Alternative fuel news

[DuneAHH]

I'm very interested in watching some of the lawsuits against the feds by states that want to grow hemp for fuel. Two, I believe have oil stores, but believe that hemp, since Ford designed one of his engines to run on it, would be better all around for their farmers and enviroment. If Florida could grow hemp for biomass fuels and use solar power, pretty much the entire state would be off the grid and our farmers would be growing fuel instead of getting paid to not farm.

Good point AL.
Aggressively converting all the readily available 'blight problems' (like kudzu) into solutions.

 

[miznotebook]

Murray is right, it is important to know how much water would be needed for the fuel cells, because there are likely to be more water shortages in the future. And speaking of kudzu, someone mentioned using congon grass as a fuel the other day. It's good to hear that the military is pursuing alternative fuels. I believe they are the biggest users of fuel in the country, so their taking a lead with this will mean a great deal.

 

[Gidget]

I'm very interested in watching some of the lawsuits against the feds by states that want to grow hemp for fuel. Two, I believe have oil stores, but believe that hemp, since Ford designed one of his engines to run on it, would be better all around for their farmers and enviroment. If Florida could grow hemp for biomass fuels and use solar power, pretty much the entire state would be off the grid and our farmers would be growing fuel instead of getting paid to not farm.

Netflix: Rent as many movies as you want for only $8.99 a month! Free Trial <links to DVD

We just watched this on Netflix/Roku instant. I am kind of a hemp aficionado what with several books, dvd's, etc.... This is a great video - we need to return to our Founding Father's love of hemp!

Hemp is also my protein of choice. Yet, I have to buy it grown in Canada. STUPID!

PS - PLASTIC can be made from hemp!!

 

[Gidget]

I have signed up to be kept informed on the new Nissan Leaf electric car. So far it seems it will only travel about 100 miles before it needs recharging. This makes it practical only for local use as far as I'm concerned.
Hydrogen fueled cars seem to be the way to go. We have yet to figure out how we do many things without the use of oil. It certainly won't happen in my lifetime and probably not in yours. Flying is a great example of what I speak. No one that I am aware of has built an aircraft that is powered by anything except oil product.
There are many, many obstacles to overcome so oil dependency is still going to be with us for some time.

The Leaf does get a range of only around 100 miles - but for many people with 2 cars and most of their time spent in commute it is a great choice. Other car can be used on family trips, etc...

We need oil. Regarding dependency - I don't think anyone is saying that there can be a life without any oil tomorrow or even in the future - perhaps in the distant type future - but we can cut down on waste. My goodness we waste a lot! If we would just take the steps to dramatically cut wasted use of oil then we'd be a giant step ahead and w/out much effort. Just follow the rules of conservation.

 

[Alicia Leonard]

Netflix: Rent as many movies as you want for only $8.99 a month! Free Trial <links to DVD

We just watched this on Netflix/Roku instant. I am kind of a hemp aficionado what with several books, dvd's, etc.... This is a great video - we need to return to our Founding Father's love of hemp!

Hemp is also my protein of choice. Yet, I have to buy it grown in Canada. STUPID!

PS - PLASTIC can be made from hemp!!

http://green.autoblog.com/tag/ford+hemp/
8. Henry Ford's Hemp Car

During the 1930's Henry Ford applied his ingenious mind to the creation of an all-organic car designed to run on hemp bio-mass fuel. The car itself was made primarily from hemp and other annual crop. Ford envisioned an automotive industry producing vehicles made from, and fueled by, organic based materials. The quite European-styled car he created is pictured above, outside the Ford Factory.

Recent documentaries on hemp issues, such as "Billion Dollar Crop" and "the Hemp Revolution", show archival footage of a demonstration of the unique strength of this car, in which the body of the car is repeatedly hit with a sledgehammer - amazingly there is no damage, the hammer appearing to bounce off! It was also rust-proof and, being powered by a non-fossil fuel engine, it's adoption as an industry standard could have meant huge environmental advantages over the past fifty years.

The visionary Ford was aware of the properties of hemp and saw it as a valuable, sustainable resource for the auto industry. However, the introduction of the prohibition laws in the U.S. (December,1937) put a halt to further research and development. We can only imagine where Fords vision for the hemp plant may have led.

 

[Em]

Before Ford played with hemp plastics and fuel, George Washington Carver introduced him to the peanut from which the oil could be used to make a plastic body. Instead, he got suckered into going with sheet metal.

 

[Gidget]

Amazing how much we've unlearned.

 

[miznotebook]

Before Ford played with hemp plastics and fuel, George Washington Carver introduced him to the peanut from which the oil could be used to make a plastic body. Instead, he got suckered into going with sheet metal.

Interesting (and unfortunate.) Around 1898, the first diesel enginees were set up to run on peanut oil, too. There seems to be a lot of opposition, though, to using food products for fuel. I wonder if this would be the case for hemp, since it is also used in food. Hemp seems like a great alternative to cotton for clothing because it doesn't require the pesticides that cotton does when it is growing.