Gas price down another nickel/gal here...

but not an appropriate one in my opinion. Being open to new ideas is not the same as having no critical faculties. One must question everything, even the "new" ideas.

Corn is not really that efficient a crop for making ethanol. Sugar cane is much more so, which is one reason it makes more sense for Brazil.

... albeit sketchy, but has your point stressed by BOTH sides at the end:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5173420

Evie

than corn for making ethanol. Of course the corn lobby is much stronger than the sugar cane lobby.

... amenable to sugar cane growing?

Personally, I think the notion of "growing" fuel as being a "renewable" fuel is misguided. You don't keep getting the same crop from the same ground year after year without adding considerable resources to that ground.

Evie

... that ethanol for automobile fuel is a nominally "new" twist on a VERY old idea. It is STILL a combustion engine, and a less efficient one at that. It would take decades to convert the fleet of cars on the road to ethanol burning with "future friendly" consequences that are at best only marginally better than gasoline. All we will be doing is trading the devil we know (and know well and have invested HUGE capital in) for the devil we don't at an enormous cost. If we're gonna do a "Manhattan Project" EtOH might well be one of the worst candidates. Please don't let the politicians pick the future of the country. They are in no position to evaluate the science and pick the next great innovation to move the world forward.

We didn't develop the economy we have now because government chose the energy sources, please don't let them start now. It's bad enough already that they are subsidizing so many non-starters.

Evie

Sounds like a lot, until you realize that the quickest stat I found was that in 1994 there were approximately 147 million registered vehicles in the US.. Given the population growth, about 160 million is probably a conservative estimate of the number of cars on the road -- 3/160 = 1.9% of cars. Since this is still 15% gas, and considering huge infrastructure changes to put just 1 pump at 10% of the stations around the country, it's just not pragmatic at this time.


Evie

So we wait till either we can't afford gas or there is a real (as oppose to manufactured) shortages?

...it's just not pragmatic at this time.

My point is that even if E85 sold for the same price per mile (as oppose to arguing about MPG and price per gallon), people wouldn't accept it. So alternatives will basically be refused by the general public until gasoline cost more.

My other point is those cars can run either, so any increase availibility of E85 would probaby be a plus. The reduction may (for a time) appear insignificant, but it would be easier to spread gradually than wait till there was no choice. No one might be forced to buy it, but it was there, and people are driving E85 cars, a drop may occur in gasoline useage.

The trick is when will it cost the same per mile and how do you convince people it does and will it happen while most people can still afford gas?


Roger

click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

since Bush destroyed the CAFE (and coffee) standards

But I usually only drink it when it's colder.

Gas efficiency has more than doubled since CAFE inception. I've heard the argument that the market will determine how efficient we are, in the long run. People are buying fewer vans, I imagine, and cars that get more MPG. As gas goes up, and it eventually will, then it won't matter what it is. We will be using coal and ethynol. Even military jets will be using coal.

My wife and I drove by the gas staion on the way to a doctor visit. By the time we were heading back the price had changed, now at $2.78/gal.

The highest it got here was $2.97. It's now at 2.80/gal, and with my .02/gal coupons it's $2.78.

There's a station in the area where it's lower, but I don't go by that way often.

It peaked at $3.09 for a day or two but then dropped right back to $2.99. The other day I noticed it was down to $2.95.

back in the early 60s when he wanted a sales tax in Mass. He argued that it would be ?% and it would be temporary. Opponents argued it would only go up and up.

What is it now? 5% and there's a push to raise it.

Of course, the sales tax in New York is 8?% I believe. I used to suffer under the crushing burden of New York City taxes.

Volpe owned a fairly large Construction Co. before, during & after governmanship. And, yes the sales tax is still 5%. (I buy all my big items up in NH.

George

Mass. 23.5
NH is 20.6
Not that much difference.

Gas Tax for all States

George

Actually the gas station I usually go to is in Vermont, but there's one on the NH side of the border with the identical low price. Prices do vary from station to station. There's another cheaper one down the road also in VT but since I have gas coupons I go to the place that takes them.

I have always wondered how your state gets its revenue. for roads and other stuff. I have always lived where they have a state sales tax. where I live now there is no tax on food, otc and rx drugs, clothing under a certain amount.

Politicians here are pressured to take "The Pledge" not to raise taxes. It's almost impossible to get relected in NH without taking The Pledge. Sadly, that is changing as we are now a "Blue State" and more government theft is on its way.

We do have plenty of taxes, mostly in the form of property taxes. And there are some gas taxes and other fees, etc. But we have no sales tax and no income tax (except for large companies).

large corporation tax is a myth, since all that is merely included in the price for consumers.

Too bad there isn't a source (that I know of that I even suspect might be reliable) for how much tax we pay each year included in the price of goods.


Roger

click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

of course companies pass expenses on to their customers as much as possible. How else could they do business?

not instead of taxes directly people.

Shrug, sure it's not a myth.

But could it be argued then that states that substitute higher corporate taxes for individual taxes have found a way to tax those not in their states for their state's cost? (sort of like federal tax sharing?)

Oh I realize that even in the rest of the states with personal income tax there is corporate income tax too.


Roger

click here to email semods4@yahoo.com