RE: [DMCForum] Re: the EV1... vs Diesel

["timnagin" <timnagin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>At what cost? Seems to me that the benefits aren't all that great.


I don't know; you tell me.  That is what I am wondering.


>What goal are we trying to accomplish by reducing dependency on
>foreign oil?


I see it as keeping jobs in the US and being self-sufficient, without
getting into politics.


>I never meant to imply that we couldn't be independent of foreign oil.
>I just don't think domestic drilling is the "answer". It's a
>pathetic band-aid. Yeah, okay, it has its upsides, but it's more like
>a back pocket idea. We should be focusing on alternate energy
>sources, not just where we're going to get our next petroleum fix.
>
>I want to solve the energy problem, not just make gas cheaper.


Domestic drilling would be a significant start, wouldn't it?  If it is true
oil is a renewable energy source then why not use it?  I am all for finding
new energy sources but I don't see a problem with this one.  What energy
"problem" are you referring to?



>Yeah, that's what I was trying to say. Flex-fuel vehicles (like my
>old Taurus and my new Tahoe) are dual-fuel vehicles. Engineers don't
>sit down at a clean drawing board when they design those engines,
>because at the end of the day, they still have to run on regular old
>gasoline. They take an existing engine, give it a computer smart
>enough to "taste" the difference between the two fuels (and any
>continuously variable mixture of the two) and fuel components hardy
>enough to take the rigors of E85. It's a compromise, it's not optimal
>for E85-efficiency.
>
>It was my understanding that Bob was referring to engines that could
>be physically designed from scratch to be optimized to running E85
>ONLY. I don't doubt that these kinds of engines could be more
>efficient that regular gas engines (but I don't actually know, just
>trying to clarify what I thought Bob was saying).


I guess I don't understand what you are saying then.  An engine that can run
on E85 can run on just ethanol or just gasoline, from my understanding.  My
understanding is that ethanol itself is less efficient, so if an engine
using just ethanol was as efficient as a gasoline engine, then running
gasoline in that engine would make it more efficient.  Again, I am not
completely sure about this.


>Huh? Are we maybe talking about two different things here? I heard
>electric vehicles, solar, wind, photovoltaics and nuclear. Where did
>E85 come in?


Ok, I forgot to add in the other sources.


>But in answer to your question, yes, E85 (and energy storage for the
>other technologies I was talking about) is currently transported the
>same old way, which contributes to atmospheric carbon and fossil fuel
>dependency. But surely that doesn't lessen the value or necessity of
>the concepts themselves. In my mind, it raises it. A paradigm shift
>to clean(er) energy sources will take care of its own manufacturing,
>shipping, etc. dirtiness.



I could accept that as a possibility.  However, it is also true that
switching to anything like this is going to have more of a negative
environmental impact until it fully changes over, if the change over is
proven better for the environment.  In other words, it's ok to damage the
environment more as long as the end result is better on the environment.  We
can project all we want but we truly will not know until it happens.

 

Greg

 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DMCForum/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DMCForum/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    mailto:DMCForum-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    mailto:DMCForum-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    DMCForum-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/