ALTERNATIVE FUELS - THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY TRUTHS

ALTERNATIVE FUELS – THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY TRUTHS

 

All of the Preachers involved in the religion of Alternative Fuel want to evangelize you.  They want you to be a believer.  They want you to believe the fuel preached about during their sermon is right for you, for your state, for your country, for the world.  

Much like any religion they have different sects.  Some of the churches preach about solar, others are wind, ethanol, electric cars and hydrogen.  Why there’s even a church of Used Deep Fryer Grease.  Lest I forget there is the Al Gore Church of Anything But Fossil Fuel (As Long As I and My Close Band of Church Overseers Can Make A Fortune Selling Bogus Carbon Credits).  Yes, my friends, we have no shortage of sects in the religion of alternative fuel.

Just like in real life, one needs to be aware that there are bogus religions that turn out to be a cult.  This is especially true in the religion of Alternative Fuel.  

Today I will take to the Pulpit and lay thread bare what previous has been some hidden truths of this growing and somewhat cult like false god.  

THE CHRUCH OF FOSSIL FUEL

The long standard torch bearer religion has been that of Fossil Fuel.  On the good side, for years there has been plenty of it.  However, there are some problems within this church.  As other countries (China) becomes advanced and industrialize, the demand goes up.  When a select area of the world (Mid-East) holds the sacred drilling ground, the world can be held hostage to price and availability.  There is also that nasty and way overblown side effect of CO2 emissions.  Other sects use CO2 to get parishioners to defect and jump on board a ‘new hip trend setting’ sect.  The Al Gore Church has been very good at marketing his sect by bashing Fossil Fuel.  Please note – I used the word good and not correct in the last sentence.  I also called it marketing because that is exactly what he has been doing with his false god(s).  

There is yet another problem with the Fossil Fuel sect.  It has a finite supply in a world of growing demand.  However, Fossil Fuel is not the only item with a finite supply.  There is also a limited supply of potable water and land for growing food.  Message to world – You cannot have an infinite supply of people and a finite supply of resources.  Much like a never ending national debt this equation simply does not work.  You don’t have to be a genius to figure the eventual reality of such a nonsensical belief.  

THE SUN GOD

I did some studying of the theology at the Solar Sect.  The theology is solid albeit a bit flawed.  Power companies and even the government like to push this sect with verbal and financial support.  However, if you investigate beyond the obvious, there is an ulterior motive.  Power companies throw verbal support because the feds have forced them into it by requiring said companies to advance the cause of alternative fuels.  On the plus side for the power companies is a PR campaign that makes them sound environmentally concerned, plus they get to raise rates and blame the feds.  Quietly those same power companies really don’t want Joe Consumer going solar.  Those companies like to drag their ‘Ready Kilowatt’ feet on rebate programs while passing the blame on to the State Public Utilities Commissions.  

Here’s something I find most interesting.  Recently there has been a defection from the Solar Sect by the Green Members of this religion.  The Greeners have discovered it takes acres of land for solar panels to produce a questionable amount of electricity.  These same Greeners are now jumping ship because these shaded acres are disturbing the ‘natural beauty and natural environment’.  It seems that rattlesnakes love the shade of solar panels on a hot desert sunny day. 

From a government corruption standpoint, crony capitalism is alive and well within the solar religion.   Please don’t make me spell out Solyndra (U.S.) or SunTech (China) as just 2 examples.  Yes, there are more (Tonopah Solar and others).

Click http://www.trutv.com/conspiracy/government/pork-2011/gallery.all.html for a list of other government waste projects.  

Oh, I almost forgot there is a Greener issue with toxic waste in the solar panel manufacturing process.   Suffice it to say it’s not all sunshine in the Solar Sect. 

THE ANSWER, MY FRIEND, AIN’T BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND

There is a bad wind blowing on the once popular Wind Sect.   Problem #1 is that the best place to build a wind farm will never be used.  Of course that “BEST” location is in D.C. around the White House and Capitol Building.  A wind farm there would produce enough electricity to power the nation, if not the world.  

This once popular group amongst the Green has plummeted.   It seems, much like solar, this is proving to be unfriendly to our friends with wings.  A samurai sword whirling in a 60 m.p.h. wind has a devastating effect on an eagle.  Don’t you think it’s kind of odd that nobody thought of this one before?  I do.  

I personally can’t attest to this next complaint, but there is said to be a noise factor from those rotating birdland butcher shops.  

Maintaining a wind farm is no cheap and easy process.  These towering knives MUST be kept clean and in top shape to produce a questionable amount of maximum benefits.

Much like solar, a wind farm requires a lot of open space in the proper location.  So when and wherever these churches are built, they are BIG.  The problem with having a big church is you need a lot of attendees to pay for it. 

FROM SOUTH OF THE BORDER

The religion of Ethanol became big in Brazil and eventually made its way to the U.S.

Much like many of the sects this had a sound good/feel good structure.  On the simple end, you take corn, make a fuel alcohol, mix it with gas, use less imported oil and the world will be a better place.  To make it even better sounding we point to a country that is already making it work.  Really?

The entire country of Brazil only has a small fraction of the vehicles used in the U.S.  It takes more oil to produce the ethanol equivalent of what you would have used in actual oil to produce gasoline.  That kind of shoots the environmentally friendly aspect right in the a$$.  You’ve got to hand it to Brazil; they figured this one out, didn’t they?  Now that country is drilling oil off of their coast and wanting to sell it to the U.S.  

Three more things you may want to know about the Church of Ethanol.  Ethanol burns hotter than gasoline and because of the excess heat it is harder on an engine.  It also produces less power than the gasoline equivalent.  

It also takes an incredible amount of corn to make Ethanol.  So much that the corn that was one time used as animal feed is being moved over to make Ethanol.  This genius (sarcasm) move skyrocketed corn prices and raised the price of chicken feed.  So if you’re wondering why the price of eggs has jumped during the last year or so, thank the driver of the car burning ethanol.  For what it’s worth, his hotter burning engine will probably require more maintenance so he’ll pay in the end too.  

CHARGE IT!

Maybe this should be called the Hybrid Sect.  Or maybe it should be called “Just Because It Sounds Cool and Smart Doesn’t Mean It Is”.  No, that’s too long, let’s stick with the Hybrid title.  

GREENER ALERT – This process does nothing to reduce pollution.  It simply shifts it from the tailpipe of the car to an electric generating plant.  

Car makers need to sell hybrids to meet EPA average m.p.g. standards.  Likewise car dealers are forced into a half-truth situation when it comes to battery packs.  THINK ABOUT THIS - - Some of those manufacturers and dealers are throwing a 10 year warranty on those hybrid batteries.  They are a very expensive piece of the hybrid puzzle and that 10 year thing is appealing – UNTIL - - - - HERE IT COMES - - - People are keeping their vehicles longer and 5 to 10 years is slowly becoming the new norm.  Let’s say you keep your hybrid 6 years and go to get rid of it.  YOU WILL HEAR THIS from the dealer, “You know that battery pack is 6 years old and we’ll have to replace it before we can sell this car.  This means we will have to lower your trade in value by (pick a high number here) thousand dollars.”  Oh, yeah, it’s already happening.  

All of that money you thought you saved just went out the back door on a trade-in.  All of that good you thought you did for the environment did nothing but make a shift in where the pollution existed AND if your electric rate goes up (and they always do), when you charge your car, that my friend, is going to cost you.  Oh, if you had to install a special charging station at your home that’s even more money spent. 

THE BIG BANG THEORY

The tent religion of Hydrogen really does make pretty good sense.  Hydrogen is made from water, you know H2O.  When it’s burned it becomes water again.  The score on this game is now Power 1, Pollution 0.  

The downside is the explosive volatility of Hydrogen, like in Hydrogen bomb.  So you go out with a bang.  

Properly managed and engineered this could be the best sect to join.  

GREASE IS THE WORD

I’ve been told if you’re looking for a fun group of worshipers, this is the group.  

It’s not the most practical fuel supply because of the limited and somewhat sloppy supply problems, but it does work and your exhaust smells like French Fries.  

Your fuel supply is your problem.  The grease must be strained and/or filtered.  From what I’ve been told you can convert to this religion from nearly any gasoline engine vehicle.  I also understand this can be a slightly high maintenance option.

I have to admit, I’d consider becoming a convert if I could get my exhaust to smell like bacon.  Yummy, bacon.

A few final thoughts….

I’m not picking on Greeners.  I recycle.  I really do. 

I firmly believe people should be careful about what they buy into.  Remember Jim Jones of Jonestown back in the 70’s?  More than 900 people died in that event.  How about David Koresh in Waco?  More dead people as the result of questionable religions and lunatic leaders.  

If you get nothing else from what you’ve just read, please remember and hold the truth of the sentence in red.  It will eventually lead to our demise.  

In the meantime and on the lighter side – I’m thinking BACON!

  © Krystalco LLC 2013  Any publication or reuse of the information on this blog, in part or whole, without express written consent is prohibited.

THINK BEFORE YOU SUE

THINK BEFORE YOU SUE

You’ve heard this type of thing before – “Had a wreck?  Need a check?  Call 800-screwU2”

I just read today that a Nevada jury ordered insurer Health Plan of Nevada to pay a $270,000,000 fine.  In addition that same jury slapped Sierra Health Services with a $230,000,000 penalty. 

Now you may be thinking, “Good, screw those damn insurance companies and big business.  They’ve been sticking it to consumers for years.”  Not so fast.  THINK long and hard about this.  Read the rest of this article and maybe, just maybe, if you have an IQ above 10, you’ll change your mind.

Before I give you some true stories of lawsuits that didn’t work well for the plaintiff (and there is no shortage of these stories), let me tell you what potentially happens to YOU when a jury or the court issues a huge and outlandish financial judgment.

 

TRICKLE DOWN PENALTY

 

I don’t know of a smart business owner that doesn’t carry liability insurance.  You carry it because there is always somebody out there willing to try and make a quick buck.  Ambulance chasing lawyers love those easy to settle big money lawsuits and most will take them on a ‘percentage of the win’ basis.  No money down for the plaintiff makes it very attractive for the injured party to enter into a legal battle.  

Now for a dose of reality.  Let’s analyze that 270 million banana judgment against Health Plan of Nevada.  Of course, they have liability insurance.  That insurance carries a ‘cap’ of how much the insurance company will pay per incident.  For this scenario, let’s say the cap is a generous $250,000,000.  That means that HPN has to come up with $20,000,000 of its own money.  Where does that money come from?  Starting to figure this out yet?  You got it – YOU.  If you are insured by HPN there will be an increase in rates to pay for that generous jury judgment.  The same applies to Sierra Health Services judgment.  It will eventually work its way down to Joe or Josephine Insured.  

That’s not all.  Joe and Josephine (YOU) will also be paying for that hefty rate increase that will be followed when the liability insurance company for both HPN and SHS raise their rates.  And they will raise their rates.  

That big fine is not looking so good now, is it?

Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for logical lawsuits with a reasonable penalty and lawyers that get a reasonable amount for a fee.  Logical and reasonable are the key words here. 

 

TRUE STORY TIME

 

The following two stories are true.  No names, no places, no dates to protect me from some crap legal beagle that wants to make a quick buck.  

#1

A few years back a man was driving home from work.  He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when a car crossed the interstate lanes and cut a driver short.  SMASH, BANG.  Ambulance sirens, cops, paramedics, fire trucks, and all the rest.  When this man crawled out of his crumpled remains of a jeep, SEEMINGLY unharmed everyone at the scene was amazed.  He should have been dead.  He called his sister to pick him up and went home.  Twenty four hours later, after his body started to relax, the onset of his injuries became more apparent.  He was mangled pretty badly.  It turned out to be back, neck and spine injuries.  He didn’t help himself by not going to get checked at the time of the accident.  

Enter a legal team.  They sent him to a ‘special’ doctor of their choosing.  The doctor sent him to a ‘special’ physical therapy place of his choosing.  He was on pain pills.  His pain got worse.  Bills were mounting and he was off work.  No income.  His legal experts told him he was eligible for additional money for loss of work and pain and suffering.  He could also get money for a new car.  “Don’t worry.  It’s all going to be alright”, he was told.  I learned a long time ago, when somebody tells me “Don’t worry.  It will be alright”, that’s the right time to start worrying.  

Flip 12 months off of the calendar.  During that period he quit going to physical therapy because it was causing him more pain.  He started to feel better and went back to work.  He quit going to the ‘special’ doctor and got off of the meds.  He felt even better.   

All of this was settled out of court.  He got 20K for a new vehicle.  All of his medical bills were paid.  It’s should be noted the lawyer recommended ‘special’ doctor and the doctor recommended ‘physical therapy’ was billed at much higher than standard rates, which may be an indication of a kickback to the lawyer.  He got a meager $6,000 for pain and suffering and 6 months of work lost.  That wasn’t even close to covering for his lost wages.  

When he went to the legal office to pick up his check the lawyer shook his hand and said, “I wish I could have done better for you.”  He also had the secretary cut him a check for an additional $1,000 out of his pocket because the lawyer felt so badly about how it all turned out.  Even after giving this man the additional $1,000 the team ended up with more than $10,000.  

Story #2

This is very similar to story #1 only the female injury victim of this one is now on Social Security Disability Income with no chance of returning to a productive life.  A different law firm on this story but the outcome was nearly the same.  This has a more tragic ending because this once productive member of society is now paid by SSDI, which means, you got it, YOU and I are paying for this.

 

AND FINALLY

 

Please don’t get me wrong, I know some very very good lawyers (none of which are in Washington D.C.).

I also know many other good professionals, but unfortunately, there are sneaks and snakes out there.

There are two solutions that will fix what you just read:

    1)     TORT REFORM – Putting caps on judgments.  It’s that old thing called ‘common
     sense’, which is no longer so common.

    2)    THINK BEFORE YOU SUE – because there is a good chance that whatever you get
     the lawyer will get more.  

If you want sue G.M., Wendy’s, McDonalds, Ford, Firestone, Goodyear, Toyota, Honda, and Walmart.  After all, they’re big companies with lots of money.  But before you run to that lawyer, just remember the TRICKLE DOWN PENALTY and in the end YOU, your kids, grandkids, relatives, friends, and neighbors are going to pay for it.   Now go enjoy your new found money.  

  © Krystalco LLC 2013  Any publication or reuse of the information on this blog, in part or whole, without express written consent is prohibited.