In the United States today, more and more people are demanding alternative fuels instead of strictly gasoline powered vehicles, and for many reasons. One reason is that alternative fuels are better for the environment and help fight global warming, which is an ongoing and increasing concern of many in the U. S. as well as globally. The cost of gasoline and other petroleum based products are rising at rate that has, heretofore, been unprecedented. Automobile travel is becoming very expensive as a result, and the U. S. is a nation that relies on its transportation. Consequently, there is an increasing demand for less expensive, alternative fuels. Scientists are charged with a double task, creating fuels that are inexpensive and better for the environment. New alternative fuels currently becoming available offer a number of advantages and U. S. consumers are beginning to seriously consider the newly available options, over continued dependence on fossil fuels.
When consumers choose alternative fuels both for their automobiles and their homes, they are helping to save the environment and themselves some money. In 2005, the U. S. National Academy of Sciences issued a joint statement with 10 other National Academies of Science stating “the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action. It is vital that all nations identify cost-effective steps that they can take now, to contribute to substantial and long-term reduction in net global greenhouse gas emissions. ” Alternative fuels are one step toward lessening greenhouse gas emissions.
What Does “Alternative Fuel” Mean?
Put simply, alternative fuel is not created through refining crude oil. Alternatives should replace conventional petroleum products as a means of powering vehicles or warming homes. The Clean Air Act of 1990 was written to encourage the development, sale, and use of alternative forms of energy. However, the Clean Air Act also stresses that the “alternative” fuels have beneficial effects for the environment, in short, whatever form the alternative takes; it can’t be as polluting as petroleum-based products.
“Alternative fuels” is a title that encompasses many different types of energy – Ethanol, is one that has been in the news quite a bit lately. It is made from corn, which can provide a tremendous boost to the agricultural industries, as well as to the environment and end-users. Some basic facts about ethanol includes: One acre of corn can produce enough ethanol to run a car for some 72,000 miles on E-10 Unleaded. About 46 percent of U. S. gasoline contains ethanol-and most of that is in the form of E-10 Unleaded. It can be made from other organic materials also, such as soybeans, waste, plant material left from logging, paper and trash. So, it can also be produced through recycling, another huge environmental advantage. In addition, automobile manufacturers are looking at ways of using ethanol only; however, since it is a grain alcohol, it is more highly combustible than regular gasoline. Currently, research is focusing on ways of buffering the ethanol to reduce its potentially dangerous properties.
Ethanol is also found in regular alcoholic beverages. The ethanol used for gasoline has been “denatured”; this means poison has been added so that it is unfit for human consumption. While some argue that ethanol production more energy than it produces, which is initially true when starting up a plant, Ethanol production results in a net energy gain-producing 67 percent more energy than it takes to grow and process the corn into ethanol in the long run. In addition, technologies are in development to increase the efficiency of plant production.
The movement toward alternative fuels will increase as people become more conscious of the economic and environmental costs of fossil fuels. In addition, many Americans feel that, for a variety of reasons, dependence upon foreign oil is not in the best interests of their nation. New, alternative fuels offer the best option for ending the U. S. dependence upon fossil fuels. While ethanol has been getting a lot of attention lately, there are many other types of fuel under development that offer a selection of future options for energy.
Posts Tagged ‘Global Warming’
Demands For Alternative Fuels – Reasons For Its Rise Among Americans
January 3rd, 2010Get the Best Fuel Economy to Reduce Your Gas Bill
December 30th, 2009You think it can’t get any worse, but each trip to the filling station you see a higher price posted on the sign. One tank now sets you back a ridiculous sum of money. Is there any way to fight back? Many Americans are quickly realizing their first line of defense is to achieve the best fuel economy possible.
America’s guzzling of gasoline has many negative consequences. Not only does it serve to quickly drain your bank account, it does so to the wealth of the entire nation. Being a net exporter of oil, America essentially is draining its national treasury by sending hundreds of billions of dollars abroad. One noted financial expert recently asserted that it was the greatest transfer of wealth the earth has ever seen.
Most associated with the oil patch do not see things changing. Peak oil is upon us with most of the easily accessed reserves tapped. New supply must come from highly remote and difficult environments. Many include politically sensitive areas like Anwar and the intercontinental shelf.
Exploration in such places is highly expensive. Proven reserves mostly reside in places which entail international political risk. Many of America’s entanglements arose from necessity of a free flow of oil. Even with increased crude oil supply, our nation’s refineries are inadequate to meet increasing demand. A new one hasn’t been built in over thirty years.
The burning of fossil based fuels also releases massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. The more carbon based fuels we burn, the worse it becomes. Inefficient, low mileage vehicles are great contributors to this phenomenon which is called global warming. So, with all these problems, are there solutions?
Increased efficiency through higher mileage is universally recognized as a positive step. Many options are currently available in the marketplace. Most simple is just to make the car smaller. Smaller cars obviously get better mileage. Also available are hybrids which increase efficiency through a recharging battery.
On the horizon are other cutting edge solutions. One is a hydrogen fuel cell. With this technology, it is theoretically possible for us to run our cars on water. If not fully, others are exploring mixing this technology with the combustion engine to increase mileage obtained up to fifty percent.
Whichever the solution, the time has come. With skyrocketing gas prices most of us do not have a choice. There are many options to explore to seek the best fuel economy possible. Your bank account and planet both depend on it.
Alternate Fuels – Overcomming Betrayals Passed – Emerging Green Energy Groups
December 24th, 2009Society as a whole is submerged. . . submerged within the depths of marketing campaigns run by corporate giants? This is a question that anyone could ask and anytime it is asked, could unveil a certain degree of truth in anyone’s life “How did the community – the society arrive at where it is at now?”. The energy industry is filled with giants dictating (could you say dictating? how you ever found out for yourself?) what energies are consumed by the general populace.
If you look to see at how products have become popular, you may find it has been through TV, advertising, celebrities – many of which are endorsed by large corporate organizations and carry along with their ads, the message of these corporations. Thus, you are looking at a large fabric through which many of us look, squint or even peer through to see what is actually available to us in almost any commercial market.
In addition, the current fuels which in general use have relatively high and dangerous waste products. Thus, the information could be said to not be widely known by the general populace as when informed, make better decisions. And so we could say, perhaps ignorance is the path to domination by a few and a dark destiny. If you have any questions and would rather not know, don’t take heed the claims of global warming, increased volatility of weather conditions and/or a Mother Earth’s cry for help.
Although, now with the Internet, many new markets, pockets of clique’s, interest groups, etc. . . have evolved and are evolving allowing for products to be sold which were not before, services to be offered and the demand filled. It is true that now more millionaires have been made than ever before and many of which have come from the Internet.
Apart of this evolution, new information comes to light such as that which has been found with such things as Hydrogen fuels. Most fuels which are seen on the market currently are centralized and controlled under corporate blankets. If you look at petroleum or nearly any current technology used in mass production of general energy consumption (for example the energy that arrives to your house comes from large plants – centralized – the gas from your car comes from large plants – centralized, etc. . . , etc. . . ) you will find is centralized and controlled by large corporate structures. But along with these new emerging groups are the green energy groups.
Alternate fuels keep punching away at the headlines of magazines and newspapers (possibly filled with propaganda?) about these various fuels. But, the repetition and noise generated by these green energy groups can but help being heard as the news is ground breaking and shaking it as well.
One of these groups is that has been forming at an incredibly rapid rate is the Hydrogen from water groups. These guys are using water and a basic form of electrolysis (use of electricity such as that which comes from you car battery to electrify water and perform a chemical reaction) to create Hydrogen from ordinary water. This technology has existed since 1820 but also with additional new technologies which have come about, this process is now available to anyone.
Hydrogen is also known as a comparable to gasoline as it is 3X’s as explosive and converts back to water when combusted. Why hasn’t it been in use in vehicles already? (If the answer is not apparent, pleas re-read earlier paragraphs and find out for yourself)
The ease of use and availability of the parts to make hydrogen from water has lead many people from the world to take part. The hydrogen’s most popular use has been to supplement car’s gasoline in-take.
Hydrogen use with car installations as a gas supplement is really only the beginning of the use of hydrogen power as 1 jar of water (approx 6 ounces) will convert to large amounts of hydrogen (as water is basically a “compressed” form of hydrogen) and can be used to power houses, RVs running them for weeks.
The proportions may seem fantastic but when you take into account the fact that HHO (hydroxy) when combusted, turns back to water, you have a fuel which has tremendous potential for efficiency, longevity and cost savings due to the fact is this planet’s largest resource available as a free burning energy.
Anyone who does a simple search with Google on the Internet with HHO, hydroxy, HHO generator or any of the such will find thousands upon thousands of documents representing the growing numbers of people across the world who are taking part of this emerging group across the net which is now extending it’s fabric through to local communities and allowing for a greener planet by cutting out pollutants, cutting down on the need for gasoline, improving gas mileage and a myriad of other eco-friendly solutions to normal day living.
So, count your pennies a little less, take hit and punch through a bit of this fabric which has perhaps been paid out in front of your eyes by the blankets of corporate marketing campaigns. Do a search on the net, check out the afore mentioned sites and see, perhaps it is true that you don’t have to spend so much gas or be in the dark on alternative energies.
