Making Sense of Alternative Fuels
Save the Environment, Your Checkbook, and Your Sanity!
INTRODUCTION
Ga? ?rices in the United State? are at an alarming r?te th?se days. In some parts of th? co?ntry, consumer? are pay?ng $3 to $4 ? gallon. Th?s c?n ?e devast?ting to peopl? who de?end on their car? for their livelihoods. It c?n p?t ? huge dent in ? family’? budget and cause a real hardship.
Plus, w?th the rising p?ice ?f ga?, we have to conside? the effect ?n o?r consume? g?ods a? well. Truck?ng companie? mu?t p?y more in fu?l costs, and t?e only wa? f?r them t? rec?up any of that money ?nd make even a small profit is t? pass the increased cost on t? the c?nsumer. Th?t means high?r prices for t?ings like groc?ries, cloth?ng, and other things ?e need ?nd u?e every day.
But there is ho?e on the horizon. Scientists ?re develo?ing alternative fuel? that ?an h?lp not only th? environment, b?t ?lso the consumer’s chec?book. The ne? alternat?ve fuels offer advantag?s in ?o many ways that people are really starting to take a l?ok ?t these as an opti?n over ?aying astronomical gasoline prices.
Unlike back in th? 1970’s w?en ther? w?s a gas ?hortage invoking memories of long lines ?t gas station?, we have plenty of gasoline. But th? prices are our greatest concern today. M?ny people blame the high p?ice ?f gas on ou? ongoing wa? in the Middle E?st, but ?hat these peo?le don’t realiz? is t?at a major?ty of the o?l ?e us? t? manufa?ture gasoline is obtained from countries like Venezuela.
So wh? a?e ga? prices ?o high? Oil i? the most prec?ous commodity in the world. It is mor? valuable than gold. The price ?er barrel ha? risen dramati?ally even in th? past year. Perha?s it has more to do with supply and de?and m?re t?an anything, ?ut the re?l fact ?s that federal, state, and local taxes h?ve ? lot t? d? with t?e pr?ce p?r gallon of ga?oline. In fact, 20 percent of t?e cost of ? gallon of gasoline in the US ?s attributable to t?ese taxes. Consider yours?lf l?cky. In Europ? and ?ther countries a? ?uch a? 70 per?ent of t?e c?st of g?soline is taxe?. So wh?n s? called experts tell you h?w l?cky you are because th? cost of gasoline ?s s? c?eap her? you ?ill understand. T?e price of gas?line ?s the ?ame world wid? the difference is the amount of taxes ?r subsid?es that are applied.
The development ?f thes? new alternativ? fuels help consumers in so many ?ays. That’s wh? it’s ?o important to know as mu?h as you can about th? options that are available when it ?omes t? alternative fuels and how the? can ?elp YOU ?s a consumer and ?ow they c?n hel? the US a? a world citizen. Right no? ?n the United States, there ?s a huge push for peopl? to use alternative fu?ls as opposed to gasolin?. There are ?any reas?ns f?r this pus?. Generall?, it’s because alternat?ve fuels are k?nder to t?e env?ronment ?nd can help to combat t?e ever-growing problem of global warming.
The ?rice of d?iving ? ?ar is ?ising at ?n alarming rate. It ha? becom? very expensive to drive ? car, s? ?eople are looking out fo? ways to ?ave money on their fuel. Scientists ?re develo?ing alternative fuels that can ?elp not only t?e environment, b?t also the consu?er’s checkbook. T?e new alternative fuels ?ffer advantages in so many ways that ?eople ar? really starting t? take a look at these ?s an option over pa?ing astronomical gasoline prices.
When consumers us? alternative fuels both to gas u? the?r c?r as well as heat and co?l the?r ho?es, they ar? helping the environment as well a? helping themselves. T?e toxins that ?re released into the air when we burn gasoline and oth?r fuels a?e known to contribute t? global w?rming and befo?e we know it, winter will b? a? warm a? summer.
In the simplest form, an alternative fu?l ?s one that is not p?oduced by using crude oil. They a?e si?ply fu?ls t?at ?eplace conventional gasoline a? ? means of p?wering vehicles. Alternative fuels h?ve desirable energy efficiency and ?ollution reduction feat?res. The 1990 Clean Air A?t ?ncourages developm?nt and sale of alternative fuels.
There ?re many different kinds of alternat?ve fuel? – t?e m?st ?rominent one as well as the one th?t has been aro?nd t?e longest i? eth?nol. Ethanol ?s trad?tionally made f?om co?n whic? is ? great help to our farmers as well ?s to c?nsumers and the environment. Ethanol ?s sometimes called grain alc?hol. It ?an ?lso ?e made from o?ganic materials including agric?ltural crops and waste, plant material l?ft from logging, ?nd tras? incl?ding paper.
The al?ohol fo?nd in alcoholic beverages is et?anol. Howeve?, the ethan?l used fo? motor fuel is denatured, which means p?ison has been added so people can't drink it (So don't drink the fuel). So?e p?ople believe that ?roducing ethanol t?kes more energy than it giv?s ba?k b?t for th? most part, th?s i? not true. Wh?t they ?re really ?aying ?s t?at it costs mor? to produce ethanol then ?t doe? t? ?roduce gasoline. If you do ? straight across compar?son this seem? to be t?e case. One very import?nt considerati?n that i? usuall? left out of the argument i? that no matte? the cost of ethanol production ?ll the money spent st?ys in the local ec?nomy. Thi? is not the cas? with petroleum wh?re more than 50% of the c?st sta?s with the oil producing country and since much of refining is done over se?s that money stay? there. T?e n?ce t?ing about ethanol is that research is bringing the price down.
Technologies have ev?lved in s?ch ? way that it is ?ossible to increase the efficiency of produc?ng ethanol. When th? tru? cost ?f o?taining oil ?s consider?d ethanol ?s a ba?gain. Man? people do not und?rstand that u? t? 40% ?f the defense budget is used t? keep the ocean shipp?ng lanes op?n so oil can be transport?d, not ?nly to the US, ?ut around t?e world. We ar? fighting two very expensive ?ars so that ?il production can be maintained. When people bring u? ethanol the? br?ng up the subsidies but when you t?lk oil no one mention? t?e true cost.
The growing trend to?ard alternative fuel? w?ll pr?bably grow as ?e becom? mo?e and more consc?ous of how we are damaging our environment through ?ur ha?its and p?oducts we us?. N?w alternative fuels are b?ing developed all the time ?nd having ? choice ?ill certainl? be ? nice alternative itself. Don't get me wrong w? will need to us? o?l for ? long tim? ?s othe? alternatives c?me online.
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