Senior Editor Brian Doherty reports from the "Escape from Berkeley" road rally, where a motley crew of non-petroleum vehicles raced from Northern California to Las Vegas.
New at Reason: Brian Doherty on the "Escape from Berkeley" Alt-Fuel Road Rally
Comments to "New at Reason: Brian Doherty on the "Escape from Berkeley" Alt-Fuel Road Rally":
Paul | October 24, 2008, 6:31pm | #
I hesitate to call a wood burning vehicle 'green fuel'. There was a time when the world ran on wood.From a retro 'hey, this is kinda neat' standpoint it's ok... I guess.
I believe the Germans had a few of these in WWII when they were having trouble getting diesel for their vehicles.
Brian Doherty | October 24, 2008, 6:39pm | #
Paul---Yup. Gasification has a long history. None of this stuff is brand new--just growing to have extra relevance to people. If you read the long piece I wrote back in May (linked in the story) about gasification experimenters, the promise most of them see is that it doesn't HAVE to be wood---it can be any carbonaceous waste, and that, combined with returning the char to the soil, has, to some people, promise for an overall somewhat carbon footprint negative way of powering cars and generators.Syd Henderson | October 24, 2008, 8:44pm | #
The winning car is pretty cool-looking.george | October 24, 2008, 10:07pm | #
The way I read the rules, an unmodified bicycle could have qualified and maybe finished. Just load up a van with cyclists and switch riders every ten miles. Not in the spirit of the game, but to the letter as I read it.If I were escaping from anyplace (except an island), I'd use a bike. Cheap, quiet, will go almost anywhere you can go on foot. Get a bike.
chuck goolsbee | October 24, 2008, 10:40pm | #
WASTE veggie oil makes a great feedstock for making fuel, as it is a RE-use of a food product. No need to trade food for fuel, as your average American fast food place outputs enough waste oil to drive a small fleet of cars.Unfortunately waste oil does require processing (either chemically, or filtering/heating) before use in an I.C.E. As such it is hard to pick up on the side of the road and just go.
But I'll tell you I've bought less than $50 worth of petroleum-based fuel in 2008, precisely because I have developed the capability of making my own fuel at home.
The problem that needs to be solved in this country is the Anti-Diesel bias of government regulators, specifically the California Air Resources Board. They have done everything possible to kill Diesel cars in the USA.
--chuck
Brandybuck | October 25, 2008, 12:29am | #
Chuck, the problem with using waste veggie oil, is that in order to fuel my subcompact, I would have to eat several tons of french fries to produce the needed waste.Jesse | October 25, 2008, 1:27am | #
Thank you for writing. I am glad that innovation is alive. I live in Irvine.What about the "anything into oil machines"
are those rumors or facts?
Travis | October 25, 2008, 1:13pm | #
My car runs on Soylient Green.