Free Republic

In Greece earlier this month, Al Gore made a startling admission: "First-generation ethanol, I think, was a mistake." Unfortunately, Americans have Gore to thank for ethanol subsidies. In 1994, then-Vice President Gore ended a 50-50 tie in the Senate by voting in favor of an ethanol tax credit that added almost $5 billion to the federal deficit last year. And that number doesn't factor the many ways in which corn-based ethanol mandates drive up the price of food and livestock feed. In sum, Gore demonstrated that politicians are lousy at figuring out which alternative fuels make the most sense. Now...

ATHENS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore said support for corn-based ethanol in the United States was "not a good policy", weeks before tax credits are up for renewal. Total U.S. ethanol subsidies reached $7.7 billion last year according to the International Energy Industry, which said biofuels worldwide received more subsidies than any other form of renewable energy. "It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for (U.S.) first generation ethanol," said Gore, speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank. "First generation ethanol I think was a...

The Cars of the Future Historically, vehicles with mechanical drivetrains powered by spark-ignited gasoline-fueled engines represent the vast majority of new light-duty vehicle sales. Diesel powered light-duty vehicles, which are widely used in Europe, briefly gained traction in the U.S. market, capturing 5.5 percent of light-duty vehicle sales in 1981, but quickly fell out of favor with U.S. consumers as quality and repair problems mounted. Today, a wide range of alternative vehicles are available or under consideration (see Table 1). Hybrid and diesel vehicles are currently increasing their market share despite often higher initial purchase prices as consumers become more...

HETHEL, England — British sports car maker Lotus will build a battery-powered performance car, according to a Thursday report in the Financial Times. The technology used in the Lotus car will be similar to that in the Chevrolet Volt, with a fuel-powered range extender that works after the battery charge has depleted. The car is reportedly expected to achieve 300 to 400 miles on a single tank of gas. The Financial Times quoted chief executive Michael Kimberley as saying: "Don't be surprised to see an electric Lotus shortly. We are working on the technologies that will go behind it." Lotus...

If you watch cable TV, chances are you've seen an ad promoting T. Boone Pickens' plan for reducing the vast sums we're spending on imported oil. Hearts quickened in the Democratic Party because Mr. Pickens says in the ad: "this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of." That's what Democrats say when they block drilling off our coasts and in Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. But the budding romance cooled when Mr. Pickens made it clear he supports lifting those drilling bans. Mr. Pickens' plan has two key elements. The first is to build a massive series of...

In the wake of an economic downturn, General Motors Corp is hurrying production of its Chevy Volt. It now hopes to unveil a showroom-ready model in September, according to sources close to the project.

Sandia's synthetic-fuel recipe: Mix CO2 , water; heat with sun R. Colin Johnson (12-19-2007) In the hydrogen economy, automobiles would be powered by the simplest element on the periodic table, leveraging the element's abundance. But as the Hindenburg disaster demonstrated, hydrogen is also the most difficult element to compress into a safe, usable form. Why not instead synthesize a hydrocarbon-based fuel, such as methanol or even gasoline? Sandia National Laboratories is building such a fuel synthesizer in a bid to harness sunlight to reverse the process of combustion. The reactor would use reclaimed carbon dioxide emissions to create renewable synthetic...