Something to ponder over!

Everyday we cannot avoid all the ranting about “alternative fuels” by the main stream media, TV commentators, Hollywood stars, talk radio hosts, politicians and presidential candidates. Everyone is demanding that American must convert to some form of alternate fuel in lieu of gasoline made from crude oil all in the name of - saving mother earth and global warming. We are told that electric cars are the future, that hydrogen driven cars will save our earth, that natural gas is in such abundance that we are fools for not converting it to propel our vehicles, that ethanol is the savior of our farming communities, that wind power will save the planet from global warming, cars that can operate on compressed air, and on and on we are bombarded by such commentary.

But how many times has the conversation expounded upon the means of providing these alternate guels to the general public? First of all, ethanol cannot be delivered through the existing pipelines that carry the petroleum products. It requires the trucking industry to deliver this product. Which means more and more 18-wheeler tankers on the crowded roads.

Suppose you plan to travel from Williamson or Bell County to El Paso, Amarillo or Port Aransas. Will you be able to find a refueling station for compressed air if that is your choice of cars; what if you own a vehicle that operates on electric batteries and it takes two hours to recharge your battery and you get as far as Hamilton and can’t find a place to recharge your batteries; or finding a refueling station to refill your hydrogen cylinder. Today we can find a service station on almost every corner selling a standard fuel that operates in all of today’s vehicles. To provide refueling stations for each different alternative fuel all across America will be cost prohibitive.

Today we have a standardized conbustion car engine regardless of manufacturer that can be repaired at Pep Boys, by our shade tree mechanic brother-in-law, at the “you name it” auto repair shop on Main Street with no problem at all. Consider this. Every alternative fuel mentioned above requires a unique type of engine to operate. What does this mean? No longer will a person graduating from high school be able to enter the auto engine repair profession as an apprentice. High schools will not be able to afford to teach auto mechanics as the cost of hiring specialized teachers certified for each alternate fuel engine will be prohibitive. Upon graduating, the student will be required to make a decision - which type of alternate fuel engine should I be trained on. Then consider all the various types of replacement parts and highly expensive computerized diagnostic machines that will have to be in the shop’s inventory? Parts will become more expensive because the supply will be specialized and require more shelf space.

In other words, the infrastructure is non-existent for these alternate fuels and the new engines they will require.

Currently, our government will charge us with a crime if we dare use some alternate form of currency exchange. Only the currency printed by the government is allowed because the government says that chaos will ensue if there are different types of currencies in circulation. Yet it is the same government that is promoting various types of alternate fuels.

These are but a few questions that no one has dared to answer.

Sincerely,

Henry L. Naizer, Austin, TX