Air-power car- arguments

1. We need to be careful (as green-oriented folk) to distinguish between products that reduce emissions vs products that simply transfer emissions somewhere else. It is not true that a vehicle like this has no emissions. The emissions have occurred in the power plant that generated the electricity for the compressor.

If the power plant is fossil-fuel based then it only reduces emissions if the overall energy per mile is lowered. Unfortunately I suspect that the fact that the tax system skews petrol prices upwards vs centrally generated electricity will make the low running costs of this be assumed to translate to low emissions.

What is true is that if this technology is twinned with renewable (eg wind/solar) then it does have great potential. Again unfortunately there is the potential for nuclear proponents to suggest that this is a good way forward, based on it being away to convert nuclear energy into vehicle motion with no emissions. But how green do we view nuclear energy?

2. I have wanted a Mini cat ever since I saw one. But I want to own a Pink one. Is that possible and if you have one in stock please send me pictures. I believe that the Minicat is the new and improved car. It looks cool and saves the earth. But it dosent have a back seat. just kidding if you kno what I mean. Thanks! Katie

3.You hippies won't be happy until we all live in grass huts and ride bikes everywhere. Someone comes out with a new product that is revolutionary to say the least and you tear it down and discredit it as if it was a fraud. Whats really funny is, I don't know a single SierraClub member or "Environ-mentalist" who actually goes out and works in the forests or high country. They very people you bash (4x4 drives, dirtbike riders, etc) are the ones who fight to keep trails open and work hand in hand with BLM and the Forestry Department. If you ask me, the hippies are the real fraud.

4.Isothermal compression/expansion changes availability, thus acting as storage with a tank. The air car uses near isothermal. Like an electric car except less expensive, and no need for new batteries. Hope they get it out!!

BTW, look at www.annualizedgeosolar.com. Their technology for a self-heating/cooling house could be added to an existing house if someone was willing to do the work needed. I'm modifying my own - starting in May, 2005.

5.I have been watching the progress, or lack of it, on the air powered car for some time, but when will it be available? As for the arguement that emmissions are just transferred to the power station, that is stupid, at least at the power station there is the possibility of controlling emmission, this is not so with individual fossil burning cars.

Air car ready for production

The Air Car. The use of compressed air for storing energy is a method that is not only efficient and clean, but also economical. In 1973 CAES (Compressed Air Energy Storage) installed their first compressed air energy storage plant in Germany, making use of natural underground caves for compressed air storage and taking advantage of the surplus energy produced by the generating plants. Later on similar plants were installed in the United States (Alabama and Ohio). Compressed air is an energy vector that can be used, in a viable way, to transport both people and goods. One possible alternative is the air-powered car. There are at least two ongoing projects that are developing a new type of car that will run on compressed air. In this article, you will learn about the technology behind two types of compressed-air cars being developed and how they may replace your gas guzzler by the end of the decade!

Clean Power Motorshow: Alternative Car

PART 3

RAV4-EV to the Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica Oct. 19