Sunday, August 31, 2008

87 cents a gallon?!?



That's right folks, that is what they are paying to fuel up on natural gas in Utah.

Read more about it here, in the NY Times.

Utah is the first state to have large consumer surge in natural gas driving, though Oklahoma is experiencing something of one, too, and large has to be qualified because even by the highest estimates there are 20,000 natural gas vehicles on the road out of 2.7 million vehicles registered in Utah.

Still there are signs of significance, perhaps even a local tipping point, there is substantial backlog on orders for the Honda Civic GX, the only car powered by natural gas made by a major automaker in the America. People are paying to convert their SUVs to run on natural gas. There is a gray market for conversion.

Interesting.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Where does the clarion stand on helium 3 deposits on the moon? Environmental, political, practical issues, and so on. I just saw a piece on the subject for the second time in two years.

Clarion Content said...

I think it will be great for the balloon industry?

No seriously, it is not a subject I know much about. The plan for Helium 3 would be to use it in fusion, right? I guess we have to master that before it becomes too pressing.

However, geopolitically, clearly, I am opposed to a new colonialist conquest mentality in space. An orgy of flag planting and claim staking on extra-terrestrial turf would be an awful failure to learn the lessons of the last two centuries.