gordontravels
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tryreading said:Yes, I know what a filibuster is. But there was an energy bill passed. You know about that, right? Since I am not yet well informed as to the detail of the text of this document, as I'm sure you are, please let me know when the environmentalists get to shut down all the refineries.
The important thing is that instead of offering up excuses for the party one prefers, we need to put pressure on all of our representatives to work toward some level of independence from oil supplied by OPEC.
Somewhere in this thread someone mentioned hydrogen power for cars. This may be feasible someday, but we have an excellent alternative right now-when buying your next car, please get a hybrid. This won't work for everyone-for example you won't be able to tow anything with a hybrid. However, for 90% of us, this is a smart, patriotic choice.
The problem with a hybrid car is that at $3.00 per gallon your payback because of the expense of the hybrid in the first place is over 9 years. That's how long it would take you to save with fuel economy and break even after the expense of buying the car. Hybrids are priced beyond the means of the very people that need more fuel economy. You can pay $21,275 for a Prius and get 51/60 miles per gallon or you can pay $9,999 for a Hyundai Accent and get 27/35 mpg (comparison by Toyota Motor Company). You figure it out.
Purchase price - fuel savings = what? Will you keep your Prius 10 years? Will you keep your Accent 5?
Any alternative fuel economy car whether hybrid or fuel cell or a combination will cost you more in the long run than a standard fuel efficient internal combustion vehicle. That is the inherent problem with alternative energy. It costs more to produce or in it's final form of product it costs more to buy. It may be a wonderful thought to conserve but most Americans will try to conserve energy based on how much money they can conserve. To do otherwise is to be a Republican or Democrat doing nothing in Congress. :duel