Pollution is a problem, and even if you raise a lot of valid points Fred,
the solution to stop driving once and for all is not neccesary the answer.
A lot of our life quality is based upon transport. Ambulances, Fire trucks,
Aviation, public transportation etc etc...
The big question is to find clean energy and a lot of it, in order to cater
for our rather extravagant lives. (Who can with the hand on their heart say
that the car is used only when needed ?)
Nope, i'll bet a lot of you listers use the car for recreation and shopping,
even if it is driven such short distances that it would take almost the same
time to walk.
And now a few thoughts about compressed air as fuel: The amount of energy
world wide making compressed air, i guess is large enough.
If we only would be able to harvest it and store it. I am not a specialist
in the field, but i would presume there is sun, wind and waves enough to
create all the energy needed for air driven transport vehicles.
The great thing about compressed air, is that it is storable. Here in norway
there has been made tests with oceanwave powerplants, and windpower. The
problem is not the capasity of power, but the lack of constant availability.
(And of course the development cost.)
But with fuelprices nowadays with about $4.50 pr. gallon (norway) it would
be business to create compressed air from natural energy sources. Compressed
air is easily transported, by pipe or container.
So if all personal transport (private cars) would be exchanged to compressed
air, i think the world had been a better place to live. At least the big
cities :)
But i know this is a fantasy, because of all the investment done in fossile
fuels... imagine all the cost in finding, raffine and distributing fuel. And
all the money invested in stuff that uses this fuels... :( Not a chance that
all this would be thrown away...
We would all go bancrupt if the next generation of fuel was not compatible
with all the exisiting equipment.
H.SaX
-----Opprinnelig melding-----
Fra: Vandergraaf, Chuck [mailto:vandergraaft@aecl.ca]
Sendt: 2. november 2000 21:47
Til: 'FPS3@aol.com'
Kopi: helejohn@neteze.com; harald.sakshaug@datapower.no;
morgans@autox.team.net
Emne: RE: New Car
Fred,
You raise a couple of very valid points. True, a lot of pollution is
associated with building new cars. However, with the increase in wealth,
more cars will be built; that's a given. Question then becomes one of
building cars with as little adverse impact on the environment as possible.
A lot of the material in cars does get recycled. The steel ends up in scrap
yards and gets fed into furnaces to make new steel. Some of the plastics
are also being recycled.
One would have to do a very careful analysis of the pollutants released to
the environment in the making of a car vs. that generated during the
operation of the car during its lifetime. For starters, a car that lasts
for 300 000 miles and has a fuel consumption of 10 L/100 km, would use up 30
000 L of gas during its lifetime. Assuming a density of 0.7 kg/L (octane),
this would generate ~60 tons of CO2 (if my math is correct). Interesting
case is the new Morgan Aero8 with its aluminum chassis/frame. Producing
aluminium is very energy intensive (that's why the two large aluminum
smelters in Canada are built in BC and in Quebec, where hydropower is cheap
and abundant). However, aluminums is also recycled and, barring a very
slight surface oxidation, the aluminium used in the Aero8 should last
forever (well, a long time, anyway). You could further argue that the
hydroelectric power used to refine the aluminium is, basically, solar power
and that, once the dams are built, the environmental impact is minimal.
Maybe we should all rush out and buy the new Aero8 and keep it forever? ;-)
Chuck Vandergraaf
'52 +4
Boy am I becoming a cynic.
Drive the old Morgan. As dirty as the exhaust is, you are doing a lot
more for the environment than the guy who buys a new air-powered car.
It is ALL about one thing… money. Nothing to do with pollution, saving the
planet, etc. If we really wanted to reduce pollution- we would simply quit
making new cars. The cars we drive now, whatever they be, incurred their
environmental cost when they were built. Yep, they may pollute a bit more
driving down the street, but…
How much pollution do you think is produced making/shipping a brand new car?
How much land is raped, how much oil is used, how much newsprint for sales
brochures, adds, how much to heat/cool a factory and dealerships world-wide
every day, how much to mine the iron oar, to ship and smelt it, to make the
plastic interiors, etc, etc, etc… A heck of a lot all totaled.
Fred sisson.
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