Sunday, June 8, 2008

Give me flex-fuel

I can’t believe I’m doing this, but somebody has to pick up the ball and run with it. I’m at my wits end because of do-nothing-politicians and two men who want to be President who haven’t a clue. Out of all the Presidential candidates this country had to offer, we’re left with Gramps and Scooter.

All the while Washington is worried about the polar bear, me drinking bottled water, and this preposterous notion of the earth becoming a charred wasteland. Yet, real solutions are sitting on the table waiting for someone with half of a brain to discover.

When will the people rise up and insist methanol and ethanol become our fuel standard? Obviously we’re comfortable paying $4.00 a gallon, because heads aren’t rolling down the aisles of Congress. What about $5.00 or $6.00 a gallon? Think about this, at the rate we’re going, soon a gallon of gas will be more than minimum wage per hour. So the poorest of the poor, you know, the ones Scooter is always talking about, will be hit the most. It might be more cost effective to sit home and live on the government dole.

I dug up some fun facts about methanol and ethanol. Why the environmentalist aren’t demanding this I’ll never know, but here it is from the Energy Victory website.

· Alcohol fuels burn cleaner than gasoline, causing less pollution

· Alcohol fuels are less toxic than gasoline

· Ethanol is edible

· Methanol, while not edible, is present in fresh fruit

· Unlike gasoline, neither ethanol nor methanol are carcinogenic

· Both ethanol and methanol are soluble in water, and biodegradable

· No Permanent Consequences of tanker accidents or other major spills

· Alcohol fuels act counter to global warming because

· Methanol from trash or otherwise flared natural gas has no net CO2

· Fuel from plant material draws its CO2 from the atmosphere

· Plants cool the Earth by evaporation of water through their leaves

· The heat of vaporization is then transported to the stratosphere

Am I the only sane man who discovered this? Why isn’t Gramps talking about this? He’d rather give speeches on Cap and Trade and bashes his own party. And Scooter? Forget Scooter, he runs around bashing Gramps party too, but is more concerned about universal healthcare than America facing a greater depression than the… well, the Great Depression! Are they blind or stupid?


I’ve not heard one stump speech from either candidate talking about flex-fuel. In fact, Congressmen and Senators haven’t opened their mouths on this subject as well. This makes me wonder; maybe it’s not in a politician’s best interest to solve this crisis? Oh yeah, they give lip service and feel our pain. They point fingers and threaten to socialize oil companies. (They’d love to do that) But nothing ever gets done. The paranoid in me says, all politicians are on the take and the OPEC lobby is the teat from which cash flows.


I have a feeling OPEC by proxy of lobbyist are the ones poo-pooing ethanol and methanol as a sensible solution to free ourselves from petroleum.


Here’s what I’d like to see. With all the 24 hour news channels out there reporting on mindless drivels. (I actually saw a breaking news story on Ricky Martin announcing he was supporting Hilary, how’s that for drivel?) Anyway, one network, any network, invite the brightest minds on chemistry, flex-fuels, automobile manufacturing, and economics. Let’s get all these brains in one room and have a round table discussion on how quickly this can be done. Not if, but when?


Brazil had the forethought 30 years ago, and today they are 90% oil free. What have we been doing for 30 years? Well now it’s time to play catch-up.


I assume, since you’ve read this far, you’re sick of gas prices going up. Maybe some of you aren’t convinced flex-fuel is the way to go. But until I hear of another idea, I feel we must run with this one.


I’m sending the below letter to my two senators and congressman. I encourage all who read this blog to do the same. If you don’t have time to use your own words, please feel free to copy and past to your email.


Not many people read this blog; I’m kinda on a dirt road when it comes to the information super highway. But if enough small time bloggers do this, maybe Washington will be overrun with flex-fuel emails and someone with common sense will get the hint.


Dear Senator/Congressman U.R Worthless

I’m sure you’ve noticed that gas prices are at an all-time high, and increasing each day. Our dependency on foreign oil must stop. This is not a drill here drill now letter, but that idea does make sense at times like this. This letter goes deeper than finding more crude oil. It’s about the future, which is something you can influence.

Senators Brownback and Bayh, along with Congressmen Engel and Kingston, need your help and support with a bill called the Open Fuels Standard Act. If passed, all cars must be manufactured to run on flex-fuel. This would truly be a giant step in reducing our dependence on fossil fuel. Imagine the impact of this. Americans would have a choice when they pulled up to the pump. With choice, we would have competition, which lowers prices.

The idea is simple. Experts say, and I encourage you to investigate, how easily methanol can be produced. Plants could turn coal, waste vegetation, or even urban trash into alcohol burning fuel. Methanol is selling for about $1.68 a gallon, but unfortunately our cars run on gasoline.

If we could make every car flex-fueled, gas stations would soon pop up selling methanol, ethanol as well as gasoline and we just might find our way out of this crisis.

Right now Brazil is using this concept and the country is 90% oil free, I don’t see why we can’t enjoy the same freedom.

The added plus is that flex-fueled vehicles burn clean alcohol. This is a win win for the environmentalist.

Please get behind this bill. As you can see by the sponsors it is non-partisan.

I look foreword to hearing from you,

I.B. Shocked

Here’s a few links where you can find your Congressmen’s email and don't forget Gramps and Scooter.

Your Senator

Your Congressman

John McCain

Barack Obama

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