[rammsteiner]

I remember last year here in my little town in Canada, gas was 99 cents.

Now you put that into perspective at the time, we pay by the litre while American's pay by the gallon which is much larger, but in aspect I think we pay more.

This time last year it was 99 cents, right now it's $1.22 today. It took me $35 to get HALF a tank in my little Chevy S-10. That's about $20 more then what I would've payed last year for the same amount of gas.

[PEB]

Originally Posted by stylesbjj

Link to those threads?

Economists have been moving up the window on when oil hits 200 dollars a barrel. At first they believed that it would not reach that mark before 2012 and that was 2 years ago. Now the road map puts that date to possibly just before 2010 if not sooner. The upshot is that oil sand production is stepping up to help ease the rapid increase in price.

All likelihood we will not see a drop in per barrel pricing as some in the oil industry has predicted as more production capacity comes online. The most worrisome aspect is that next winter many will see their oil bill and gas bill double from just a year ago. This could mean many could freeze to death because they cannot pay the 800 dollar twice a month heating bill.

About three years ago when an oil minister from Saudi Arabia was asked what could the US do to cause a rapid price decline. His answer could not be more simple he said develop a car that gets 200 miles per gallon and he said something to the fact that it would put Saudi oil out of business in the US.

Article about 200 dollar per barrel price.

Oil's rise to near US$120 a barrel looks like more than just another bubble - Yahoo! Canada News

Originally Posted by stylesbjj

Its still about 3 years too early (according to the biofuel startups), the technology is still developing. Once it is developed, scaling up the process should take a year to produce significant quantities of biofuel.

Much more important development recently is the coming wave of plug-in-hybrids and the fact that many electric companies are offering people alternative source electric power. Nation Grid is offering customers the option to buy purely produced electric from wind farm or half produced by wind energy or Hydro Electric. It is not like they are sending non coal produced electricity to the houses it just they will begin buying based on interest their electric from Wind and Hydro producers based in New York and Canada.

There is a company based in Massachusetts that has developed a safe battery that allows for plug-in-hybrids that will get 40 miles on a charge right out of the gate today. Toyota Prius that was developed can get an average of 100 miles per gallon highway and city average using A123Systems battery technology.

Here is a link to the news about A123Systems program for converting Prius to a 100 plus mile per gallon car downside is the conversion adds 10 grand to the cars price. The kit will work with almost all models of the Prius line including 2004 models till today. They stated that has production capacity goes up the price of the battery pack will drop to half it's price possibly before the end of next year about the time GM Volt comes out.

A123Systems :: Home

Here is the Hymotion website devoted to the Plug-In-Hybrid Prius.

Hymotion :: Enabling the new generation of hybrid owners to maximize their fuel efficiency


Here is the link to Green Start renueable energy option that adds 5 to 12 dollar each month depending on the option you take but that increase and may be tax deductible.

Clean Energy Choice - National Grid

Interesting article about the possibility of a 500 MPG car downside it requires biofuel's to get to that level of cutting off Oil.

Sense of Events: The coming 500 mpg car

[Fanu]

Originally Posted by Jay Pan ROKK

Hydrogen needs a completely different infrastructure, distribution and engines.

but hydrogen is very effiecent and cleaneast energy source
bmw has been doing some significant improvements in this area (with number of their car models running successfully on hydrogen)

Originally Posted by Jay Pan ROKK

Bio-fuel, either ethanol or bio-diesel, could be mixed to regular gas and diesel up to 35% and nothing have to change, the same gas station same motors.

Consumers will not even notice.

biofuel increases food costs in huge numbers. consumers will notice (and already are).

Originally Posted by demo3051

I suppose we are just going to ignore the problems of biofuel, namely increased food costs and food shortages. Biofuels are not the answer, not if they have to be grown.

second generation biofuels looks promising

First Ever Second-Generation Biofuel Plant Opens in Germany | The Truth About Cars

they are making biofuel out of junk and food remanings

[Crimsonsabbath]

E85 is a sham. It takes 1 gallon of fossil fuels to make 1.33 gallons of E85 and it raises our food prices by driving up the cost of corn (and everything in our food supply goes back to corn).

Hydrogen still take fossil fuels to create.

[PEB]

Originally Posted by Crimsonsabbath

E85 is a sham. It takes 1 gallon of fossil fuels to make 1.33 gallons of E85 and it raises our food prices by driving up the cost of corn (and everything in our food supply goes back to corn).

Hydrogen still take fossil fuels to create.

Coskata CEO explains how to get to $1 a gallon ethanol

cellulosic ethanol is getting closer to reality the race is on and here is an article about Coskata and their effort to produce cellulosic ethanol. Cars that run on only 15 percent gas and 85 percent ethanol have a much better energy return then the current engines today. So the need to use 1.33 gallons of E85 to get the same level as 1 gallon has been somewhat proven wrong. In my link about there is an article about this fact.

Coskata development of Cellulosic Ethanol
Coskata CEO explains how to get to $1 a gallon ethanol | Green Tech - CNET News.com

[Crimsonsabbath]

Originally Posted by PEB

Coskata CEO explains how to get to $1 a gallon ethanol

cellulosic ethanol is getting closer to reality the race is on and here is an article about Coskata and their effort to produce cellulosic ethanol. Cars that run on only 15 percent gas and 85 percent ethanol have a much better energy return then the current engines today. So the need to use 1.33 gallons of E85 to get the same level as 1 gallon has been somewhat proven wrong. In my link about there is an article about this fact.

Coskata development of Cellulosic Ethanol
Coskata CEO explains how to get to $1 a gallon ethanol | Green Tech - CNET News.com

After the miserable failure of E85 and the effect we're all getting to feel in our pocketbook I hope you'll excuse me for being skeptical of anything an Ethanol company says.

[vogues157]

The last hope was that a stronger dollar would drive oil prices down. That trade is failing because the dollar has strengthened over the last week and a half, but oil isn't selling off. It's making new all time highs.

[PEB]

Originally Posted by Crimsonsabbath

After the miserable failure of E85 and the effect we're all getting to feel in our pocketbook I hope you'll excuse me for being skeptical of anything an Ethanol company says.

Coming from someone from Dallas TX this response is to be expected. Science has a way of coming up with answers to problems. Because the Government has largely left this up to the investment communities and private as well as public companies it has slowed the process of developing alternative fuel engines that do not hit the food supply. If the Government had made a major financial investment in clean power 8 to 10 years ago it may have been possible that cellulosic ethanol would be produce in larger numbers today reducing the burden put on the food supplies. But much of the cost increase in grain can also be equated to the price of fuel for the production and distribution of the product so not all the cost increases can be blamed on E85 production.

[vogues157]

Originally Posted by PEB

Coming from someone from Dallas TX this response is to be expected. Science has a way of coming up with answers to problems. Because the Government has largely left this up to the investment communities and private as well as public companies it has slowed the process of developing alternative fuel engines that do not hit the food supply. If the Government had made a major financial investment in clean power 8 to 10 years ago it may have been possible that cellulosic ethanol would be produce in larger numbers today reducing the burden put on the food supplies. But much of the cost increase in grain can also be equated to the price of fuel for the production and distribution of the product so not all the cost increases can be blamed on E85 production.

The next president should start another Manhattan Project focusing on alternative energy sources. I agree that it can be done, we just haven't committed the necessary resources yet. If we just redirected 10% of the wasteful spending into a focused project, we'd be a lot better off.

But what are the candidates suggestions, pressure OPEC, close tax loopholes for oil companies, and have a gas tax holiday. Brilliant.

[PEB]

Originally Posted by vogues157

But what are the candidates suggestions, pressure OPEC, close tax loopholes for oil companies, and have a gas tax holiday. Brilliant.

I know it makes me just shake my head in disbelieve. The next President whoever it is should be for the safety of this Country, should make a real investment not what has been floated around 100 billion over 10 to 20 years and put 50 billion a year into the development of clean energy technology.

I mean this problem is not going away and the chances that this can generate good jobs and help make the US energy independent. Listen I do not work for a clean energy company I am just someone who lived through the US landing on the moon and long for the days that this Country do something that makes it the envy of the rest of the World.

I have heard that China yes China is getting ready to propose up to a 500 billion dollar investment into making China the World leader in clean technology. This announcement could come as soon as the end of the Olympics this summer. The new China is one who even with their huge growth and creation of green house gases can bring massive resources to a problem and if the rumor is true the US could be in a real bind because they may not lead in what likely is going to be the most important business in the 21 century.

Here some stories about Clean Energy opportunities in China.

Clean energy provides huge investment opportunities

Powering China’s Development | Worldwatch Institute

China Leads World in Renewable Energy Investment : TreeHugger

"Beijing Olympics 2008 projects demanded that we call them back, and the Dean of Beijing's University of Technology told us that it was time for Greenpeace and China's academia to work together on renewable energy."

China's push for a renewable energy future | Greenpeace International