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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: combjelly who wrote (398270)	7/13/2008 12:07:54 AM
From: Joe NYC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574809

cj, But that requires replacing the fleet. Probably several times. Most any IC engine, save diesels, can be converted to LNG. It has the advantage of using existing technology. Now, I am not saying it is the best possible solution. It has some severe limitations that haven't been discussed. The most important being that LNG just doesn't have the energy density of gasoline. So, assuming you even have a trunk, you lose it. And you don't have the range. I have ween some UPS trucks using it. It would be great for buses too. It gets a bit more difficult with individually owned passenger cars, but it does not have to be all or nothing... Joe

To: combjelly who wrote (398270)	7/13/2008 1:04:06 AM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574809

It actually does something to cut off the air supply to terrorists, it increases our security by decoupling us from foreign interests, and, in my mind more importantly, it gives something that we as a country can get behind and unite us instead of divide us. It also has a major impact in reducing the number of dollars flowing to these other countries. As to Pickens, why would you care if he makes money on it? This is a man that has a very long history of getting things done, well. Is there some reason he shouldn't profit from it? Pickens is a good man, and has plenty of money. I think there is every reason to believe that his interest in helping our country is at least as important to him as adding more money to his already substantial pile.

To: combjelly who wrote (398270)	7/13/2008 3:15:58 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574809

Two downsides. It isn't the best solution by any stretch of the imagination. And it puts a lot of dollars in Pickens pocket. More downsides.......its only a temporary fix. We have a lot of nat. gas......and we've burnt off a ton in the past....but its not an unlimited supply. We are only putting off the inevitable. Eventually all those converted cars would be obsolete. In addition, isn't NG much more combustible than gasoline? I would rather we use natural gas solely for producing energy to light homes and businesses. No more oil and coal. Most generating plants already are equipped to convert to NG when the air is too smoggy to burn oil. As far as I can tell, there would be no need to make any huge financial outlays. I am not sure what I am missing but I suspect there is some reason why this isn't happening.

To: combjelly who wrote (398270)	7/13/2008 6:10:17 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574809

I think you may be underestimating the infrastructure required to convert all those cars and deliver the NG. How long does that take to put in place? Right now we have many cars that get better than 35 MPG, hybrids are and will be gaining market share, plug in hybrids that should get upwards towards 100 MPG are less than 2 years away, all electric is probably less than 5 years away. On average the fleet turns over every 7-10 years (might be extended if we have a long recession or worse). If we were to give strong incentives to gasoline efficiency (and disincentives to inefficiency) we might be able to push that turn over to less than 6 years, with incremental improvement every year. That might give us a 50% reduction in passenger car gasoline consumption in 5 years; maybe 80% in 10 years. NG might be a great solution for those that absolutely have to have a large SUV or pick-up, and certainly a good solution for large vehicles. With a gasoline efficiency tax the SUV owner would have that conversion option; it would be technology agnostic. I could see it running parallel to the move to electric passenger cars. And I'm glad to see it on the table. In fact I'm glad to see someone of Pickens stature step up to the plate with ANY specific solution. It gets the mainstream thinking solutions instead of whining about gas prices. Focus; we desperately need focus on solutions.

To: combjelly who wrote (398270)	7/13/2008 9:25:09 AM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574809

Most any IC engine, save diesels, can be converted to LNG. You're talking about Conpressed Natural Gas, not Liquified Natural Gas. a pump to liquefy it You mean to compress it. Liquifying it would require getting it down to -260 degrees F. CNG's not a liquid. Here is a grand strategy to get us off of foreign energy. Not hardly. We're not self-sufficient in natural gas now and our imports are growing. United States Natural Gas and LNG Outlook: Beyond 2010 Based on EIA long-term forecasts, U.S.13 natural gas consumption is projected to increase from 22.5 Tcf in 2002 to 26.2 Tcf in 2010 and 31.4 Tcf by 2025. Domestic gas production is expected to increase more slowly than consumption over the forecast period, rising from 19.0 Tcf in 2002 to 20.5 Tcf in 2010 and 24.0 Tcf by 2025. The difference between consumption and production will be made up by imports, which are projected to rise from net imports of 3.5 Tcf in 2002 to 7.2 Tcf by 2025. Nearly all the increase in net U.S. natural gas imports from 2002 to 2010 is expected to come from LNG, with an almost 2.0-Tcf (42.0-million-ton) increase expected over 2002 levels. Net U.S. LNG imports are expected to rise from 5 percent of net U.S. natural gas imports in 2002 to 39 percent in 2010. Over the forecast period, net pipeline imports from Canada are expected to reach 3.7 Tcf in 2010, and then decline as Canadian fields mature and Canadian demand increases. It is projected that LNG will become the largest source of net U.S. imports by 2015, as Canadian imports decline. eia.doe.gov BTW, the leasing ban on most of our offshore acreage prevents us from exploiting the natural gas that is likely to be there too, not just the oil.