So rather than push hybrid technology, which works well in urban settings but not well for highway driving, the US automakers took on FlexFuel (reduces emissions in both the city and highway) vehicles as an environmental centrepiece. Turns out that it wasn’t such a good idea as it’s not been terribly successful towards the end goal in the US and has been a total failure in Canada.
The goal is to reduce emissions. So in Canada, while you can find some ethanol stations out and around, it’s a rare exception to find one that carries E85 (85% gasoline, 15% ethanol). I’ve heard there’s a rumoured one for federal government use, but I still haven’t heard of any that the public can use. The lower percentage ethanol fuels, particularly 10% ethanol and less can be used in a regular vehicles without and fancy upgrades so while they technically factor into the number of ethanol stations in Canada, they really don’t count as far as the new FlexFuel initiatives are concerned.
Over and above that, the increased demand in the US for the raw elements of the fuel (e.g. food) has caused some competition, driving up prices. You can’t make fuel from your food. It’s an economically insane idea. You can argue semantics there, arguing that oil and gasoline are components in making food already, but having something as an incidental cost compared to creating direct market pressures makes for a case of comparing apples to oranges.
A colleague of mine is 100% behind hydrogen as the obvious next step and I have to admit that he’s got me convinced. Battery technologies are ok, but the batteries themselves are a pretty toxic and can sometimes be a challenge to recycle. Most critics suggest that hydrogen is generally insanely explosive as anyone who knows the story of the Hindenburg is aware of. Recent developments in technology have opened a few venues for safe storage of hydrogen. A bit more work in the field with some real money behind it and I would like to think that we could solve this problem fairly easily.
The death of the US auto industry may help re-allocate some of the research funding towards the more progressive automakers and a solution that’s a bit more workable with fewer downsides. We’ll just have to wait and see what emerges from the wreckage.
Find a Lawyer // Jul 6, 2009 at 5:32 am
I agree to you about this new technology of the fuel & i totally agree to you about the fact that the new concept is of no use it’s just a kind of fake trial which has no importance !now we all are waiting for the next technology of the fuel & we hope that the future will have some good results otherwise it is just like the famous term GAME IS OVER!
Ling // Jul 6, 2009 at 10:33 am
Fuel cells are the way of the future, not only for automobiles, but for all energy usage. There’s tremendous research in progress, and I bet that something big is going to happen in the next 5 years which will probably solve the energy crisis once and for all.
As for ethanol, that’s just politics. It’s not really a solution, but no US politician is ever going to come down hard against it.
Jayne // Jul 10, 2009 at 11:05 am
I’ve got a saab 93 which is capable of running on E85, yet there are no places I can fill up near me..crazy…
Canaryproject // Jul 14, 2009 at 10:18 am
let’s make and use clean energy, earth is full of pollution now.
mattresses // Jul 16, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I think your friend may be right about hydrogen being the better solution. But still, the threat of explosion kind of worries me. Sure, it’s an unlikely event, but with millions of cars on the road every day it seems like something is bound to go wrong frequently enough. Meanwhile, the new models I am seeing on the horizon are using battery technology, so we’ll see how this goes.
How to deal with // Jul 22, 2009 at 12:36 am
“A colleague of mine is 100% behind hydrogen as the obvious next step and I have to admit that he’s got me convinced.”
I also hope for hydrogen as the next step in energy with today’s environmental crisis. The problem really lies in its instability when exposed to air.
casinos // Jul 22, 2009 at 10:34 am
“I’ve heard there’s a rumoured one for federal government use, but I still haven’t heard of any that the public can use”
For real environmental action to take place, it must be done as a whole. A privileged sector will not cut it.
Custom Essay // Jul 22, 2009 at 11:51 am
Why it was not a success in Canda? Due to freezing temperature?
Czasomierz // Jul 28, 2009 at 3:06 am
Try to use rape fuel. In my opinion this is the future of the whole branch. It is renewable source of gasoline that is maybe a little different from the one made from oil but also quite efficient. I would not see hydrogen as miracle fuel, I think that we will see some tests and try-outs of those kind of engines that are fuelled with hydrogen but nothing will eventually happen. Engines using hydrogen are too expensive to become profitable enough.
Custom Essay:
Flex Fuel would freeze harder than ordinary fuel due to high ethanol content.
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