tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748515.post7488704630814256312..comments2023-10-02T03:43:27.546-05:00Comments on End The Cola Wars!: Energy, etcThe Monitorshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13601073119279114352noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748515.post-77532424948524166272007-03-12T11:17:00.000-05:002007-03-12T11:17:00.000-05:00In response to "someloser"'s question:I guess the ...In response to "someloser"'s question:<BR/><BR/>I guess the thing i wrote has two main points: one is that there's this ridiculous law that lightens CAFE standards while masquerading as a green law, the second is that improving overall fuel economy is a pretty solid way to decrease our oil use and thus contribute to improving the three main points of conflict i described in the beginning of the post. Sure, there probably is some small effect increasing fuel economy would have on the price and usage of gas, but given the snail's pace CAFE standards would likely increase, and the little to moderate impact those secondary effects may have on drawing fuel consumption up, I doubt it would severely attentuate the benefits produced from increasing overall fuel economy. Lastly, it's my opinion that because the technology is firmly in our grasp and has been rolled down the supply line for years now (see Toyota, Honda, etc), it's a pretty modest effort to increase fuel economy and begin to control our own situation. It's by no means the one and only solution to those three points of conflict, but it's one of many that needs to be addressed and actions need be taken. <BR/><BR/>After some very brief research, the best answre I can come up with for your second question is that because there is no comparable nationwide infrastructure for the disitribution of natural gas, its use is restricted to vehicles that rely on centralized facilities--such as buses. According to some website, cars that burn natural gas are about $3,000-6,000 more expensive than the standard gas-burning ones, and combined with not being able to find many gas stations with natural gas, it's pretty disuasive to consumers.Brice Lordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258122272606594855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748515.post-81961711327686418702007-03-12T11:02:00.000-05:002007-03-12T11:02:00.000-05:00"Someloser" gave me his permission to post this co..."Someloser" gave me his permission to post this comment here, so here it is. I'll respond to it below.<BR/><BR/>"Good piece on energy...but admittedly, I didn't really read it all. Anyway, the one thing you should consider are the studies that show when CAFE standards are increased, people drive more. It economics, gas becomes cheaper to those people, so they use more of it. This deflects some of the purported savings from those standards. I don't think we can ever curb people's appetite for energy, which I why I tend to support technology into cleaner burning (ethanol? hydrogen?) fuels as opposed to "conservation" efforts. Just a few thoughts. I have a book on some of this stuff if you are interested -- it called "The Bottomless Well." At the very least, there are some interesting and very non-main stream thoughts in there. <BR/> <BR/>Also, do you know why buses can drive on "clean burning natural gas" but cars cannot/do not? "Brice Lordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258122272606594855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748515.post-51899229049620761332007-03-10T17:58:00.000-05:002007-03-10T17:58:00.000-05:00The solution would be to get rid of this ridiculou...The solution would be to get rid of this ridiculous law (which several reports have called for) so that cars must, in actuality, meet the fuel economy standards. That's what they're there for, right?Brice Lordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258122272606594855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748515.post-44413500975007024482007-03-09T15:09:00.000-05:002007-03-09T15:09:00.000-05:00Wait, so what's your idea for a solution? Or is t...Wait, so what's your idea for a solution? Or is this just an "investigative" post?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14494764232956446171noreply@blogger.com