Great News For YSU

[AllanY2525]

Hmmm...........

I just did a Google search on the phrase "grain surplus" - it found 553,000 articles.  Although I did not
take time to read any of them, there are plenty of places in the world where much more grain (this includes
corn, wheat, rice, soybeans, etc) is grown than can be used in a reasonable length of time.

The United States has been known to "subsidize" farmers - ie: paying them to NOT grow crops during
years when there is too big of a surplus of the crops they grow.  I don't see how bio-fuels would starve
the world.  In areas where there is sufficient rainfall to grow crops, no additional water is needed.
Corn, for instance, could be crushed and squeezed for the vegetable oil it renders (for bio-diesel) and
the remaining corn meal could be used for foodstuffs - thereby supplying both a fuel source AND a food
source from a single crop.

In other areas where irrigation is required to supply the necessary amounts of water, they could
always use some of the water from the irrigation system(s) for processing into potable water for
people.  There are enough areas in the US alone where water is in abundant supply that it just
makes good common sense to pursue biofuels as a PART of the energy solution - I fully realize
that biofuels are not the "one and only solution" to the problem.  That being said, wouldn't
it be a great feeling if we - the American People - could raise our collective "middle finger" to
the Middle East and say: "We no longer need or require your oil - sell it to someone else" ?

In the southern latitudes, where there is lots of sunlight, electric cars with solar panels could
be feasible.  Just imagine your car sitting outside your office in the sun - refueling itself while
you are inside working....they could even add electrical outlets to parking meters, so that the
fee you pay for parking would include a "re-fueling" cost for your electric car.

The point that I'm trying to make, I guess, is that this country has MORE than enough
resources, technical expertise, etc to make these things happen - sooner, rather than
later. 

[Towntalk]

If the United Nations has it's way, Ethanol production will be banned.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/01/23/biofuels.fears.ap/index.html

The world's rush to embrace biofuels is causing a spike in the price of corn and other crops and could worsen water shortages and force poor communities off their land, a U.N. official said Wednesday.

[AllanY2525]

Here is an article about the new Two-mode, Hybrid Chevrolet Tahoe SUV coming out this year:

http://www.chevrolet.com/hybrid/?seo=goo_chevy_hybrid

As far as I know, GM will  have four vehicles in their ENTIRE FLEET which are available
as hybrids (when the Tahoe, and the two Saturn models, actually become available). 

GM needs to go "back to the drawing board" and come up with MORE hybrid models.  Their
other model is[was??] a pickup truck.  I think it is [was??] the Sierra pickup - with four wheel
steering.  As an industry leader in vehicle technology, and one of the "big three" American car
makers, GM should be making just about ALL of their passenger cars available as either hybrids
or alternative fuel vehicles.

Here's an article about hybrid development at GM (mentions the Saturn "VUE" hybrid SUV)

http://www.caranddriver.com/dailyautoinsider/12111/gm-fast-tracks-hybrid-development.html

The article was published in 2006 and states that it will be several YEARS until GM's accelerated
development hits the show-room floors.  Why is it taking GM so long to jump completely into
the "game"?  It also mentions a bio-fuel ready HUMMER...hmmm how many folks do you know
that drive a HUMMER?  Not many.

How about some Hybrid cars - like coupes, sedans and Mini-vans?  Small and medium
sized vehicles stand to benefit the most from Hybrid technology - SUV's are so big and heavy
that they don't get much better mileage from these systems.  I own a 2003 Ford Expedition,
and I can get as much at 18 miles per gallon on the highway, IF I turn off the four-wheel
drive unit (I have a button on my dash board that turns off four wheel drive completely).
The ad from GM says their Hybrid Tahoe model can get 22 miles per gallon on the highway,
at best.  Four more miles per gallon is not enough to make me want to spend $50,000 dollars
on a new GM-built truck and trade in my Expedition (which was paid for the day I bought it).
How about making the new, Hybrid Tahoe a flex fuel vehicle?  Operating this vehicle on
85% Ethanol and 15% Petroleum based fuel will do FAR MORE for the environment than
the Hybrid power plant - not to mention lowering the fuel costs for this vehicle considerably.

Ford has one Hybrid that I am aware of - the Escape mini-suv.



Toyota already has THREE hybrid models (follow the link below) available, and they have been on
the show room floors for quite a long time now, compared to GM and Ford.  One of these is a Minivan,
and then there's the Prius and Camry (which is built here in the US).

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/minisite/hsd/?s_van=http://www.toyota.com/HSD&ref=http://www.google.com/search%3fhl=en&q=toyota+hybrid&btnG=Search

Honda  has the Civic 4-door hybrid, and the Accord hybrod (which is being discontinued at the end of the 2008 model year) and was the FIRST
to offer a hybrid car in the USA with the "Insight", which went out of production in 2006.  It was a little, two-seater coupe that got VERY good
mileage (some claim to have gotten up to 50-60 miles per gallon on the highway with this little car).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19049079/


Making vehicles capable of burning fuels OTHER than gasoline or diesel (petroleum based fuels) is the quickest way of addressing
the skyrocketing gasoline prices, while helping our environment at the same time.  Ethanol burns MUCH more cleanly, same with Bio-diesel.
The drawbacks of Ethanol are considerable, to be sure - it can soak up water and other contaminants, making it corrosive to the engine
in the vehicle using it, there are transportation costs, and the amount of farm land available to grow Ethanol crops is not currently
enough to meet the energy needs of the entire country - but Ethanol IS a good way to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil,
while helping our ailing agricultural industry here at home - and it could put a lot of currently-idle farm land back to work.  We
need more research into the best - and most cost effective - methods for Ethanol production.  A lot of the organic garbage that
we are now burying in land-fills around the country could be used to generate biomass fuels. 

Hey GM - how about building a Hybrid that runs on Bio-diesel and electricity?  Diesel engines get better mileage, with OR without a hybrid
system attached to them !  With bio-diesel in the tank, these vehicles would get VERY good mileage, compared to their present-day versions,
and make FAR less pollution.

If the car manufacturers want more consumers to adopt (ie: BUY) these new vehicles, then maybe they could make an investment in the
industries which PRODUCE alternative fuels - it would certainly help the American public to adopt these newer, cleaner, greener vehicles
SOONER, rather than LATER.

Here is a link to a table showing the "Gas tax" on a state-by state basis:

http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgastaxes.asp

How about giving owners of Hybrid vehicles a discount on the gasoline tax, as an additional incentive towards BUYING one of
these vehicles?

Here is an interesting discussion on the use of Propane as a motor vehicle fuel:

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=93871

IF YSU and General Motors got together, I think they could come up with some KICK-A** solutions to the whole
problem - and build the vehicles RIGHT HERE in the Mahoning Valley.  If the new vehicles could be CHEAP enough,
RELIABLE enough, and DURABLE enough - then GM would become the industry leader in alternative vehicle
technology, acquire a SUBSTANTIAL share of the market for these vehicles, and create more JOBS as the demand
for these vehicles inevitably increased along with the prices for Gasoline an Diesel fuels.

[Towntalk]

Something that we've been discussing is becoming a reality:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/jan/25/ysu-center-seeks-research-proposals/

Could this evolve in new jobs for Youngstown?