the bigger picture. Unfortunately there are lots of pieces!
If E85 helps reduce some of our overall dependency on oil, that's a good thing. I don't think anyone is seriously proposing it can totally replace gasoline as a fuel. But like the BP ads say, it's a start.

What it also does is increase awareness that we need to begin kicking the oil habit. It's not going to happen quickly--this is a generational (or even multi-generational) change. But we are seeing the start of it. Other posters are right, that heavily taxing fuel will not work in the US, but I think if some re-implementation of real fuel economy standards would begin getting people into more efficient vehicles. Suppose the *average* mileage of any car *or* light truck had to be 30 mpg. Not an old CAFE corporate average but by vehicle--that'd start changing things.

Then there's other technologies, like fuel cells. IMHO, if we could put a man on the moon in 9 years in the '60s and create the first nuclear bomb in
about 4 years, we should be able to figure out a couple of good alternative fuel systems (and their distribution) in about a decade.

Bigger infrastructure and societal issues like public transport are a lot more complex. But over time we can change here, too. If you look at rural parts of Europe, people use cars locally and often use trains for longer trips. I have friends in Dusseldorf who don't own a car and go to their summer place in the Italian Alps every summer--by train. In the US that'll take behavior modification, probably driven by incentives, and that takes time. And it won't work everywhere. But if it worked even 5 or 10% of the time it could have a major impact.

With a U.S. with a population that is programmed to consume, changing habits and thinking is going to be incredibly difficult. Most Americans have a hard time even thinking about smaller cars, let alone fuel-efficiency, especially if it's for more than short distances.

Things are gonna change and it ain't gonna be easy.

posted by 24.52.16...

• Ford urges Congress to promote E85, PT, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 06:55:49
  • OK, I'll throw a wrench into the works...., SaabHubby, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 18:49:32
  • No e85 here yet..., LesH, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 11:18:49
    • that Minnedosa odour;-) n/m, steveC, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 15:52:42
      • Gotta head out to dinner there soon..., LesH, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 19:18:21
        • Re: Gotta head out to dinner there soon..., steveC, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 19:23:06
  • Some good posts to this. E85 is just one piece of, Noel, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 10:39:05 <-- Viewing This Message
    • Why would heavily taxing fuel not work? >, ChipJ, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 17:36:15
      • Re: Why would heavily taxing fuel not work? >, soneway, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 20:00:45
        • Re: Why would heavily taxing fuel not work? >, Noel, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 06:06:00
          • Now wait a minute, Drew in Houston, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:37:07
            • Re: Now wait a minute, soneway, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:46:51
              • Re: Now wait a minute, Drew in Houston, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 15:29:56
              • Nice job, soneway., Noel, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 15:09:29
                • Re: Nice job, soneway., Drew in Houston, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 17:13:52
            • Well, yes, people with big families or some other >, ChipJ, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:54:27
              • Thank goodness this isn't Europe, Drew in Houston, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:26:49
                • If we want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil >, ChipJ, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 20:31:13
                • Re: Thank goodness this isn't Europe, soneway, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 15:29:50
                • Emissions are only part of the story..., Noel, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 15:02:12
  • the engineer in me says this is a dumb idea >, ChipJq, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 07:19:35
    • Re: the engineer in me says this is a dumb idea >, dboone, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 07:43:12
      • I would think if E85, PT, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 08:50:10
        • Re: I would think if E85, TML , Thu, 9 Mar 2006 09:27:57
          • I have a suspicion that the people who "calculated", AdamB , Fri, 10 Mar 2006 01:05:33
          • Re: I would think if E85, dboone, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 10:49:52
          • Re: The price of sugar, BobS, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 10:14:35
          • There's no renewable replacement for oil, BrianG, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 09:49:33
            • Re: There's no renewable replacement for oil, AdamB , Fri, 10 Mar 2006 01:07:39
              • No, the production capacity cannot exist, BrianG, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 07:58:44
                • Re: No, the production capacity cannot exist, AdamB , Sat, 11 Mar 2006 01:57:09
            • Re: There's no renewable replacement for oil, soneway, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 19:47:42
              • Brilliant post! I would add this >, ChipJ, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:05:30
              • Great post, soneway!, Noel, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 06:40:37
              • Re: There's no renewable replacement for oil, soneway, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 20:06:26
        • Re: I would think if E85, Chad, Thu, 9 Mar 2006 09:12:14

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