A few thoughts.
Please feel free to comment and/or make corrections as you see fit. I know this is a bit verbose.
Has there been a little talk of some feeling as though the message has diminished a little recently due to the lower cost of gasoline nationally? If so, it seems as though that isn't it entirely. In part it could be along the lines of people either not fully grasping the situation, simply thinking it will all go away if they ignore it, thinking all of this is purely political, or thinking others will do the dirty work for them so to speak.
American's swapping in the old gas gussler. BMW manufactures a 7 Series Hydrogen and Honda has manufactured a CNG Civic for quite some time. There may be others, but I'm simply not aware of them at this juncture. The Civic CNG vehicle is still not available in many areas and the 7 Series would be out of the question for obvious reasons. It seems as though the only option left is a Hybrid. The immediate problem is that there are very few used vehicles available for anyone who can't afford to purchase new. Additionally, it is my understanding that they are not entirely feasible if you find yourself just barely creeping along in traffic for long periods of time whereby causing the batteries to run flat.
Fortunately, I live in a fairly rich area as it relates to electrical generation. A great deal of that is distributed to NYC, including power that is imported from our Canadian friends to the north. Twenty five miles south is the Maple Ridge Wind Farm. Admittedly, I am about as far from an expert as one can get on production and profitability. However, a negative is that some of the turbines are slowed or shut down when the existing distribution network is running at peak. Consequently, bringing the product to market poses a slight problem. It would seem that it would be a relatively simple fix, after all, the turbines are already in place and functioning. Again I am no expert although the issues seem to exist in restrictions of existing right-of-ways, getting property owners to agree on high Kilovolt lines on their property and the undersized outdated grid in general. We need to stop neglecting our infrastructure while we rebuild that of others.
It is my understanding that initially propane was burned off as a waste product of natural gas production and/or transmission and distribution. Someone then saw the benefit and potential profits of utilizing it for home heating fuel. Good for them, sincerely. However, due to the costs of bringing it to market, the price per gallon a week ago in Upstate NY stood at $2.99 and even higher, depending upon personal household consumption. Surely not an alternative for gasoline at that price, not that anyone has mentioned it. The last I had heard, #2 fuel oil stood at just over $4.00 per gallon. Now I can only assume that American's in the northern states will not forget the crisis we are all in, and sadly, the reminder may come each month in the form of their home heating bill that they can no longer afford.
One encouraging sign is that the sale of wood pellet and corn stoves are booming. A number of retailers across the Northeast have sold out their product and it is my understanding that some are taking orders for next spring. On the plus side, the installation of these this can only help to lessen our dependency on foreign oil, and secondly, it's clean, natural, and relatively reasonable, so far. Every little bit helps. Of course the bad side is that supply and demand will probably drive up the cost to the point where they are not nearly as affordable for someone who is a little less fortunate than Joe the Plumber.
None-the-less, in the end, there is a lot of work to do. Perseverance, patience and never losing sight of the dilemmas are extremely important to all of us and our future. As we all know, things certainly can't change overnight. I can only hope that most American's don't lose sight of the path we inevitably have to take.
Has there been a little talk of some feeling as though the message has diminished a little recently due to the lower cost of gasoline nationally? If so, it seems as though that isn't it entirely. In part it could be along the lines of people either not fully grasping the situation, simply thinking it will all go away if they ignore it, thinking all of this is purely political, or thinking others will do the dirty work for them so to speak.
American's swapping in the old gas gussler. BMW manufactures a 7 Series Hydrogen and Honda has manufactured a CNG Civic for quite some time. There may be others, but I'm simply not aware of them at this juncture. The Civic CNG vehicle is still not available in many areas and the 7 Series would be out of the question for obvious reasons. It seems as though the only option left is a Hybrid. The immediate problem is that there are very few used vehicles available for anyone who can't afford to purchase new. Additionally, it is my understanding that they are not entirely feasible if you find yourself just barely creeping along in traffic for long periods of time whereby causing the batteries to run flat.
Fortunately, I live in a fairly rich area as it relates to electrical generation. A great deal of that is distributed to NYC, including power that is imported from our Canadian friends to the north. Twenty five miles south is the Maple Ridge Wind Farm. Admittedly, I am about as far from an expert as one can get on production and profitability. However, a negative is that some of the turbines are slowed or shut down when the existing distribution network is running at peak. Consequently, bringing the product to market poses a slight problem. It would seem that it would be a relatively simple fix, after all, the turbines are already in place and functioning. Again I am no expert although the issues seem to exist in restrictions of existing right-of-ways, getting property owners to agree on high Kilovolt lines on their property and the undersized outdated grid in general. We need to stop neglecting our infrastructure while we rebuild that of others.
It is my understanding that initially propane was burned off as a waste product of natural gas production and/or transmission and distribution. Someone then saw the benefit and potential profits of utilizing it for home heating fuel. Good for them, sincerely. However, due to the costs of bringing it to market, the price per gallon a week ago in Upstate NY stood at $2.99 and even higher, depending upon personal household consumption. Surely not an alternative for gasoline at that price, not that anyone has mentioned it. The last I had heard, #2 fuel oil stood at just over $4.00 per gallon. Now I can only assume that American's in the northern states will not forget the crisis we are all in, and sadly, the reminder may come each month in the form of their home heating bill that they can no longer afford.
One encouraging sign is that the sale of wood pellet and corn stoves are booming. A number of retailers across the Northeast have sold out their product and it is my understanding that some are taking orders for next spring. On the plus side, the installation of these this can only help to lessen our dependency on foreign oil, and secondly, it's clean, natural, and relatively reasonable, so far. Every little bit helps. Of course the bad side is that supply and demand will probably drive up the cost to the point where they are not nearly as affordable for someone who is a little less fortunate than Joe the Plumber.
None-the-less, in the end, there is a lot of work to do. Perseverance, patience and never losing sight of the dilemmas are extremely important to all of us and our future. As we all know, things certainly can't change overnight. I can only hope that most American's don't lose sight of the path we inevitably have to take.
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