use could be utilized that today are just going unused.

Doug Harden

Wonder if this area could be farmed for algae?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_zone_%28ecology%29

Big Als Z

You're telling me that the company that has invested a lot into diesel technology and wants to sell it in the US has a problem with the US goverments lack of support of diesel technology?
Same way that GM wants the US goverment to help support the infastructure for electrical cars?

notgetleft

Of course everyone has their own reasons for their agenda. But i think this post has some merit too:

Why do we only support one or the other. Why aren't we doing both? Especially when one is a proven technology that works today and the other is in its infancy and has far worse environmental implications down the road.

jg95z28

That's the key. Even the experts say that one technology alone cannot meet the demand. We're going to need several different technologies moving forward. Which I believe is what de Nysschen is actually asking. Don't focus on EV/hybrids alone, also look at diesel.

Z28x

True, but take a look a Boeing vs. Airbus, the Japanese auto industry. It is a rigged game. Lets rig it so American companies are putting the Japanese and Europeans out of business this time. Got to look at the ROI.