The ethanol nightmare has arrived!

wrote in message
...
Peter Dohm wrote:

wrote in message
...
Big John wrote:
On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:45:03 GMT, wrote:

Peter Dohm wrote:
wrote in message
...

What else are you going to run your refrigerator, TV,
airconditioning,
lighting, vacuum cleaner, computer, and lights on, natural gas?

--
Jim Pennino

No, although some smaller refrigerators can be operated that way.
I
am
just not sold on making transportation fully dependent on electric
power
plants as well.

The energy density of electric storage devices are more than an order
of magnitude inadequate for that to happen and there are no potential
breakthroughs of even an order of magnitude on the horizon.
******************************************8

Jim
Have you been tracking the Nano technology? Was in headlines here in
Houston for a while with a several year time frame to demonstrate
capability to go to market. Activity at Rice U

Yes. Everything I've seen is still at least an order of magnitude
short of being able to replace liquid fuels.

In addition, there has been nothing to suggest nano technology can
practically produce power at the 100,000 watt level.


--
Jim Pennino

That's exactly the point. We need to drill more holes, build more
refineries, and start building more power plants. Once we have the added
capacity and a comfortable safety margin, we can start looking for
utopian
solutions. (We should have reached that point before now; but at our
best
plausible rate of progress, I'll be pushing up at least my tenth crop of
daisies...)

Ultra capacitors and all the rest are technically fascinating; but, for
the
next twenty or so years, chemical fuels will be the reality for mobile
power
on demand. And, BTW, 100KW is really not much power.

Relative to engines, 100 kW isn't much power; it is roughly a round number
minimum for a practical C-152 class airplane or an econo-box commuting
car.

I quite frankly don't believe pure electric vehicles will ever become
practical, and for the nitpickers, that doesn't mean golf carts, fork
lifts or electrified rail trains.


--
Jim Pennino

For the remainder of my own lifetime, I agree.

Peter