As gas price climb here in Puna & Hilo..

[james weatherford]

quote:

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"Who Killed the Electric Car" ... excellent...a "must see"

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Agreed.
We saw it at the Palace in Hilo.


James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park

[LeeE]

I've heard that hemp is the preeminent plant to use for biomass production. Anyone know how that relates to fuel production?

Farmers in some mainland states have sued for the freedom to grow hemp.

Amazing, (but not suprising given the nature of our leadership), that our farmers are the only ones in the world banned from growing hemp.

I was once told that the best hemp for industrial use is Asian hemp, which unlike European hemp, is psychoactive.

Don't think the feds will allow our farmers to grow hemp till the drug money from the black market in drugs dries up, (by the public ending the drug war or a Ron Paul Presidency ending it).

A Constitutional federal government, (see above), would very likely leave it up to the states.

[HADave]

Hawaii first

http://www.grassrootsnaturalgoods.com/he...12_14.html

[gtill]

Aren't you missing the potential of Geothermal expansion. Forget the old problems and check the facility today, this thing is world class. It has the potential to light the whole island and if taken up on it HECO would be forced to cut their rates!

Gordon J Tilley

[james weatherford]

There are all sorts of trinkets, toys, and technology to do all sorts of stuff -- at a cost.

For beating high gas prices, the means most readily availabe, quickest to implement, and least cost with the greatest return on investment, is conservation.

Use less, instead of producing more.

James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park

[gtill]

I agree, I'm moving to the Volcano side and am going to incorporate wood into our house as a fuel for heating and hot water!
But electric and phone/internet we will need. However the Thermal solution for base electric service islandwide, with the present system working the daytime loads where and when they occur. Vehicle recharge at night,the shorter range of electrics would reduce travel?

[mgeary]

Mr. Tilley said:

quote:

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...Vehicle recharge at night,the shorter range of electrics would reduce travel?...

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Perhaps in certain applications, like the Hawaiian islands, certain urban/suburban areas, or anywhere else that short range travel will fit most peoples' needs in the absence of widespread public transportation.

There are large areas of the world, with lower density population by definition, that will always require something other than short range modes of transport. I'm thinking of the wide-open spaces of most of the western United States, Canada, Australia, Russia, and other large geographic areas.

Just because short-range electric vehicles have short ranges, there will always be a demand for something else to meet the demand for long-range travel. Like hydrogen fuel cell technology, which is in the pipeline. Coming soon to a dealership near you. ;-)

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell5.htm

How do I know?

[gtill]

I agree, the long hauls would do better with a hybrid for now till the fuel cell tech gets feasible (don't hold your breath).
But the here and now we are sitting on a goldmine of geothermal but seem afraid of riling the enviros to make more use of it! A good islandwide source of power would cut our fuel dependence and emissions drastically.
If Helco could be made to drop the price at least to a reasonable standard price. Utilizing lower night rates for charging, electric cars would cut down on fuel import and eventually driving comfort. Plus right now there is a custom electric sedan in limited production that goes near 200mph and can get 200+ miles per charge! Electric tech is already here, and sales would make the market boom. Promote Geothermal!

[Guest]

Hawaii interisland shipping company Young Brothers announced it will increase its fuel price adjustment 2.5 to 3 percent.

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On this day in History:
Record low temperature for Honolulu, Hawaii 56 degrees, 1962

[LeeE]

Air-Powered Car Coming to U.S. in 2009 to 2010 at Sub-$18,000, Could Hit 1000-Mile Range

<http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html?series=19>

"The Air Car caused a huge stir when we reported last year that Tata Motors would begin producing it in India. Now the little gas-free ride that could is headed Stateside in a big-time way.

Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) confirmed to PopularMechanics.com on Thursday that it expects to produce the world’s first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or early 2010. As the U.S. licensee for Luxembourg-based MDI, which developed the Air Car as a compression-based alternative to the internal combustion engine, ZPM has attained rights to build the first of several modular plants, which are likely to begin manufacturing in the Northeast and grow for regional production around the country, at a clip of up to 10,000 Air Cars per year.

And while ZPM is also licensed to build MDI’s two-seater OneCAT economy model (the one headed for India) and three-seat MiniCAT (like a SmartForTwo without the gas), the New Paltz, N.Y., startup is aiming bigger: Company officials want to make the first air-powered car to hit U.S. roads a $17,800, 75-hp equivalent, six-seat modified version of MDI’s CityCAT (pictured above) that, thanks to an even more radical engine, is said to travel as far as 1000 miles at up to 96 mph with each tiny fill-up.

We’ll believe that when we drive it, but MDI’s new dual-energy engine—currently being installed in models at MDI facilities overseas—is still pretty damn cool in concept. After using compressed air fed from the same Airbus-built tanks in earlier models to run its pistons, the next-gen Air Car has a supplemental energy source to kick in north of 35 mph, ZPM says. A custom heating chamber heats the air in a process officials refused to elaborate upon, though they insisted it would increase volume and thus the car’s range and speed.

“I want to stress that these are estimates, and that we’ll know soon more precisely from our engineers,” ZPM spokesman Kevin Haydon told PM, “but a vehicle with one tank of air and, say, 8 gal. of either conventional petrol, ethanol or biofuel could hit between 800 and 1000 miles.”

Those figures would make the Air Car, along with Aptera’s Typ-1 and Tesla’s Roadster, a favorite among early entrants for the Automotive X Prize, for which MDI and ZPM have already signed up. But with the family-size, four-door CityCAT undergoing standard safety tests in Europe, then side-impact tests once it arrives in the States, could it be the first 100-mpg, nonelectric car you can actually buy?"