Earth Day

[andrewgoh]

Wifey and I were invited to attend a Brazilian Samba parade held in conjunction with the Earth Day event this weekend...friend plays the drum....lots of booths on recycling, protecting the rain forests, etc...

There was even a booth with some VWs, including a new Passat TDI....converted to run on vegetable oil....too bad I didn't have the camera with me....dude there was even trying to convince me to convert the 944 to run on bio-diesel fuels....sorry...nice idea....but not a chance

Regardless...I was thinking to myself.....maybe I should get a booth next year....after all, we are all part of the grand recycling effort....and helping to not waste the Earth's resources by maintaining our beloved 944s...

[Trevor]

Good call, happy earth day everyone 4/22

[AFJuvat]

Yeah thats it, we are doing our part to keep landfill space down by keeping these machines running.

(sounds like good justification when it comes time to buy new parts "really honey, I'm just protecting the environment!")

Running on vegetable oil eh? would be an interesting setup to see.

Saw a prototype a few years (10 or so) back of a working motor, completely made of composites (carbon fiber etc) and ceramic.

Entire engine weighed something like 125 lbs.

AFJuvat

[sasquatch]

I was doing my part for Earth day as well. Ripping up more grass and cutting down a few trees in my yard to lay down 8 yards of concrete to accomodate my 6mpg motorhome. Man it feels good.

"Earth First!" (I'll pave the other planets later)

[andrewgoh]

I don't know if this has been covered in this Forum in the past...here is an electricity-powered 944:

http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/223.html

Kinda of an interesting project....

[SoCal Driver]

Dirt Day! Gag me!

First: Trees also make CO2 Scott. The difference between night and day.

Second: What a joke electric cars are! Especially when you take a 944 or other gas powered car and stick a bunch of lead acid batteries in it!

Take a hard look at the GM electrics and the hybreds. These are stripped out with aluminum and composits and narrow high pressure tires. Can't compare to any car designed from the ground up to use gas.

Even the hybreds have their "problems". The Honda doesn't have the electrics for in city driving, where this design would be of benefit, so they advertise it for highway! Dolts!

[rammstein]

Before this gets too fired up:

1) The pursuit of alternate fuels is not a waste of time.

2) Pushing technologies not yet ready for reality down consumers' throats is.

Some of the technologies being developed are quite exciting. Hydrogen powered vehicles are particularly exciting for us due to the potential for high performance. But its not ready yet. The energy it takes to get hydrogen through current processes is too excessive, and that energy would probably come from coal anyhow.

Electric cars are also not realistic. Consumers will not accept a vehicle that gets slower every minute between charges. You plug the car in at night, which means you are probably using coal to power it indirectly. And the batteries don't last forever, meaning more $$ to replace them and more chemicals to dispose of responsibly.

Hybrid cars are interesting. And consumers are buying some of them. They're not bad at all. Again, those batteries don't last forever, but its a step in the right direction. And the govt. doesn't need to offer tax breaks and automakers aren't losing money on them, so go for it if you're inclined.

Solar power will not be feasible until solar panel technology improves to the point where it can harness much more of the available power from the sun. The energy is there for the picking, but we can't get it yet.

Ethanol from corn again takes energy to get out of the corn, refining, etc. This again will use power from less "clean" sources.


In the end, lets remember that the forces of the free market will slowly dictate a move towards alternatives to petrol. As supplies run out (lets avoid the argument of how long this will take), prices will rise, and as prices rise consumers increasingly will seek and adopt alternatives. You cannot fight these economic forces. In Europe gas is $$$, and look how many little cars and diesels and electrics they use (unfortunately its due to taxes and this is artificial and bad for a number of reasons).

I am excited to see new technologies emerging for powering our cars. And when I can afford something better for ME, you can bet I'll do it, cause thats reality and how it works (A 400hp hydrogen powered 944, for instance, would have no trouble finding a home in my garage).

And in the meantime, gas cars are exponentially cleaner today and by maintaining your car you are helping. Car and Driver had been running articles on this subject for years, and its really helped me cut through both extremes.

[porsche85]

That's sad. Anything but a 944 (or any porsche for that matter).