A funny thing happened on the way to the gas pump …
Not to me, really, but to my site’s visibility. Two years ago I wrote a post debunking the so-called “water gas”/HHO/Brown’s gas technology of running your car on water. Then, starting in January this year I have had several visitors commenting positively and negatively on the post. I suspect it has something to do with gasoline prices rising above $4 and diesel prices inching toward $5 a gallon.
I won’t go over the whole “water gas” scheme here, but the gist of my argument is that it (1) is unsafe and (2) not a cure-all. I won’t even get into the whole “oil company conspiracy” thing, since paranoid people cannot be made un-paranoid no matter how much you try to reason with them.
Rather than do the sensible thing and DRIVE LESS, PEOPLE!!, many US drivers are looking for a magic bullet to maintain their wasteful use of fuel to putter around town. We are so damn spoiled here. Despite our rising fuel costs, we still pay less than Europeans have to years. Detroit (and to some extent Japan) encouraged us to buy big-ass cars and SUVs (fancy trucks, in my book) that get crappy fuel mileage, which suckered US car buyers into these land yachts that now suck their wallets dry at the gas pump.
So now I guess they’re looking up ways to pay less at the pump on the ‘Net, and have stumbled upon the water gas guys, and my post. Good luck, suckers!
June 28th, 2008 at 4:08 am
Good point. Driving less WILL save people money in the long run. Consumers actually have more control over gas prices than we may think. What would happen if EVERYONE pulled together and started driving 1/3-1/2 less than they normally drive? This could have a very positive effect on gas prices. Well, we know in the real world that you can’t get people to stand together on any major issues because of the society we live in. There are so many factors that keep people separated which prevent us from ever coming together for anything. Maybe people will come together once enough of us feel the wrath of these high gas prices. I know that I drive less now. I fill my tank a little over half a tank and watch how fast I drive. I drive a large tuck, drive everyday and filled up a week ago. I don’t expect to go back to pump until Sunday. That’s pretty good for me.