Personally, I don't like nuclear and probably never will, but I will admit there is a role for the technology to play to try and diversify the power grid. I won't get into the arguments of safety, security, or political correctness, but nuclear is still only a temporary solution, since the fuel is not renewable. Anything can be made safe and reliable, but how much do you trust the people who are in charge?
Wind, solar, and tidal power are no joke in western europe where natural fuel resources have been all but used up. The Danes get some 10% of their power from wind power alone (several years ago), and expect that to be at 50% by 2030.
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1986 F250HD Ex cab Fresh built up 6.9L diesel Lariat AC leather seats power everything w/full cluster, sterling rear 3.08LS gears, E4OD trans, ram intake ATS 088 turbo
1986 F150 Ex cab Lariat rollercam 5.0L on LPG AOD trans 3.55 gears 390 000Ks
Ford's new 6.2 L is goin got come out in 2010 and should cover all the points brought up above. (car points atleast) Number that I got from a sales person (skewed slightly for marketing purposes) are 360HP 425TQ and 16/19 MPG. If those come true then ford would not only be competative but the best over all truck on the road. As far as gas prices go the problem is that we buy only from other countries ( US production 8 million barrals a day, US use 20 million barrals a day).
If any one would like to learn more about US oil use and what really controls the price as well as gining solutions to fix the problem read "Freedom from Oil, How the next president can end the US oil addiction" by David Sandalow the book goes indepth into the problems of importing oil from other countries. This book or atleast part of it will impact drivers of truck in this country as well as auto manufacturers in the next 10 years or less. Easy, streight foward, read offering up solutions. You don't have to agree with the book but its alway good to know more.
Personally, I don't like nuclear and probably never will, but I will admit there is a role for the technology to play to try and diversify the power grid. I won't get into the arguments of safety, security, or political correctness, but nuclear is still only a temporary solution, since the fuel is not renewable. Anything can be made safe and reliable, but how much do you trust the people who are in charge?
Wind, solar, and tidal power are no joke in western europe where natural fuel resources have been all but used up. The Danes get some 10% of their power from wind power alone (several years ago), and expect that to be at 50% by 2030.
Actually the best technology we have will leave the waste with a half life of about 200 years. There is also the never ending hope of fusion in the future. Most of france is powered by nuclear energy. Those solutions you mention are certainly a part of the equation, I just feel that nuclear energy will bear the burden. As for security, I'm not sure I see any huge security risk. I have heard the false argument of a 9/11 type attack on the plants but they are built in such a way it wouldn't matter.
I really think the political correctness is the big problem right now. Nobody wants any type of nuclear waste stored in their area. Even with a half life of 200 years thats still a scary thought. But what politician is going to allow that to happen in his district? i believe this is called the NIMBY syndrome. Everyone agrees it is a great idea, but Not In My Back Yard.
Also bear in mind that the average coal burning generating station emits more radioactive material into the atmosphere than all nuclear plants combined. Well except that one in Ukraine.... An event that can not happen again for a variety of reasons.
I would like to know how the USA can simply stop buying oil (I'd like to do that too), since local production capacity was maxed out many years ago.
As for the 6.2L, we payed a visit to our ford dealer many years ago when the 1997 F150 was all the buzz. My dad was looking for a good used truck, but he was still given a song & dance about the latest greatest that ford had to offer at the time. The sales rep had a hard time looking my dad in the eye, but he said that the 1991 F250 that he was looking at could get 12 MPG at best (2wd 351w with E4OD), and that the brand new F150 could get 21-22MPG.
We drove my dad's truck home instead of trading it in, it is currently the F150 in my sig.....
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1986 F250HD Ex cab Fresh built up 6.9L diesel Lariat AC leather seats power everything w/full cluster, sterling rear 3.08LS gears, E4OD trans, ram intake ATS 088 turbo
1986 F150 Ex cab Lariat rollercam 5.0L on LPG AOD trans 3.55 gears 390 000Ks
But what politician is going to allow that to happen in his district? i believe this is called the NIMBY syndrome. Everyone agrees it is a great idea, but Not In My Back Yard.
I recall an incident at yukka mountain was it??? not sure, but thats exactly what happened, the state governor was ready to raise hell over the plans to store radioactive waste in his "back yard" (state). I will confess to subscribing to that way of thinking when it comes to nuclear power.
Fusion sounds much better, and it would be interesting to see what comes of the idea, currently a bomb is all they can make with it.
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1986 F250HD Ex cab Fresh built up 6.9L diesel Lariat AC leather seats power everything w/full cluster, sterling rear 3.08LS gears, E4OD trans, ram intake ATS 088 turbo
1986 F150 Ex cab Lariat rollercam 5.0L on LPG AOD trans 3.55 gears 390 000Ks
Yea excpet its always cloudy here in NJ, and u cant do anything, tow, haul etc, and ive been in 2 sever accidents in my ranger, i dont think a solar power car would still be running or that id even be alive
wind farms or sloar stations take up massive amounts of space compared to a nuke plant, for how much energy they produce
nuclear power if by far the most reliable and safest way to make electricity bar none, its an extremly simple design that creates massive amounts of heat, the only draw back is spent rods but even now they are coming up with ways to reuse them,
and nuclear power isnt renewable? i guess were limited to how much uranium or plutonium there is in the earth but you can use other radioactive elements, and look at it like this to make a nuclear reaction for a weapon you need 90%+ U235 for power plants only 5% so if we have enough to make thousands of weapons there is more then enough to power plants, all this considering natural U is only like .7% U235 the rest U238
im not saying electric or hydrogen cars are bad, its just that its a joke using them now and thinking your saving the enviorment or lessining our dependence on oil since our power is almost all oil or coal
But what politician is going to allow that to happen in his district? i believe this is called the NIMBY syndrome. Everyone agrees it is a great idea, but Not In My Back Yard.[\QUOTE]
I recall an incident at yukka mountain was it??? not sure, but thats exactly what happened, the state governor was ready to raise hell over the plans to store radioactive waste in his "back yard" (state). I will confess to subscribing to that way of thinking when it comes to nuclear power.
Fusion sounds much better, and it would be interesting to see what comes of the idea, currently a bomb is all they can make with it.
Certainly understandable, more so when you consider that the half life was very long back then. But we have data that says it has been stable for ages. I think increased public awareness would help this problem. But certainly not stop it. I think the 200 yr half life would be more reasonable. Again I can't say how I would feel if they actually asked to store it in my neighborhood.
Yukka mt was eventually used but then they encountered cities that would not allow the trucks hauling this to pass through. this is the irrational fear that bothers me most when it comes to nuclear energy.
Again I think we both agree that there needs to be some action on the part of scientists, and private industry to get away from oil use and onto the future of energy use.
Our power is mostly coal which is produced in the US. 95% of the oil that is used in the US is used for transportation. Nuclear power is probably the best solution for the future but not the only.
As far oil use in the US is concerned we as a country could save about .5 to 1.0 million barrals of oil a day just by driving better. Driving better would also cut down on accidents on the road.
How drive better
- Drive slower, every vehicle on the road get's better economy at 55/65 than at the speeds driven now 80MPH
- Accelerate slower not gunning the gas at every light.
- Brake easiers not jamming on the brakes for every light.
- Car pooling when possible.
Yea excpet its always cloudy here in NJ, and u cant do anything, tow, haul etc, and ive been in 2 sever accidents in my ranger, i dont think a solar power car would still be running or that id even be alive
wind farms or sloar stations take up massive amounts of space compared to a nuke plant, for how much energy they produce
nuclear power if by far the most reliable and safest way to make electricity bar none, its an extremly simple design that creates massive amounts of heat, the only draw back is spent rods but even now they are coming up with ways to reuse them,
and nuclear power isnt renewable? i guess were limited to how much uranium or plutonium there is in the earth but you can use other radioactive elements, and look at it like this to make a nuclear reaction for a weapon you need 90%+ U235 for power plants only 5% so if we have enough to make thousands of weapons there is more then enough to power plants, all this considering natural U is only like .7% U235 the rest U238
im not saying electric or hydrogen cars are bad, its just that its a joke using them now and thinking your saving the enviorment or lessining our dependence on oil since our power is almost all oil or coal
The cars that I would drive are electric battery powerd that can be charged off a home solar stack, not a direct solar car, although there are examples of solar cars used in urban situations as well (were not very practical).
I'm almost at the point where I just don't care what difference I can make for the sake of the environment, but if I can make my own power and drive a car without every buying petroleum I would be happy. Solar panels work even on cloudy days, just not as well as under blue skies, but then neither do I .
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1986 F250HD Ex cab Fresh built up 6.9L diesel Lariat AC leather seats power everything w/full cluster, sterling rear 3.08LS gears, E4OD trans, ram intake ATS 088 turbo
1986 F150 Ex cab Lariat rollercam 5.0L on LPG AOD trans 3.55 gears 390 000Ks
I'm almost at the point where I just don't care what difference I can make for the sake of the environment, but if I can make my own power and drive a car without every buying petroleum I would be happy. Solar panels work even on cloudy days, just not as well as under blue skies, but then neither do I .
True that i love sun, and i think that would be a great to do something like that i think for commuting and jsut getting around that would be perfect
Certainly understandable, more so when you consider that the half life was very long back then. But we have data that says it has been stable for ages. I think increased public awareness would help this problem. But certainly not stop it. I think the 200 yr half life would be more reasonable. Again I can't say how I would feel if they actually asked to store it in my neighborhood.
Yukka mt was eventually used but then they encountered cities that would not allow the trucks hauling this to pass through. this is the irrational fear that bothers me most when it comes to nuclear energy.
Again I think we both agree that there needs to be some action on the part of scientists, and private industry to get away from oil use and onto the future of energy use.
Yucca Mountain has NEVER been used to dump nuclear waste......it was supposed to go online in '98; now they're saying 2021 at the earliest.
While transportation of waste is an issue, it is not the main issue.
Yucca mountain opponents state many seismic(sp?) issues including earthquakes (Nevada is 3rd in the nation) and volcanic activity.
True that i love sun, and i think that would be a great to do something like that i think for commuting and jsut getting around that would be perfect
Today I saw blue sky for the first time in a few weeks, this winter sucked!
Would you believe me if I told you that an electric car could do 500 miles per charge? The initial price would be high, but EVs can easily outlive gas or diesel powered counterparts with far less downtime, and yes, that includes batteries.
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1986 F250HD Ex cab Fresh built up 6.9L diesel Lariat AC leather seats power everything w/full cluster, sterling rear 3.08LS gears, E4OD trans, ram intake ATS 088 turbo
1986 F150 Ex cab Lariat rollercam 5.0L on LPG AOD trans 3.55 gears 390 000Ks
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