How can I get alternative fuel stations into WV?

Question

There are no alternative fuel stations within 100 miles of where I live... as a matter of fact, there are no dealers that sell hybrid vehicles in that radius either. I'm out of ideas. I've sent e-mails. I've signed petitions. What's next?

Answer 1

Well, there are alternative fuel stations in WV... very few.  About 3 near Morgantown.

Unfortunately, companies do not actually place stations selling alternative fuels based on economic factors.  Almost all of the stations which sell alternative fuels were setup in coordination with a university or state agency that began experimenting with an alternative fuels fleet.  The three alternative fuels stations are near Morgantown, because West Virginia University is a member of the National Alternative Fuels Training Program.

If the major city near you were to start using, as an example, hydrogen fueled vehicles, then you would probably see a few hydrogen fueling stations open around the city as part of the hydrogen fleet program.  Initially, these might be for the sole use of the city, but a petition to the city council would probably see them be opened up to John Q. Public.

Just to drive the point home.  If you and 100 others petitioned Shell (as example) to provide hydrogen at Littleville Shell, it probably wouldn't happen.  However, if Megaville decided to operate a fleet of 100 hydrogen cars, they would arrange with Shell to make hydrogen available at a handful of Shell stations in and around Megaville.

Answer 2

Did you know that you can convert your car in minutes to a water-running car?

http://water4fuel.info

Answer 3

You have to make an economic case for it. Find out how many ppl in your area have flex-fuel vehicles, and how many would convert if they had a fuel source. Include statements from local mechanics that they are capable of retrofitting older cars for E-85. Show the gas dealers that the market exists, and they'll fill the niche.

Answer 4

If you convert your vehicle to bio-diesel, burns with the same rates as regular diesel and not ethanol blends of gasoline, the closest fast food joint has an pretty good supply of oil ... not a joke, a great mind from Seattle put his VW van on discarded oil in the 1970's and never bought gas after that. You could smell the fries!

So cool.

Anyway, most modern engines use injectors and these are easy to adjust or replace to allow the engine to run on any kind of diesel. Valve timing does matter but not enough to warrant not using bio-diesel compared to burning gas in relation to reducing greenhouse emissions significantly.

Then it looks to me like consumers must sue. a huge class-action deal with billions on the table because what's a billion or two to an oil company? Chump change.

So, the lost revenue to consumers by not having a bio-diesel pump at any gas station in competition with the oil companies means they will never do it on their own and coulda' way long ago ... so, keep signing, keep making the effort, sending a personal email to your senators and representatives does help because that's where the deals are made. I've always gotten help from their offices.

Another way out is for the oil companies to switch their production over to growing plants for fuels, algae are proving worthy of investment. Using gasoline petroluem as solvents and where it makes sense, but not as transportation fuel because the planet needs to switch to bio-diesel immediately, so get started.

We need agricultural solutions to transportation fuel, producing it this way soaks up carbon-dioxide at first, then the oil is extracted and burned with way less in emissions than gasoline for all the steps to production and use.

So, to me the oil companies should invest their profit in the switch and should if they are publically owned, it's to all our benefit and the beneficial kings are far preferred than the despot. This way they can stay in control and we don't destroy the planet as fast.

Hydrogen is the best fuel but too high tech to get worldwide quickly, but taking gas off the market and replacing it with bio-diesel can be done so much easier and could actually have a chance to slow things down some on the charts in Hawaii for CO2.

There are several good dryland agricultural crops that produce oils in commercial amounts for specialty fuels and lubricants so reduce the pollution released, in dripping oil from cars for example, as the replacements can be designed to be less damaging to things if not actually bio-degradable if spilled.

So, overall, there are good products that have been possible to manufacture in volume that the oil companies can exploit for their kingdom's continuation into an effort to keep the sea from rising.

That's the real-time evidence you want for having done enough to make a difference, when the sea stops rising is the game now.

Until then, consider that when the sea does get 10-15 meters higher a lot of ocean-front property is under so where do those people go? Inland ... they lost their homes, they need jobs ... how civilized a thought.

Changing fuels quickly is the best first thing to do, all current gas stations can handle the fuel, just change what goes into the supply truck and retune the engines. Of course many people will never retune them, they'll still run so why bother, especially if it costs money?

Parallel to this is the spread of hydrogen technology, if there's a fight over money convert to bio-diesel first enough that Hawaii's meters show a change in the slope for CO2. Then spend some good cash on hydrogen.

The other mandatory need is to capture the energy in braking to re-use to accelerate the car back to speed. Until we have that system our machines use way too much fuel, probably an order of magnitude too much or more.

I think 200-mpg is possible for city with regen brakes, hybrids would for sure include them if they were available but the problem is that you need something that charges quickly like a capacitor but it has to hold energy like a battery for re-use, not an easy deal ...

Answer 5

what you've tried sounds good. but if you still aren't getting any responses . . . have you tired sending a formal letter? or even asking others to do the same?signing and sending through the post is well worth the effort.

Answer 6

before the year is up i am sure someone will be working on trying to get one built in a few moths after

Answer 7

In Texas a lot of the farmers are getting together to supply what they can. The reason is we just can not rely on the Arabs.