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SwiftFuel Alternative To Alternative Fuels

Posted by samzenpus on from the how-about-pedals dept.

TheDawgLives writes "PBS has an article by Bob Cringely about the best route to end our dependence on oil and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Instead of replacing all our expensive cars with even more expensive hybrids or electric cars, his suggestion is to use a cheap drop-in replacement for gasoline called Swift Fuel. It is derived from Ethanol, but doesn't require any modification to older cars to prevent corrosion. It can be mixed with gasoline in any amount and can even be distributed using the same network as gasoline, including being pumped in the same pipes and shipped in the same trucks. It is truly a drop-in replacement for gas, and it is real. It is being tested by the FAA for certification in propeller aircraft. It also happens to be about $2 a gallon cheaper than gasoline."

6 of 725 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Food? by Zosden · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Sorry I was just worried about the starving children of the world

  2. uh-oh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    everyone get ready for the sockpuppets

  3. SwiftFuel sounds like a bad idea. by wojosockie · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I don't care how little tetraethyl lead is in it. It sounds like a horrible idea. tetraethyl lead is a known carcinigen and is most definetly a poison that accumulates in the body overtime. http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/leadtet/leadj.htm

  4. Re:No, No, No, No, No... by Zosden · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Yeah how about when I want to go clubin at 3am. By clubin I mean for baby seals in

  5. Re:Actually you are both quite wrong. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I don't use any fuel for my commute and I don't need new infrastructure.

    My job is about 5 miles from where I live. I usually ride my bicycle and sometimes walk just to mix things up a bit. There are large hills and plenty of rain involved where I live.

    This mode of commute is not because I am against cars or anything. I have 2 sports cars but I only drive them to more fun destinations than work. After factoring-in parking and walking to work from the parking garage biking is the shorter commute.

    I am, however, totally against riding the bus. There is a bus route that goes near work and 2 blocks from where I live. Buses are for the lazy and diseased. Since I stopped riding the bus I don't catch colds and I'm no longer hesitant to walk up big hills.

    Commuting by bicycle is adventurous and enjoyable. I would still ride my bicycle to work even if gas was $0.25/gallon. For by riding my bicycle, I am now one of the elite, the fit and more patriotic than the car or bus-bound commuters around me.

    So try riding your bicycle to work and join us in The Bicycle Militia. We're sticking it to the oilman with every turn of the pedals.

  6. Re:Food prices by Jobe_br · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    The biofuel initiative is also creating a giant dead zone in the gulf of Mexico due to fertilizer runoff. But don't try to tell any of this to the cult of global warming. They don't like facts interfering in their religion. This has little to do with biofuels and more to do with the farming practices. It is certainly possible and economical to farm raw material for biofuels sustainably, without further harm to the environment. So, few people that actually *care* about the environment, global warming, etc. are really so clueless as to say that these practices are a good thing. But, there's plenty of media out there that's towing the corporate line. That said, Time has reported a few times on the problems with Ethanol production and the compounded harm its causing. That said, most true progressives that are informed recommend reduction above all else ... not alternatives, but simply reducing the gross amount of energy being consumed.