Oil companies hindering Bio-diesel?

[spinning-magnets]

I heard today on the radio that Exxon bought a lot of farm land around a new bio-diesel plant in Kansas (I think). Raw material can still be trucked in, but the farther it has to come, the more expensive it will be. The old owners can still graze cattle if they want at very favorable terms (empty land would be too obvious) but the oil company has control over any crops that may be grown there in the future.

All companies have to re-invest any profits (supposedly helping competitive companies grow), or pay tax on their profits. Apparently Exxon wants to use their recent profits to slow (or be one of the few providers of) Bio-Diesel.

No new petro-oil refineries have been allowed to be built in the US in the last 30 years by "environmentalists", and the US has recently had to import refined fuel to keep up with the demand, showing we are becoming even more vulnerable.

Jumbo-tankers from South America, Africa, Middle East, etc, unload crude oil into refineries on the coast, which are succeptable to the next big hurricane.

Iran can buy a Russian nuke warhead from a rogue Colonel in "nutcase-istan", and have Hezbollah drive it into North Israel and detonate it. If the US is divided now, how would the US public react to a nuke going off in the middle east? If we pull US troops out and "nuke 'em all", what will that do to fuel prices?

What I'm getting at is that all the pieces are in place for there to be a major crisis in mobile fuels, and instead of Exxon building lots of bio-diesel and ethanol refineries to be a major player in the fuels transition, they want a short leash on any options, with only the oil companies holding the good cards in the game.

None of the viable transportation alternatives are as cheap, convenient, reliable, and long-lasting as a gasoline Toyota Corolla...but if there's a crisis, a lot of people will be rushing to buy the next best thing which will be sold out and back ordered. Here's my picks:

1. Electric bike for short trips in nice weather.
2. Gasoline 4-cyl vehicle with a Propane dual fuel kit.
3. 50 MPG VW turbo-diesel rabbit adding second tank with fuel heater so I can use vegetable oil, bio-diesel, or regular diesel.
4. New Honda Civic GX using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) can be mixed 50/50 with electrolyzed hydrogen (not hydroxy).
5. Brew ethanol, convert motorcycle, 40% bigger jets, 12:1 compression ratio. (not for me)
6. Small car converted to electric, several companies will convert Chevy S-10 for $15,000+, also must wait several months. (not for me)

I don't want to be one of those people who gets to the "I hate big oil" rallies in something that burns an oil product, because you just KNOW those oil guys are really getting a good laugh about that behind closed doors... but I gotta talk the wife into us doing something different NOW, or I'm just "polishing the brass on the Titanic" -Ron

[AlaskaStar]

Polishing the Brass on the Titantic we are doing INDEED!

The smartest move to squish out any competition is to cut off the upper ends of the supply. If there is no supply, the fountain of wealth dries up. This is bad news for the economy. Instead of trying to live life "NORMAL" while going green, when the Shit hits the fan, it NEVER disperses Evenly.

So My suggestion: Learn how to SURVIVE. I am not talking the weekend camping trip. I am not talking a month in the woods due to a freak helicopter tourism accident. I am talking about Possibly the REST OF YOUR MORTAL LIFE, summer, Winter, and everything between. Stray Nukes are like Stray Bullets. they can happen, and when they do, will you know what to do?

I do. Water will remove a ton of radiation after the fact. What about the first 24 hours? well, STAY UNDER COVER, even if it's under a truck. get yourself AWAY from the Nuclear Fallout. What next? FIND CLEAN (Not irradiated) WATER. remove all clothing, and bathe thoroughly. then do NOT put those clothes back on. Oh? Naked people? yes, and when it comes to survival, skin color, and the size of Little Mr, and the shape of the the Mrs. Twins, well, they don't matter. keep breathing, don't let your heart stop, and keep moving.

Ok, So it never comes to that. what about when the Energy flow is so costly YOU cannot afford it? walk to work? Not for me. Get a Raise? Temporary fix, and inflation goes through the ceiling. cost goes up again. cleaner cheaper cars? maybe, how about All terrain Vehicles? they get great mileage, and you can fit 2x as many on any american highway. So instead of 10 foot lanes, use 5 foot lanes.

And are you willing to rid yourself of that HUMVEE, and the Expedition, the Chevy EXXON and the Ford VALDEZ? Are you wiling to change your lifestyle?

Probably NOT. if you refuse to change your lifestyle, then the only option is the change your surroundings (not just location) to suit your lifestyle. Oh! the power doesnt work anymore since the power Company had ALL of it's CLIENTS into Disconnect, due to NON-PAYMENT! as the power company cannot afford the fuel, it's prices go up, as more people cannot pay for the power, they disconnect, and the price goes higher, as the power utility loses profits.

People it's no laughing matter. All the fuel in the world will not solve this issue, as it will come to meet the pavement someday, and so we don't face it in our lifetime, but are we cursing the next generations to deal with it? will we be looked back on as the most irresponsible generation to have ever lived?

I know this is an EXTREME example, but seriously, there needs to be so SERIOUS CHANGES. and we need more ACTION, and not so much TALK, as there's plenty of that with all the new LAWS to keep us herded to our death coming from our lovely government elected officials.

I think my point has been made, But I bet those that can Survive HARSH Environment EXPOSURE from winter extremes to desert heat extremes, are going to be the ones that survive and flourish.

well, Enough Said.

Keep on Polishing that brass there! The Titantic is UNSINKABLE, so we gotta keep 'er SHINY!

AlaskaStar

[biggeorge]

I don't think the hummer or the lexus will be much good after the EMP kills the fuel injection ECU.

The really scary thing is that all of the above can happen. I watched all of the TV show Jericho a few weeks ago and even though it's just a TV show, there is a lot of food for thought in it.

I haven't stopped thinking about this and it scares me a lot!
Even just the lack of available food is enough to make people kill each other. If you haven't seen Jericho, search for a torrent of information about the tv series...

I am in Australia, one of the few places that has half a chance if the world goes nuclear. We have our own oil reserves, our own natural gas, our own coal, etc. We have plenty of all this stuff, and being as remote as we are I believe I am in the best part of the world if and when the fan begins distributing the sloppy stuff.

I am not prepared, I will admit this. I do not have enough land to grow my own food, and I do not have any of the backstops in place in preparation for the above events.

But... I am far better off than the average Joe. I know a lot of things, and I am a bit of a McGyver when it comes to fixing things and building stuff. I can make anything work if it is capable of it.

Things such as washing machines can be pulled apart and made into wind generators, water pumps and the bowls are great for growing potatos.

There are a lot of things to think about, and endless possibilities of what might happen.

I am not prepared, but I plan on becoming prepared as soon as I can.
Even if it's just for the education, it is worth looking into this and doing as much as possible.

There is a great deal to be learned from the people who lived 80+ years ago.

[AlaskaStar]

[spinning-magnets]

I heard on the radio a few days ago about a guy who recently got the idea that it wouldn't hurt to make a few changes "just in case", and as part of his plan he bought a used 1980's Mercedes 300D 4-door sedan (5-cylinder in-line Diesel) for a couple thousand bucks, and put on the $500 "Journey to Tomorrow" kit.

It can be replicated cheaper, its a small second fuel tank, a two-way fuel valve to switch between tanks, and a small long thin heat exchanger that uses 190 F coolant to heat and thin the waste vegetable oil (WVO) he gets from restaurants for free. He warms the engine (and the WVO) on Diesel before switching over, and then flushes out the injectors with Diesel for a minute near the end of the trip. When his WVO supply is low he uses Diesel, but if new 5-gal cooking oil from Costco is cheaper, he uses that (you may find it useful to get a business license and start a small part-time catering business). He adapted a 12V motor to run a wet/dry vac he put on a 55-gal drum for collecting the WVO.

The "problem" started when he put on a bumper sticker he had ordered that said "running on 100% American grown vegetable oil!". During traffic stops for minor violations, this particular farming community occasionally checks for "red" untaxed diesel (OK for bulldozers and farm tractors) being illegally used in a "road-registered" vehicle.

Finding vegetable oil in the large stock "obvious" fuel tank, he was cited to appear before the court that deals with the occasional untaxed fuel case. The most common violator is a farmer who uses his Diesel truck to haul his horse trailer (or any other cargo) and is severely fined. The judge expressed sympathy for the "American-grown alternative fuel/our troops dying in the middle east" efforts, and gave him the lightest fine he could =$1,000; which is being appealed by a sympathetic congressman (for the publicity, no doubt).

The laws vary by state, and he was informed he is required to post a $2500 bond up front, and negotiate an "estimated" fuel consumption quarterly road-use tax, requiring the DMV to put "tamper-resistant" devices on the odometer connectors (I think this incident was in Delaware?).

Interestingly, California (always claiming to "lead the way" in alternative fuels) is one of the 5 states that do not allow a passenger car to be sold in the state with a Diesel engine. The 52 MPG 4-cyl VW TDI Diesel Golf/Passat/Bug has to be purchased (for instance) in Arizona and then you put 7,000 miles on the odometer (with a cordless drill?) before it can be registered in California.

BUT..., you CAN buy a big-block V8 diesel truck to tow your big-block V8 diesel boat any day of the week!

Of course nobody wants to encourage anyone to break the law, and thus draw unwanted attention. However, if anybody wants to try a WVO conversion (with hydroxy cell?) for a generator, or tractor, or a vehicle that is ONLY used on private property, I very much encourage as many people as possible to try this as a useful alternative (with discretion)...and when crossing the country, you can still use regular Diesel fuel without any problems. -Ron

Bio-Diesel trivia: If you grow soybeans and press the oil out to run your Diesel farm equipment, you must "toast" the leftover high-protein mash before you feed it to livestock (something to do with the chemistry).

[spinning-magnets]

[AlaskaStar]

As for Road Taxes:

In Alaska we:

PAY Road taxes in each gallon of petroleum products.

PAY road taxes (PRE-PAY) in the form of "Tags" which is the registration/ taxes and we get a little STICKER that we put on our license plate, that is good for 2 years. These Little stickers are 1 square inch, and cost $180.00. An I/M Sticker is 6 Square Inches, and only costs $60.00. I guess the rolling real estate market is flexible.

PAY Road Taxes as LAND OWNERS.

PAY Road taxes as part of our SALES TAXES.

I seem to be caught in a bit of a quandry here: Double Taxation laws come into effect, and what about taxes on top of taxes on top of taxes? Isn't this illegal someplace? is someplace in EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY something that was ABOLISHED in the form of DEMONSTRATIONS like the BOSTON TEA PARTY?

some reason it doesn't sit right logically with me.

Oh well, another step backward into the future.

AlaskaStar

[biggeorge]

As far as I can figure the government owns everything, or eventually will.

In Australia, we pay on average 30% income tax, and 10% GST on all purchases.

So a man earns $100, keeps $70 to spend.
He spends the $70 and pays $6.30 GST.
The business owner takes his $63 and pays staff $30 and buys his product for $33, or which $3 is GST.

The staff member pays $10 income tax and keeps $20 to spend.
The supplier of the $30 product pays his staff $15 and pays $15 in raw materials for the product, or which $1.20 is GST.

The supplier of the raw materials, pays tax and staff who pay tax........
etc.....

Out of $100, $55 goes up in tax within 2 transactions up the chain. The chain of transactions on a purchase is almost infinite, and with every step up the food chain the government takes 1/3rd. It is a diminishing return, but nonetheless, the government ends up owning everything, because the dirt you dig/grow the stuff out of, is owned by the government.

[kevinsatterfield]

[kevinsatterfield]