Imagine wind powered houses and solar powered automobiles. Now imagine monkeys flying out of your tailpipe, Wayne Campbell.
The greenies’ dream of forcing the American culture into an undernourished energy consumer is alchemy pure and simple. But reality eventually wins every contest and even a Soros-funded campaign cannot turn environmentalist idealism into gold.
One of the greatest blessings of living in the 21st Century is that we can rapidly transport ourselves and our groceries in affordable vehicles at speeds up to 75mph. There are very good reasons why gasoline and diesel have supplied the power for our cars and delivery trucks for over 120 years.
The worthy exploration of fuel source options for transportation has pretty much narrowed to gasoline, diesel, and electricity. In spite of conspiracy theories to the contrary, gasoline engines squeeze just about every bit of power that can possibly come from a gallon of petrol. Passenger cars enjoy the power of acceleration called for in the frequent start and stops of city driving. Diesel supplies a slower ignition for efficient piston-pushing torque and long engine life. Both of these liquid fuels can be safely loaded by the consumer.
Natural gas is wonderfully abundant in the United States and can be used for powering a vehicle. However, it must be carried in pressurized tanks that can only be loaded by trained personnel. The natural gas delivered into homes via gas pipes is under a very low level of pressure that could not be used to fill a car’s tank.
Hydrogen does not look like it will be the answer to fueling cars anytime soon. The challenge is in producing the hydrogen onboard just before being ingested into the special engine. Storing hydrogen in a fuel tank would be akin to driving a bomb through the neighborhood. This would also put auto body repair shops out of business ;-)
There is a promising place in our society for electric cars. While they may not work well for the occasional vacation road trip, recharging nightly for daily commutes does seem workable. The best news is that domestic fuel for powering our homes with the needed electricity is very abundant.
Natural gas is downright cheap these days and coal remains plentiful. Recent experiments with boron is also showing promise as a way to develop nuclear power with less radiation leftovers.
I would personally love to see more electric vehicles on the road, improving our air quality even more than the impressive accomplishments of the past thirty years. This would require more electric plants powered by America’s smart people and their natural resources. A lot more jobs, too.
America is absolutely rich with fuel and ingenuity. Along with our neighbor nations both to the north and the south, we could fuel life around the world effectively and cleanly. The greatest obstacle to environmental responsibility are the environmentalist radicals.
Two steps could get us to green living; the defunding of controlling bureaucrats, like the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, and new software that doesn’t make us sit at red lights like lemmings when there is no oncoming traffic.
See more top stories from Townhall Finance, new home page, more columns, more news:
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| Mark Baisley | Yeah, When Monkeys Fly Out of Your Tailpipe |
| John Ransom | SEIU Puts Hood Back in Planned Parenthood |
| Marita Noon | Scientists Expose Inside Job Behind Endangered Species Scam |
| Jeff Carter | Obama's Policies are Invincible! |
| John Ransom | Email, Hate Mail and Comments from Readers |
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