On 5/5/2007 6:41:18 PM, Andrew Crystall ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: > On 5 May 2007 at 13:20, Robert Seeberger wrote: > > > My personal opinion is that we should not be encouraging the > > burning > > of fuels at all (WRT automobiles). We should be encouraging > > electric > > powered vehicles. Certainly, there is an issue with range that has > > not > > That's not really a help. The power comes from mostly fossil-fuel > burning power stations,
It doesn't have to. Here in Texas, we lead the US in wind power production and we do have nukes.....nukes that are being expanded as we speak. If you want to get away from fossil fuels and oil cartel influence, then automobiles are a good place to start. (Even though they account for only 10% of carbon emissions.) >and the car performance really suffers. Where do you get that idea? In every aspect but range, electrics offer superior performance. And range is on it's way to being conquered. > Hydrogen-leeching fuel cells now, that extract hydrogen from petrol > (and can thus use the existing infrastructure), to get roughly twice > the efficientcy...THAT is a tech to push development of IMO. > The problem with fuel cells is that they are expensive, glitchy, and certain to be problematic for your average end user. I like fuel cells, but I see a lot of high hurdles for them to overcome. Impurities in fuels can ruin them. You have to deal with the process leftovers (What do you do with the leftover carbon from your daily commute?). The worst thing about the kind of fuel cells you are promoting is that they are only a little better than ICengines and you are still importing oil. To be fair, the situation here is somewhat different that the situation in Britain. If we were to go all electric magically overnight, we could generate electricity with natural gas for a number of years without importing much at all. I don't think the UK is in such a fortunate position (but I would be glad to know I am wrong in that). One thing I have noted. the big auto makers are dragging their feet when it comes to alternatively powered vehicles, trying to shoehorn gasoline or diesel into the vehicles at any cost. A bit of googleing will show that there *are* alternatives that work, but don't get much notice. xponent Powered By Electrons Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
