On Fri, 09 Jan 2004 08:34:08 -0800, murdoch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Thanks for passing this on. It's particularly good to see it in a farm state, where the issues and advantages are so obvious. In my view, there seems to be a policy of (wrongly-presumed-benign) neglect of some of these issues from the Federal Level (never mind from which party), and so in my view it's also nice to see a state doing more to stem and check this neglect by some real thought, and some attempt at action. We'll hear even more about ethanol in the coming election-year debates, but it's nice to see what I think is some intelligent discussion of it, and of the critical topic of PIHEVs. >It's so rare to see a mention in the consumer press >http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/4308754.html > >(I go back a long way with David and talked about them with him a few >months ago.) > >Try hybrids, biofuels to wean us from oil >David Morris > >Published January 9, 2004 Minnneapolis Star Tribune > > >Caught up in the euphoria that swept the nation after President Bush >announced a $1.3 billion hydrogen initiative in his State of the Union >Address, the Minnesota Legislature declared last June, "It is a goal of >this state that Minnesota move to hydrogen as an increasing source of >energy for its electrical power, heating and transportation needs." > >The Legislature gave $10 million to the University of Minnesota primarily >to investigate hydrogen and ordered state agencies to recommend further >initiatives to encourage hydrogen-related businesses. > >Why this infatuation with hydrogen? Because at first glance it seems an >ideal fuel. Hydrogen is the planet's most abundant element. It can be >extracted from water (HÓO). Fuel cells in homes and cars can use hydrogen >to generate pollution-free electricity. > >A closer look, however, reveals that a hydrogen economy suffers from three >potentially fatal flaws. > >ð Hydrogen exists only in combination with other elements. To uncouple >hydrogen from hydrogen-carrying substances like water or natural gas or >coal requires a great deal of energy. In many cases, the energy needed to >produce, deliver and store hydrogen exceeds the energy contained in the >hydrogen itself. > >ð A hydrogen economy will be a nonrenewable economy at least for the >foreseeable future. Hydrogen made from fossil fuels is half to two-thirds >cheaper than hydrogen made from renewable energy. Now almost 100 percent of >worldwide industrial hydrogen is made from natural gas, coal or oil. > >ð A hydrogen economy is frightfully expensive. Before we can displace even >a modest amount of oil we will need to invest hundreds of billions of >dollars to build a hydrogen production, delivery and storage infrastructure >and tens of billions of dollars more to put vehicles on our roads capable >of using hydrogen. > >I commend Minnesota policymakers for being willing to embrace a bold and >far-reaching transportation fuel strategy. I'm hopeful that this boldness >can be reapplied to another alternative that can eliminate our reliance on >imported oil at a fraction of the cost, far more rapidly and with far >greater economic benefits than can a hydrogen economy. > >This strategy is based on a new automotive technology that dramatically >changes the context for the conversation about transportation futures: the >hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). > >Hybrids like Toyota's Prius or Honda's Insight can use electric motors as >well as an engine to drive the car. The motor is used for acceleration, >which avoids the significant energy losses (and pollution) that result when >the car idles or in stop-and-go urban driving. Hybrids achieve fuel >efficiencies today that are as high as those anticipated by fuel cell cars >in the distant future. > >When Toyota introduces its 40-mile-per-gallon hybrid SUV this fall, the >nation will realize that high-efficiency cars do not require compromising >performance or size. > >The first step in a self-reliant transportation fuel strategy is to make >hybrids the cars of choice. The second step is to expand the electric-only >driving range of these vehicles by enlarging the battery capacity. The >electricity for these batteries could come from the existing electricity >grid. Such vehicles are now described as Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles >(PHEVs). The average car travels only 20 miles a day. A hybrid car that can >travel 60 miles on its batteries can displace almost all of the fuel needed >for the engine. > >The widespread use of HEVs and PHEVs enables the third step, running cars >on biofuels. To contrast this with the hydrogen economy we can call this a >sugar economy. Ethanol is made from sugars. In the United States, corn is >the primary source of the sugars. In Brazil sugar comes from sugar cane, in >Europe from wheat. Soon the sugars will be extracted from astonishingly >abundant cellulosic materials like corn stalks, wheat straw, grasses and >urban organic wastes. > >Thanks to previous public policy, Minnesota boasts some 14 biorefineries. >The majority are owned by farmers. To displace 85 percent of our imported >petroleum we would need to triple or quadruple this number, in the process >creating hundreds of new jobs and injecting hundreds of millions of dollars >into rural economies. > >Sugar-derived fuels compare favorably with hydrogen fuels. Ethanol is half >the cost of hydrogen, without subsidies. Converting a gas station to an >ethanol station costs 1 to 10 percent the cost of converting it to >hydrogen. Minnesota already boasts 90 of the E85 (85 percent ethanol) pumps. > >To modify a car to run on either ethanol or gasoline costs only $150. More >than 3 million flexible-fueled cars already are on the road. To substitute >a fuel cell for an internal combustion engine costs tens of thousands of >dollars. > >The hydrogen economy is an alluring vision. But we would be better served >by looking in our backyards and to our own resources to wean ourselves off >of imported oil. > >David Morris is vice president of the Minneapolis-based Institute for Local >Self-Reliance. >-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- > Felix Kramer [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Founder California Cars Initiative > http://www.calcars.org > cell 650.520.5555 voice 650.599.9992 >-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- > > > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > >To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evworld/ > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
