There are presently no fuel alternatives available that could be implemented in a short enough time to avert disaster. One of the reasons this has not been accomplished to date is because the Environmental Protection Agency has very stringent rules and regulations that do not make it economically viable to convert vehicles to natural gas. I predict that those rules will be suspended as soon as the liquid fuel crisis strikes. Even with this solution, we are unprepared to handle the volume of people who will want to convert, since the conversion kits will need to be produced, the mechanics will need to be trained and the fueling infrastructure will need to be expanded. This is the only short term viable solution that uses a technology that it here now, is proven to work and has the potential to ease at least a small portion of the transportation pain that we will experience. Today, if you wanted to convert your vehicle to run on compressed natural gas, you would only have two options. The first option would be to have an EPA approved conversion done which would cost approximately $8,000. The other option would be to have a black market conversion done in somewhere like Utah. Utah has become a haven for black market conversions because the gallon of gas equivalent cost of natural gas in Utah is about 86 cents per gallon. While the cost of natural gas will rise with the cost of oil, at least it should be available, and there are systems that can be installed in your home to refill your tank, assuming your home already has natural gas service for residential use. Automobiles with internal combustion engines can also be converted to run on things like ammonia. Ammonia consists of nitrogen and hydrogen and is recognized by the symbol NH3, and is commonly referred to as anhydrous ammonia. Ammonia is an inorganic product that is produced primarily for use in fertilizers. Ammonia was used during the Second World War in Belgium to fuel buses, and was the fuel used by the X-15, a famous experimental rocket powered airplane. Why have the EPA rules been so strict, and why have more conversions of internal combustion engines not taken place in America, like they have in many foreign countries? We need to look no further than Big Oil and the automobile industry. Remember those people who came to Congress for a bailout? They are the ones who have stifled alternative technologies. In the old days of business as usual, companies like GM could pressure Congress into getting whatever they wanted, whether it was good for America or not. As long as it was good for companies like GM, it was good enough for Congress. Hopefully, those days are over. Congress needs to tell these bailout junkies that their plans need to include actually helping Americans, not just themselves, or they can hit the road.
What is our time frame? The US military is anticipating that surplus oil production capacity could disappear in 2012. As that becomes more apparent and is widely recognized by the marketplace, the volatility in oil prices will increase. Since markets have a tendency to adjust in advance, it is not unreasonable to assume that we could begin feeling the pain of permanent liquid fuel price increases as soon as early 2012. When we wake up and realize that the crisis is in our lap, Congress will predictably want to throw money at it, and by money, I mean trillions. Where will they get it this
97