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

To: Road Walker who wrote (398328)	7/13/2008 8:04:46 AM
From: combjelly	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574842

"I think you may be underestimating the infrastructure required to convert all those cars and deliver the NG. " Maybe. But it is something that can start at any time. "all electric is probably less than 5 years away." Not to any extent. For that to happen, we would need the battery technology in hand right now. We don't have it. There are some things that might work, but they might not. Yes, there will be some all electrics. We have them now. But, the batteries used are expensive and aren't likely to get a whole lot cheaper. Plus, they depend on materials that are in short supply. Again, this is a bumper sticker issue. And a lot of it can be done grassroots. That has an enormous appeal. I am just pointing out that this is the sort of thing that can have an effect that goes beyond its technical merits. It gives a focus that most of the other solutions lack. And it should be pretty easy to get most people to buy into it. This is the sort of thing that potentially could change the game. The solution isn't ideal, not by a long shot, but it has a lot of potential.

To: Road Walker who wrote (398328)	7/13/2008 10:59:53 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574842

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. It seems to me what you and Joe are saying makes the most sense. I think we all want one thing to take care of the problem but I think the solution will have to be piecemeal..... a little of this and a little of that......as frustrating as that may be.