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We Need Better Horse Feed
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Posted by skagit_goat_man_ WA (My Page) on Thu, Jun 14, 07 at 9:09
| Listening to programs discussing ethanol, diesel and gasoline brough to mind a health care management seminar I attended back around '80. The moderator posed the question of how did we see the health care system changing to meet future needs, services and costs. We all gave our answers and the guy just stared at us with disgust. He finally said that our answers were the equivalent of a group of late 19th century transportation planners saying the the key to the future of transportation was a better horse feed. Developing a better feed would give the horse more energy and less manure.
Are we coming up with the same type of outdated answers when we discuss alternative fuels for our cars? We want more power and less emissions. And in this case the horse is the internal combustion engine. These engines are 19th century developments yet we seem to be basing our futures on them. Yes they will continue to play an important role until their replacement shows up. But what is that new horse going to be? Tom |
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RE: We Need Better Horse Feed
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- Posted by bry84 England (My Page) on
Sat, Jun 16, 07 at 15:04
| Cars are becoming increasingly cheaper to buy and their numbers around the world are growing fast. The energy required to make them all move is huge and difficult to replace without fossil fuels, the maths indicate we actually have no access to any other energy source great enough. I think we will do lot more walking and catch the bus/train more often in the long term future. In the short term, gas fuels like LPG and natural gas, as well as electric engines are going to be popular, but not sustainable for very long. Hydrogen will never happen - providing nobody finds a clever new way to make it with very minimal energy input. The chances of this are low, very low. You'd need to cheat physics, which has been done, but not too often. Nice when it happens, just don't count on it. I really don't see how the energy-hog car can survive as world population increases and our energy reserves reduce. |
RE: We Need Better Horse Feed
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| the petro fuel internal combustion engine is the past, not the future - good to make it as efficient as possible for the short term, but what's really needed is a more wholistic mindset on the lifestyle of our [western] culture - get away from the "need" for constant travel ..... and start walking more for your healths sake Bill |
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