The President says we need more alternative energy to reduce gas prices?
President Barack Obama says one answer to high gasoline prices is to spend money developing renewable energy sources.
"That's the key to helping families at the pump and reducing our dependence on foreign oil" in the long term, he said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address.
Is it Electric cars? - no one wants them. Even with subsidies using our tax dollars they don't sell well. Is it more Ethanol? -I thought it just drives up food cost and uses to much conventional energy to produce. Is it H2 fuel? - I understand it takes to much energy to produce also. Is it Diesel cars like they have in Europe? - I thought our regulations would not allow them.
What is it? What is this Alternative energy source that will drive down the cost of oil and gasoline?
2011-04-23T10:47:34Z
From my knowledge (I am very interested in this subject and have tried to study the subject) and the answers, it seems to me the President either is just talking like a typical politician from a speech on a teleprompter, knows little to nothing about the subject, or is an outright liar just trying to fool the people.
electricpole2011-04-23T09:47:48Z
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Electric cars are not ZEV's, Zero Emission Vehicles. Their "tailpipe" is the Central Power Station somewhere else. Factually, they run on coal. There will not be enough solar / wind in our lifetime (maybe someday) to run them.
Currently, Ethanol takes more energy input to produce and deliver than it yields. It also is not a gallon for gallon replacement as it has 76100 Btu / gallon vs. 114000 Btu/ gallon of unleaded regular. About 67% as much. Add to that it's net effect on food prices as you mentioned. You would need to FORCE farmers to sell grains for food, or the price would have to reflect what is being paid for fuel grain. You are correct about Hydrogen fuel The world wide yield of Diesel / gallon of crude is diminishing, as much of the production is of the lighter variety. Diesel was less expensive than regular in 1990 when I purchased my first one, now it is 26% higher than regular in my market. It just became less economically viable despite the increased economy. The engines themselves have morphed as well thanks to EPA Tier IV regulations.
Drilling makes sense, but so does conservation. I lived through the Carter rationing years, and sold all my big block 383 & 440 cu-in. V8 engines with dual 4 bbl. carbs, etc. and got into efficient vehicles for daily drivers 20 years ago. My bike gets 60 mpg. I am amazed that when the prices went down last year that people began buying the big stuff just like it was never going to happen again. There are also some technologies like ultra high compression supercharged gasoline engines with hp and torque approaching that of diesel for HD truck applications. These vehicles get 4 or so mpg so any savings is BIG with 100K miles / year driving habits.
The answer will be a mix of technology, and conservation. There is no magic bullet.
I have been wondering who is behind all those "The president says" advertisements on Yahoo. It has been some time since "the president" is much more than a charismatic figurehead to a rather large organization. To think otherwise may be a rather simplistic view of the world, but it is not clear if that is your view or how you view others. Taken in one way some may feel your question is offensive.
You seem to have all the answers. Your question is an argumentative challenge to prove otherwise. I am not entirely sure it is possible to prove anything to someone who has already made up their minds. Are you familiar with the zen story of the teacup?1
Do electric cars not sell well? What is selling "well?" Is it lots of big numbers? Or is it selling every car that is made?2 Would you condemn a baby because it does not speak well or does not walk well? Would you ask how can a baby do anything useful in this world? A simplistic view might.
It is doubtful that any "alternative fuel" source will drive down the cost of oil and gas through competition. Demand for these products will continue to rise, overseas if not in the US. Supplies are marginal now. If we have reached the point of peak oil (3) then supplies will be ever shorter. Alternatives will only decrease demand if like electricity in an EV they are not able to be placed in the petrol engine.
Some alternatives like tar sands or oil shale require a high price for oil to be profitable. Petrochemical companies want fuel to fill their filling stations for the public. It is in their interests to keep prices high. There are not enough players in the oil business to create the competition to drive prices down.
What he SAYS and what he DOES are, like most politicians, two different things. 1. Reduced drilling in the US, (not issuing permits.) 2. Supplied Brazil with 2 BILLION subsidy, to drill in OUR waters, (where US companies are NOT allowed to drill.) 3. Agrees to the BUYING of MORE foreign oil over increasing US based supplies.
Electric cars are, as yet, NOT practical outside of urban areas. IF/WHEN they can get ethanol from OTHER THAN food sources, AND lower production costs, it could prove useful. H2 ALSO requires different engines. Diesels DO have some problems with PETROLEUM based fuels. Note that the diesel was originally developed to run on PEANUT OIL since Germany had, and still has, a petroleum shortage.
The previous President, George W. Bush, asked us to develop alternatives to gasoline to reduce our need on foreign oil long before he left office. So don't pretend like this is the 1st time a president has asked this.
Diesel powered cars were tried in the 1980's. Once again, GM spearheaded the effort but they failed by converting gas engines to diesel instead of starting from scratch. Those years put a stigma on Diesel. Plus the noise and the one simple fact that you can't just buy diesel anywhere. The new diesels are superior but most manufactuers are afraid to bring it back to America, Ford and GM are now bringing there 49 mpg small foreign diesel engines to America but only in selected markets. So there still not mainstream. Diesel prices topped Gasoline for the 1st time 5 years ago and I blame it on oil company greed. But I am sold on diesel as a 1 ton dually diesel pick-up truck get's better city mileage than a V6 Camry now!
You can't force technology. The technology you have, you have to sell/market to the general public.
The one thing that will reduce our dependency on foreign oil is domestic drilling. There is more oil in the US than in the middle east. We just won't let the oil companies go after it. It might increase the supply and reduce the price if we do...