REFLECTOR: the high cost of fuel

[Chuck]

Doug, thanks for sending this. I'm also building a plug-in electric hybrid 
trike (tandem seating) which will get 70 to 120 mpg depending on how much I 
can use the batteries. 50% of the oil we use is for transportation, and the 
current electrical supply could handle 80% of the existing cars if we 
converted to hybrid electric drive capable of 30-40 miles on battery only. 
The Chevy Volt due out in 2010 is a great example of what can be done. The 
average commuter does less than 40 miles round trip. EPA projections are 
that we could cut our oil usage by 30-40% by going to electric cars as Boone 
says at the end of the video.

He's a smart old guy that still looks for ways to make money. He owns a 
company called Clean Energy that has set up natural gas fueling stations 
primarily for fleets around the country. We have a taxi fleet at the 
airport. The cost to the owner/driver is about 15% less than gasoline, so 
it's no huge bargain. NG is much cheaper in the Midwest. I did some research 
on CNG and it's got some problems, but it's usable until we convert to 
electrics.

Too bad none of these sources will work for airplanes, but there's promising 
results coming from farming of algae. Boeing is promoting this as the future 
of jet fuel, but they can also make gasoline, fuel oil, etc using the proper 
strain. The big advantage is that it's carbon neutral and doesn't compete 
with food. There's a pilot plant in TX being built on the tail end of a coal 
fired power plant to absorb the CO2.

I'll quit now because it's slightly off topic, but if anybody is interested 
in this stuff, let me know.

Chuck H

p.s. Here's Boone's full explanation of his plan that he presented at the 
Alternative Fuels Convention in Las Vegas last month.
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2008/05/14/086913.html


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <doug.holub at tx.rr.com>
To: <reflector at tvbf.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 10:24 PM
Subject: REFLECTOR: the high cost of fuel


> I've worked very hard on this airplane for 8.5 years, and I'd like to be 
> able to afford to put gas in it for the next 20 years. If you would, too, 
> go sign up at www.pickensplan.com
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