Alternative energy survey

[A.Spod]

I am writing a paper comparing different alternative energy sources for cars. I have developed this survey to see what the general public 's thoughts are on this topic. The results from this survey will be used in my paper. It is for my business writing class so please take it seriously. Thanks in advance.

Survey (http://freeonlinesurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=i5uz017y6lnnbru431517)

[Prince Valiant]

Gasoline/diesel is still the cheapest, most plentiful, most efficient form of energy available. To make other forms (from e85 to hydrogen to electric) they need to heavily subsidize either the cost of the fuel, the car, or both....which is really disingenous as it hides the true cost of the product.

[Karps TA]

I agree. there's no shortage of oil on this planet. The only shortage is the limited view of the people running this country and their lobbyists who refuse to take advantage of the oil we have here, and the production of said oil.

The alternative energy BS is driven mostly by corporations who want to get in on the next big thing, as well as the politicians who want their names associated with it. The huge amount of money it would take to create an infrastructure capable enough to handle a fuel source such as Hydrogen would take any cost advantages out of it. Electricity still needs to be created somehow, and since the public is so deathly scared of nuclear, we waste fossil fuels burning coal instead. And bio-fuels are too dependent on other factors such as weather to be anything more the a crutch.

[A.Spod]

Somehow I expected that response from a muscle car site :) Thanks for anyone who participated.

[u_say_go]

any truth to the rumor that there's enough oil in Alaska to last the united states 150 years?

[WickedSix]

well think of it logically....does it make thermodynamic sense to take fuel combust it produce electricity then use electricity to power the car?? granted the combustion efficiency can be greater....... if electric cars were to be mainstream something will have to give..... we have an abundance of coal inside our borders which could be used to produce energy....but it is still seen as a 'dirty' powersource even tho many strides have been made to make it better.... hydrogen, clean yes efficient well.... last I checked the process for producing large amounts of hydrogen was still sketchy as to the total costs for the process. Bio-fuels is a poor way for you to have put it....because you are glossing over several very different possibilities.....corn fuel has been and will be a loosing effort....until switchgrass and other cellulose materials are able to be used to create ethanol it will continue to be almost a total loss.... bio-diesel would be more viable and WISE imo as diesel engines have greater efficiency (and power) than spark ignition engines. WVO and SVO and biodiesel offer areas of expansion and would be the most likely to be embraced by the general public. again simply saying bio-fuels is somewhat of a poor choice on your part ethanol belongs in your booze not in your car.

[A.Spod]

again simply saying bio-fuels is somewhat of a poor choice on your part ethanol belongs in your booze not in your car.

Yea...I suck. This paper is not going to be very long and is more about the format of the paper than the real content. It for a business writing class not a science or engineering course. I plan on doing more extensive writing on this topic in the future in which, yes I would break down the categories and make it more specific. The general concept is all I am focusing on at this point. Bio-fuels is encompassing corn ethanol, cellulose ethonol, and bio-diesel. Thanks for anyone who participated.

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

I think oil is going to continue to become more and more expensive and people not wanting to buy all that expensive oil will bring forth viable alternatives to oil. I think a plug in hybrid car will be one of those alternatives.
Too bad we are not using ultra low emission nuclear fuel for electrical power generation, tho coal is far superior to natural gas or oil for electrical power generation.
I do expect the American car landscape to be dramatically different 5 and 10 years from now and can see oil prices nearing double digits, supply is going down and demand is going UP UP UP as 3rd world countries develop and put more and more automobiles on the road.
As far as I know a barrel of oil that is extracted on American soil costs the same as a barrel of oil from Saudi Arabia.

I am not buying a different car right now as I cant afford to, but when I do in a few years I will be shopping for a fuel pincher and taking MPG into consideration for the first time. I would rather have that money than give it to BP.
Are we dealing with a fuel crisis ? No, there is no shortage of oil, there are no gas lines, there is no gas rationing, you can buy as much as you want on an odd or even day and people are not waiting 6 hours for 3 gallons of gas, this is not the 1973 oil crisis.
The weak dollar is partly to blame for high oil prices as well.

[CATNHAT]

I think we should stop spending billions on space exploration, and divert those efforts towards creating a more efficient engine for our cars and trucks. Mars has been the same for billions of years, our lifetime has not.

NASA should focus their efforts on here and now, not on what might have happened on some distant planet millions of years ago.

.02

[lordairgtar]

I was wondering why, and not just the survey poster, there is no mention of natural gas. It is plentiful, the infrastructure is already there, the technology is accepted, and it is clean. Our own country produces enough natural gas to serve our transportation needs. Same goes for Propane.No one ever speaks of this. I drove a Propane powered truck and the performance was on par with gasoline powered trucks. Also, the trouble with bio-fuels is that it requires more energy to produce than energy gained. On a business model alone, that is un-economical and inflationary.

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

I was wondering why, and not just the survey poster, there is no mention of natural gas. It is plentiful, the infrastructure is already there, the technology is accepted, and it is clean. Our own country produces enough natural gas to serve our transportation needs. Same goes for Propane.No one ever speaks of this. I drove a Propane powered truck and the performance was on par with gasoline powered trucks. Also, the trouble with bio-fuels is that it requires more energy to produce than energy gained. On a business model alone, that is un-economical and inflationary.

Surprising thoughts, do you purchase natural gas or LP ? The price has doubled in the last 5 years.

[lordairgtar]

Just curious, what kind of car do you drive A.spod? Do you like performance cars of any type, whether they be old muscle, sports cars, tuners? Stick around a bit and join in on the discussions. There are people here with a wide range of interests. Don't fear the flaming, it happens to all the newbs.

[lordairgtar]

Surprising thoughts, do you purchase natural gas or LP ? The price has doubled in the last 5 years.
So has Diesel and Gasoline, what's your point. My point was its availability, cleanliness and ready technology.

[Al]

Gasoline/diesel is still the cheapest, most plentiful, most efficient form of energy available. To make other forms (from e85 to hydrogen to electric) they need to heavily subsidize either the cost of the fuel, the car, or both....which is really disingenous as it hides the true cost of the product.

Algae-based biodiesel is cheaper than petroleum diesel and typically produces about 1% more energy output/gallon.

For my senior independent study, I will be teaming up with a biochem student so that we can grow algae and the process it to a final fuel source. We are contemplating on bypassing the transesterfication process by utilizing thermal depolymerization and then fractional distillation. In other words, avoid the need for methanol. Studies have demonstrated that thermal depolymerization has an 85 unit energy output for every 15 unit energy input. In other words, the process is %570 efficent.

This is what I want to be able to drive one of these. I bet I could fill it up for less than $1.00/gal with tax (i'm honest about that stuff). If I can manage about 13 mpg, I'll laugh at all of the Prius owners and say that they are spending more on fuel per mile than I am. :rolf

http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-2005/2005-International-CXT-FA-Rocks-1024x768.jpg

[WickedSix]

I was wondering why, and not just the survey poster, there is no mention of natural gas. It is plentiful, the infrastructure is already there, the technology is accepted, and it is clean. Our own country produces enough natural gas to serve our transportation needs. Same goes for Propane.No one ever speaks of this. I drove a Propane powered truck and the performance was on par with gasoline powered trucks. Also, the trouble with bio-fuels is that it requires more energy to produce than energy gained. On a business model alone, that is un-economical and inflationary.

fuel economy for one CNG has about half the efficiency of gasoline and LPG is about 75% iirc I have a propane fired truck and yes they can be nice. But they still intake hydrocarbons and expel CO and CO2 and unspent hydrocarbon chains....yes they are cleaner but still not clean. Ambient weather drivability is also an issue as both CNG and LPG have a more narrow window of ignition compared to gasoline. If you want the latest in CNG and LPG conversion checkout technocarb.com I have a 4 barrel electronic system from them on my k30 and they make many conversions for late model vehicles:thumbsup

[Al]

fuel economy for one CNG has about half the efficiency of gasoline and LPG is about 75% iirc I have a propane fired truck and yes they can be nice. But they still intake hydrocarbons and expel CO and CO2 and unspent hydrocarbon chains....yes they are cleaner but still not clean. Ambient weather drivability is also an issue as both CNG and LPG have a more narrow window of ignition compared to gasoline. If you want the latest in CNG and LPG conversion checkout technocarb.com I have a 4 barrel electronic system from them on my k30 and they make many conversions for late model vehicles:thumbsup

A dollar spent on CNG will get you farther than a dollar spent on gasoline or diesel right now.

[A.Spod]

Just curious, what kind of car do you drive A.spod? Do you like performance cars of any type, whether they be old muscle, sports cars, tuners? Stick around a bit and join in on the discussions. There are people here with a wide range of interests. Don't fear the flaming, it happens to all the newbs.

The car I drive everyday is a 1994 Saturn SL1 with a SOHC 1.9l with a 5-speed trans. Gets between 38-42 MPG's mixed driving. Its ugly but I get great mileage and it is very functional. I try to think I am not to hypocritical on this subject. I will be modifiying the Saturn over this summer to push MPG's even further. About performance, some would consider me a hardcore DSM'er. Putting a couple together right now but I don't drive them much anyway (its a DSM!).

[Karps TA]

A dollar spent on CNG will get you farther than a dollar spent on gasoline or diesel right now.

Yes right now. Convert even 25% of cars to CNG and that price will triple due to supply and demand. Look at what a cold winter does to the prices when people start using more.

And again you have storage and infrastructure costs.

[juicedimpss]

my sources tell me hydrogen is coming.

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

Using CNG as a fuel for automobiles and power plants is as ridiculous as using corn ethanol to power automobiles.
Also it is not readily accesible as a motor fuel. And gasoline fueled automobiles are very very low emissions nowemdays.