Let's talk gas

I was thinking about something utterly profound this weekend because in the few moments I watched CNN, I caught the last seconds of a story on Biodiesel. Now even before that story was somehow squeezed into CNN's busy schedule of covering all things Schiavo, I was thinking, what happend to the CRX?

You know that car that Honda used to make in the late 80's. It boasted 36 miles per gallon, had a pretty good emissions control, and looked cool enough to trick out and put big speakers into. You would be hard pressed today to find a car with a 36 MPG gas rating. I thought technology was supposed to go forward and offer more efficient engines. We are talking about 15 years worth of technology in the automaker market and they have gone in the wrong direction.

Then on Saturday's Today show they featured a 15 second interview with someone from the car show which is in New York this week. The car show guy showcased a car made by General Motors which is completely petroleum and electricity free. It is a fuel cell vehicle. He called it a concept car that is at least 5 years away from a market debut. Why is this car 5 years away? Why isn't it being pushed all around the world as the savior to the worlds fuel and environmental problems? I thought about that later when I was paying $2.35 per gallon of gas, remembering oil hit a recent all-time high.

Then PBU13 pointed me over to The Union of Concerned Scientists where they seem to have tagged the Automakers with a propaganda charge. Automakers have been recently boasting cars that are "virtually emission-free." Of course that is a fallacy, this just doesn't virtually exist. Cars on the market today drink gas better than they did in the 80's. While they may not be polluting as much as the cars of the 60's, I haven't seen anyone squatting to get a better whiff of the rose and jasmine infused aroma spewing from their exhuast pipes.

And I flashed back to BioWillie as CNN had dubbed him.

Biodiesel.

If there was ever a simple solution to a large part of this countries problems, Biodiesel would be the single product I would point to.

There is plenty of information on the webpage but, basically it is vegetable oil processed and mixed only slightly with petroleum (or not). Now vegetable oil is renewable, by growing more corn and soybeans. Something this country has plenty of hands and land to do. As a matter of fact, this country's farms need all the help they can get and a new place to use all the extra corn and other farmed produce we grow but can't sell.

You mean we are standing in the middle of fields and fields of stuff that can run our present cars, with almost no modifications?

I mean even the modifications (if necessary) are an economic godsend. It is amazing to me that this stuff exists, right under our noses. Yet we decide to go fight wars over this high priced, world pollutin' oil stuff.

Biodiesel.

It is so simple, the farms in this country would finally get the boost they have been waiting for (which is why Willie Nelson is pushing this stuff), it doesn't require a new breed of automobiles, just possibly a gasfilter or something like it, and we get to stop funding middle east countries (read: terrorism)?! We also get to reduce emmisions drastically (78% less CO2 than regular gas) making it easy to sign onto that Kyoto treaty. Eco-friendly, national-security friendly, economically-friendly (the economic impact is actually more like orgasmic).

Even Terri Schiavo could figure this one out.

It would bring the price of fuel down so much our economy would rebound and grow at a rate that would scare the begeezus out of the Social Security Privatizers. Think of the cost of goods going down simply because of plumitting transportation costs.

How can anybody not be pushing this into the mainstream?

Why isn't there biodiesel gas stations all over the country?

Why aren't the democrats wearing biodiesel pins, taking photo-ops by biodiesel gas stations, volunteering with farmers to pick the corn, getting greasy with the mechanics that are putting in the filter with your next oil change.

PSST Democrats.... This one is too easy. Think red states, farms, corn, soybeans, whatever. Also think blue states, enviro-lefty-hippies.

Democrats, pretty soon I will be charging for my services.

Anyone reading this post who happens to own or run a business that uses trucks should go to the Biodiesel website.

Anyone who wants to win an election, I bet you you can do it by simply using Biodiesel as the answer to all questions asked of you.