Ken Brown wrote:
The reason we use mineral oils from the ground is that they are *cheaper*.
Not true.
If the price of a barrel of crude oil rises above somewhere between 30 and 60 dollars (depending on who you believe), then coal and oilshale become cheaper & we can switch to that. If the price of mineral fuels rises above somewhere between 50 and 100 dollars per equivalent of a barrel of oil, then using liquid fuel derived from agriculture becomes cheaper.
Biodiesel is being sold in the US as we speak for anywhere from $.99 to $2.50 a gallon, depending upon whether it's made from waste or virgin vegetable oil. Given the economies of scale working here, once they build up a larger presence, those prices will drop. And, if I'm not mistaken, much of Europe is already mandating that all diesel be sold with at least 20% biodiesel. You might also look at Brazil which fuels a large portion of it's vehicles with ethanol already. VW's new fuel will be even cheaper. -- Harmon Seaver, MLIS CyberShamanix Work 920-203-9633 Home 920-233-5820 hseaver@cybershamanix.com http://www.cybershamanix.com/resume.html