03-06-2008, 04:36 AM
Can you sue? Of course. Will it matter? Nope.
Northing says companies have to use technology. Nothing says they even have to let people know it's available. The only thing they have to do is produce products you will buy. If they can make a car that gets 38 mpg, but choose to manufacture one that gets only 25 mpg and save manufacturing cost of $100 per vehicle, if people are still buying it, that's the American way.
As for H2O, it's available. You often see this as favorite projects in the WrenchHead/Geek science consortium at schools. Build vehicles that use solar electricity to break hydrogen from water. Its long-term commercial viability is questionable. It's one thing to build a project AFV, and it's completely different to get it commercially viable.
Bio-fuels are still the most promising for immediate use. There are three things holding back mass use of bio-fuels.
1. Farmers are still paid more not to plant than to plant. Why plant a product that returns $X an acre when the government will pay you $X2 an acre not to grow anything?
2. Distribution. The numbers of stations are increasing but are still stifling because of the lack of customers.
3. The number of customers is low because of the lack of stations.
As you see #2 feeds off # 3, which feeds off #2. Break that and the issue is solved. FYI, if it was mandated that all vehicles must be capable of using bio-fuel or blends by 2009, it will happen. You will hear the usual grumbling from the manufactures but they all have it available right now. All they need is a mandate to do it.
Northing says companies have to use technology. Nothing says they even have to let people know it's available. The only thing they have to do is produce products you will buy. If they can make a car that gets 38 mpg, but choose to manufacture one that gets only 25 mpg and save manufacturing cost of $100 per vehicle, if people are still buying it, that's the American way.
As for H2O, it's available. You often see this as favorite projects in the WrenchHead/Geek science consortium at schools. Build vehicles that use solar electricity to break hydrogen from water. Its long-term commercial viability is questionable. It's one thing to build a project AFV, and it's completely different to get it commercially viable.
Bio-fuels are still the most promising for immediate use. There are three things holding back mass use of bio-fuels.
1. Farmers are still paid more not to plant than to plant. Why plant a product that returns $X an acre when the government will pay you $X2 an acre not to grow anything?
2. Distribution. The numbers of stations are increasing but are still stifling because of the lack of customers.
3. The number of customers is low because of the lack of stations.
As you see #2 feeds off # 3, which feeds off #2. Break that and the issue is solved. FYI, if it was mandated that all vehicles must be capable of using bio-fuel or blends by 2009, it will happen. You will hear the usual grumbling from the manufactures but they all have it available right now. All they need is a mandate to do it.