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The Litter Box by David Catt
Fuel Options
©2004-05 - David B. Catt - all rights reserved

With gasoline prices approaching and in some areas exceeding two and one-half dollars a gallon, many of us are finally looking into our options. Let us take a tour of the choices.

The all electric vehicle has been tried. The range of these vehicles is limited to approximately 70 miles on a charge. Recharging was easy enough just find an outlet to plug into. They required a large number of batteries along with their cost and space required for them.
Recharging time was not rapid usually overnight. Advances in battery technology need to be made before this could be a viable choice.

Another option being used is compressed natural gas (CNG). This has the advantage of zero emissions. Range of current CNG vehicles is approximately 200 miles. However this still uses a nonrenewable resource and has a lack of a distribution network.

At present the most popular choice is the hybrid vehicles. These vehicles have a gasoline engine and an electric motor. They do use less fuel especially running around town. The down side is the increased vehicle cost due to the additional power plant at around three to four thousand dollars and replacement cost of batteries. American automobile manufactures are finally rolling out a couple of hybrids starting this year. The return on your additional investment
compared to fuel savings over the life of the vehicle is not yet showing a positive number.

The government is spending billions of your tax dollars on research into hydrogen powered vehicles. These vehicles would have zero harmful emissions. There are several down-sides to this. One is the volatility of hydrogen and making the fuel cells safe from impact in the event of an accident. Another problem is lack of a distribution network. Use of this technology is many years in the future if at all.

There is a very different approach all ready available called E85 fueled engines. E85 is a mixture of eighty-five percent ethanol and fifteen percent gasoline. Many gasolines already contain a ten percent mixture of ethanol. Did you know that ethanol is made from a renewable resources like corn. Yes, good old American corn! Did you know that engines found several vehicles will run on E85 fuel as well as regular gasoline. Added initial vehicle cost to you - ZERO! E85 fuel does not provide as much energy output and does not quite goes as far on a gallon yet it does reduce emissions and, most importantly, reliance on foreign oil. Look for the E85 sticker on the fuel door/cap and owner's manual. For additional information on E85 fuel, vehicles and refueling locations, visit http://www.e85fuel.com. Why is E85 fuel not more common and distributed to more stations? Simple! The oil companies don't want to lose a large percentage of their profits. Contact your elected officials and ask them to push for
increased use and availability of this American alternative renewable fuel.

In the meantime, here again are some tips to help you conserve fuel: Carpool, combine your errands into one trip, use the accelerator pedal sparingly, keep your vehicle tuned up and tires properly inflated.

Until the litter box needs emptying again!

Stand Ready (tm) brand Inverted Bottle Holder tip for the day: It is summer and time for a picnic. The compact and portable design of our holder allows you to take the benefit of not having to wait along for those fun times.

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