Did anyone else catch Alan Greenspan's testimony before the foreign relations commitee yesterday? He seems as worried as the rest of us about our nation's dependence on foreign oil.
"We're out of the market essentially as a very critical player with respect to price," Greenspan told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He said,"current oil prices over time should lower to some extent our worrisome dependence on petroleum," with the development of alternative fuels and broader use of electric-hybrid cars. This "would help to wean us of our petroleum dependence," Greenspan said.
"We are gradually ... weaning ourselves off petroleum. It is slow and in many ways like watching grass grow," Greenspan said, adding that if the shift "happens smoothly, that is the best of all contingencies. ... But what happens if it doesn't go smoothly."
Greenspan went on to discuss ethanol as an alternative fuel source, but noted its tie to corn, which does not make sense in terms of energy efficiency as it requires so much petroluem-based fertilizer. Cellulosic-based ethonal from switchgrass and other non-food plants is a much better option, according to the former Federal Reserve chairman and other experts.
Is it just me, or am I giving Americans too much credit thinking they can cut down oil dependency through driving less in more fuel-efficient cars, riding public transit, working closer to home and occasionally telecommuting? Is it un-American to expect such behaviors rather than always seeking out the next-generation technology that will act as a magic silver bullet?
Time will tell.
Unfortunately, I don't think the consumer is ready to give up their car-dependent lifestyles or to take the kinds of steps it will take to really make a difference. We can't even get people to replace incandescent bulbs with flueroscents!
Posted by: thebizofknowledge | August 31, 2006 at 09:08 AM
We found an interesting article about the problems with Ethanol on ConsumerReports.org:
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2008/03/ethanol-e85.html
"But there are some problems with increasing ethanol blends. Ethanol contains less energy than gasoline, so increasing the amount of ethanol in gasoline will likely result in lower fuel economy. Increasing standard fuel blends from zero to 10 percent ethanol, as is happening today, has little or no impact on fuel economy. In tests, the differences occur within the margin of error, about 0.5 percent. Further increasing ethanol levels to 20 percent reduces fuel economy between 1 and 3 percent, according to testing by the DOE and General Motors. Evaluations are underway to determine if E20 will burn effectively in today's engines without impacting reliability and longevity, and also assessing potential impact on fuel economy."
TheSUBWAY.com would like to invite readers to post their own views and ideas in TheSUBWAY.com's Investor Forum:
http://investor-forum.thesubway.com/
Posted by: stockpromoter07 | April 15, 2008 at 06:44 AM