Why the hell arent people switching to alternative fuels? Well our goverment is run by oil executives! They dont want us to switch to alternative fuels they would lose money! We bitch about higher gas prices yet we dont take public transportation or switch to alternavtive energy! Funny we already have the technology to save our great grandchilden from burning up, but we are to cheap to do it!
200372
We give away soy to foreign governments in the form of aid despite the fact we could run our vehicles on it.  Smart, eh?\n\nI would switch as long as it was feasable.  Facilities that dispense alternative fuels are nowhere to be found near me and I don't have the technical skills to mix the stuff myself or else I would in a second.  I deleted the emails but I was in contact with a guy in CA last year that convinced the local government on one of the Hawiian Islands to convert their recycling truck fleet to soy power.  He had some good ideas.  He also takes a soy powered VW Wagon on tour around the country to advertise the benefits of biodiesel.  \n\nGood luck if you choose to convert.  I haven't yet but maybe a few semesters at the vocational institute would pay off in the end.
253823
i wouldn't expect anyone in the oil business to do anything to change the industry (although bush HAS passed a law stating that government vehicles must be equipped to use ethanol as an alternate fuel). it is really up to americans to change what they use, because the oil industry is entrenched and will not check themselves -- business just doesn't work that way. republicans hate to have government make the people do anything, so the likelihood of us passing laws such as those in Brazil are slim to none. I am personally just going to buy a flex car and run it on ethanol. No more petroleum fuel for me. E85 is produced without the use of petro-products, is home-grown, and is cleaner and better for the car anyway and the same price and soon to be less.
607096
Yes - the oil companies are gouging - look at the record profits\n\nThe best way to deal with it is by switching to other fuels and reducing our use\n\nPrice is all supply and demand - If the demand is reduced the price will drop\n\nI changed my habits to drop half my mileage driven in a week and am still getting everything done - just fewer trips\n\nall of us together would make a major difference
311019
We are importing about half of what we use now. If you would like to choose which half of our nation cannot use oil, then we could quit importing.\n\nIt isn't a matter of how much oil is in the ground. We can't produce it fast enough, or refine it fast enough to more than marginally outpace demand.
34860
How about we just stop driving cars that give less than 20 miles/gallon? That will accomplish just as much as alternative energy and it's probably easier. \n\n\nBy the way, can you guess the 5 countries that we get most of our oil from?\n\nWould you have guessed Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and Nigeria are 4 of the top 5? Saudi Arabia is the only Middle Eastern country in the 5 (at #3).\n\nThat last comment is exactly why it can't happen. People aren't willing to sacrifice the looks of a car in order to lessen our dependence on oil. Everyone wants someone else to solve their problems instead of doing something about it themselves. Typical.
209984
Greed at it worst. I received an email last week asking that you do not buy Exxon/Mobil gas, saying that you can't ask people not to drive but if you boycott the biggest oil co out there that their prices will have to come down and the the other companies' will have to follow suit. if enough people were to do this it would work. The email also suggested you don't buy Exxon/Mobil until the price gets down to $1.30 gal
638847
Market it to intellectuals. Some student at my school (chemists, I think) proposed that we use the excess grease from the dining halls to be converted to ethanol on campus in a lab they built and now all of the facilities vehicles are running partially on ethanol (I think it's a mix of ethanol and gasoline, but I could be wrong). \n\nThe layperson isn't going to be interested in ethanol until it becomes mainstream. The best bet is to start getting Universities and Hosiptals to run their vehicles (ambulances, security vehicles, construction vehicles). \n\nAlso, it would be sweet if the government supported ethanol usage by providing tax incentives for these companies (like you get if you buy a hybrid car). It's really very frustrating because ethanol production is so inexpensive. I feel your pain.
281971
You mean like a communist country would? No I live in America.\n-one less thing for the gov to mess up\n-the gov IS in charge of creating energy policy and to date \nthey have not...since GH Bush..and his plan sucked (oil based)\n-replace greedy oil execs with greedy politicians?\nWe have high gas prices because we buy gas guzzling SUV's and live 30 miles from work. IT IS OUR FAULT!!
317412
I'll Tell You What the Problem is. You won't want to Hear it, but maybe someone out there in "Cyberspace" that wants to Help Expose the real "Problem" Does! Thanks to the Clinton/Gore EPA-OBD II Law, all Gasoline Powered Vehicles in the USA from 1996 to the Present are Required to Run at 14.7 Parts of Air to 1 Part of Fuel. Any Deviation from that, even if Fuel Economy is Improved, and Emissions are Lowered, will Result in a Failed Vehicle Inspection. The Vehicle will then be Illegal to Operate, because it's not Putting Out Enough Pollution! Really! I've come up with a Way to Turn Regular Pump Gasoline into Propane. 100 Parts of Air, to 1 Part of Fuel. 50 + MPG, with even the Largest SUV! And I'm not the First to do so. I Saw, On-File, at the US Patent Office, the Pogue Carburetor, which was Bought Out before WW II, with a Patented Claim of 100 MPG, with a Flathead Ford V-8 Engine Powered Vehicle that was 15 MPG! And, there are many Others as well. Only a Basic Drawing & General Description is Given, to Prevent an actual Copy of the Device. See, on a Molecular Level, all Petroleum is essentially the Same. Only the Dispersal is Altered. If this is not so, then how is it that Engines DO Run on Expensive, Cumbersome Bottled Propane? My System is Safe, Compact, and uses Low Pressure Air to do it's Thing.It's not just the Oil Companies that have kept a "Lid" on this Technology. When an Engine Runs on Vapor Fuel, it Lasts 10 Times Longer!Now, Who would want to Stop that? Watch what Happens the Next Time Your Car is Inspected with that OBD II Machine. The Gestapo would be so Proud of it! Big Brother has Won! What I'd like to do, to Expose the Hypocricy of this Law is to Restore, Convert, and Donate Vehicles to Charity. Starting with the Local "Meals-On-Wheels" Program. Also, Volunteer Veterans' Assistance Services. We in the USA Owe Them so Very Much! See, there's no Shortage of Good People that want to Help the Less Fortunate. It's the High Cost of Fuel that's made it so Difficult. Charity would be such a "Slap" in the Face of Greed! I can understand why a Vehicle that's putting out an Excessive amount of Pollution should Fail Inspection, but to Fail for not Emitting enough Pollution? This is Insane! It would take "Deep Pockets" to Expose this . Everyone Else that's Tried has been Stopped! For even more Insight, Check Out this Website. It's a Couple of Years Old, but well worth Checking Out! http://energy21.freeservers.com/bookrep.html Please Feel Free to Contact Me, Right Here, to let Me Know what You Think!
556485
Somehow I have this feeling that we are dependent on oil because the powers that be want it 2 be so. Come on, with all the technology that we have nowadays, computers, microchips, space-travel, etc, do u all really believe that by now we couldnt find an alternative 2 oil if we really wanted it? Problem is that oil is the #1 comodity on the market & 2 replace it would mean that there would be a huge shift in the stock market which will cause severe crashes & lost of wealth 2 many individuals & countries.
1299
The easiest thing would be to switch all cars to hybrid.  Right now.  The technology is here.  Wind power now costs less than coal, but our government keeps giving money to the coal industry because of lobbyists.
144070
The answer to most of the US's problems is our dependency on oil.  Not only for automotive fuel but also for energy generation and heating.  We need to find cheaper and more efficient ways to handle these issues and soon.
633986
Actually, the government really ISN'T the problem in this case. Nor is it the Auto Industry, or even Big Oil. The problem here is the consumer. Us. The vast majority of us want big cars that go fast, lots of lights in out huge homes, and to throw away everything and buy new things. Most people don't really care that this lifestyle cannot be sustained. They just want that 68" TV. Until the consumers change, nothing else will.
281624
IN a convoluted way, you are making a very good point. Isn't it sad that we change only when forced to? Our consumption of oil is/has produced profound changes to our world...a world that we have no choice but to live in. The greenhouse effect is growing daily, the powers-that-be are so short sighted they do nothing in the serious face of reality. WE are in for some very drastic consequences of our use of oil, and the entire planet will pay heavily for it shortly. In our lifetime, absolutely.
120080
Oil does rule all politics unfortunately. But can I suggest a simple alternative that we could all see as common sense? Use wind or wave power to generate electricity. Use this energy to split water into its prime components. Let oxygen into the air. Burn the Hydrogen in our cars and have water as the resulting by product. You could almost make this work in your back garden! We would only need lubricating oils then which could probably be created from vegetable sources!
125349
no gas prices should go higher!!\n\nthen maybe fat a**es will stop driving their big fat SUV's, take a bus\nand other technologies will be developed\n\nthe gov't did not create the "gas problem" people being lazy did
657338
Sounds like a good choise to me. As in the near future with the cost of petrol going up continually, people wont be able to afford to run a car!