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Currently we are all whinging about petrol/diesel prices, and understandable so, but without a collective solution. Petrol/Diesel isn't going to get cheaper, not even a fuel duty tax freezes/cuts will prevent petrol price increases. It should be an optimistic brave new future rather than gloom and doom back to the caves mentality.
We need cars as part of our lives, we have invested £bns in a vast road network, and £bns in evolving the car to its present airbagged/eps brakes/hybrid/tomtom acheivement. Lets evolve this. Scrapping all this, or cutting road travel is unrealistic, pure green idealistic and plain daft. Improve public transport and cycling, yes; but not at the expense/ demise of road transport and individual mobility!
Car /Lorry emissions (Ozone, particles, acid gases) do affect health and add £bns to hospital/NHS bills, adding to our taxes via the backdoor. This is proven by London's LEZs, or Low Emission Zones. We can do better on car technology, emissions and air quality. Clean Air quality is priceless.
Hydrogen fueled cars has to the future technology answer, as explained in the link. BMW and 13 other companies have the matured hydrogen cars ready to go, and 13,000 filing stations need hydrogen tanks/bunkers.
http://www.bmweducation.co.uk/cleanenergy/hydrogen_watch.asp
The main issue is how to produce vast amounts of hydrogen locally, without having to do it wholely by electrolysis and electricity (from whatever source), or defeating the object by production from fossil fuels.. I don't beleive using solar or wind electricity for hydrogen production as a good or efficient use of clean green electricity. Not even with nuclear power. Electricity is a high order energy.
The answer is local plasma gasification or gasplasma for hydrogen production, that has a 1:5 input/output energy ratio, converting waste such as sewage sludge, difficult to recycle plastics , Refuse Derived Fuel, RDF, agricultural waste, waste wood, treated waste wood, pallets, old carpets, biomass to syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide). These can be split and cleaned into pure hydrogen for garages; and the CO can be easily converted to methanol or ethanol.
Iraq has wasted and wounded lives, destroyed a country, wasted/destroyed £bns of our/others wealth chasing oil/securing in distant places and perceived oil security threats, making more enemies. Inaction over Zimbabwe and Burma [no oil] confirms freedom and democracy have been disposable cover hype for securing geopolitical oil interests for big business.
Basically Garbage to Hydrogen Gas, via gasplasma. Quieter cars with no emission problems. Sheike goodbye to petrol!
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