petrol and diesel on the way out ?

Question

Alternative fuels are a must if we don't all want to die choking.

Answer 1

Technically alternatives have been superior to infernal combustion for years. eg http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com, or http://www.teslamotors.com made by Lotus in UK

The Government, national & london have been trying to push electric vehicles for many years - £0 road tax, £0 congestion charge; £0 petrol tax; even free car parking and charging in cities like Westminster.

the cost to the UK from particulates that kill thousands a year and trade imbalance far outweigh (like cigarettes)any unpopular tax supluss
add in the cost of climate change http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm

it comes clear that tax is just an easy scapegoat. This saves us asking why we do not want to give up noisy, smelly, unreliable, clunky addiction with a vunerable finite fuel supply chain. And there is a large media/advertising campaign to keep us thinking this way.

Answer 2

There is enough oil to last for decades yet. We have been able to make synthetic gasoline from coal since WW II and there are centuries worth of coal..But these are the despised fossil fuels we will be forbidden to use by the Greenies.

Lets use solar power and build huge solar farms to collect the sunlight and make electricity. Electric vehicles are clean, but expensive, short-ranged and have no heat, AC or power accessories. The solar collectors shade out the habitat, change the environment and the Greenies say no. Anything that changes the environment, such as a dam, windmill farm or tidal generator is also a no from the Greenies. Nuclear is also not an option with them. Actually many of the crazy environmentalists feel the world would be better without Man and oppose all mass energy systems.

I say we should use whatever works most economically to make energy cheaper. Because bio-fuels are presently made from food plants and may compete for the same fields we need to grow bio-fuels in marginal areas, using plants that are genetically engineered for the purpose. But those Greenies will oppose that too, since genetic engineering is considered evil by them.

Actually the Greenies want an end to civilisation and technology so Man can live in his natural state, prey to hungry carnivores, forbidden to kill animals for food or defence, a disease-ridden nomadic gatherer.

Answer 3

And what is the alternative you recommend? I love it when well meaning "Environmentalists" just assume by some magic we can stop using petrol and diesel.

At this time, there is no viable alternative. If there were, we would be using it. Get the facts. Stop living in La La Land.

Hybrids are an improvement, but still use fuel. Electric cars may provide some improvement, but still just move the fuel burning from the car to the power plant burning fuel. Hydrogen is still only experimental.

Answer 4

It would be nice. Why are we so far behind all the other nations in making cars that use gas more economically and in developing alternative methods to use instead of driving.We are all programed in America to drive a car with fossil fuels. I don't believe the government will allow us to develop viable alternatives. There is the electric car, but there are so many limitations with it that it doesn't sound that comparative anyway--its so expensive that it is out of many peoples price range.

Answer 5

I really hope you are right but I fear there are very good, if frustrating, reasons why it cannot happen overnight. We have very large infrastructures handling very large amounts of fuels which cannot be replaced quickly or easily. I believe world oil consumption is about 80,000,000 barrels per day and the infrastructure in terms of production, transportation and distribution to provide really significant amounts of alternative fuels is very large indeed, not to mention ironing out the teething problems of new technologies.

I would like to see blends of bio fuels becoming available in a way that limits their impact on food production or burning of rain forests. Most modern vehicles are capable of running on blends of 5% bio alcohols or 5% bio diesel but at the moment it seems just not to be available. I have recently bought a diesel car rated at 139gm CO2 per km but don't have the option of filling it with a 5% bio diesel to reduce my carbon footprint further.

Answer 6

Petrol and diesel have been obsolete for years. What's missing is the political will to introduce environmentally benign technology. To all well meaning environmentalists and defeatists who think there is no viable solution I would like to present a very exciting article. Sometimes reading about all the facts can give hope. See the link below for more details.

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1957692,00.html

Answer 7

Sorry but the fossil fuels is all that are recycled by the plants. If the plants does not have CO2 then we all die.

Answer 8

Gas/electric hybrids are already available:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070727/sc_nm/cars_pollution_dc

Plug-in electric hybrids should be available within the next 5 years:

http://green.yahoo.com/index.php?q=node/1177

and improved battery technology is making electric vehicles a viable alternative:

http://zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=188
http://zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=4560

Answer 9

I think we already have the technology to build vehicles that use alternative fuels but the government probably won't licence them at the moment as they'll loose out on tax revenue. (They won't admit it though!)

Answer 10

What and have all those millions Bush and Blair wasted on war in the name of oil wasted, do you really think our government, or the yanks will allow that?