Alternative Fuel? Try Hay

[Ming]

Alternative Fuel? Try Hay
By Lesley Mitchell
The Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/



Mellissa Evans thought she had found a new way to rein in her expenses as gasoline prices escalated.

The Tooele High School senior began hoofing it to school this week on her 11-year-old gelding, Nighthawk. Joined by junior Chapa Stevenson and her horse, Wink, the pair made the 30-mile trek between their homes in Rush Valley and school twice a day on horseback.

But school officials told them Thursday that horses on school grounds are against the rules. "I guess we have to go back to carpooling," said Evans, who kept her horse in a stall inside the high school's animal laboratory while she was in class. "When you have a car that gets 10 miles per gallon, you have to do something."

In the weeks since gas prices reached record highs, people throughout Utah have taken creative steps to reduce their gas bills. Some are taking big steps, such as trading in gas-guzzling vehicles or trying to find a job closer to home. Others are making smaller changes, telecommuting one or more days a week or trying to drive less on weekends.

The average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline rose to a high of $2.91 per gallon on Sept. 10 after Hurricane Katrina took several Gulf oil refineries off line. In recent days, gas prices in Utah have fallen by five cents to $2.86 per gallon.

More drops were expected. But with Hurricane Rita passing through the nation's largest group of refineries, prices nationally and in Utah are set to rise again, said Rolayne Fairclough, spokeswoman for travel services company AAA Utah.

Ken Stern, managing director of FTI Consulting, which advises refineries on business strategy, predicted $4 a gallon at the pump for gasoline within two weeks. In Utah, which has one of the lowest average gas prices nationwide, consumers easily could pay more than $3 a gallon again. How much more, no one knows for sure.

''In an environment where capacity is constrained and demand continues pretty much unabated, that's a formula for significantly higher prices,'' Stern said. More refineries, and oil and natural gas rigs along the Gulf Coast and potentially in Rita's path, were shut down on Thursday in anticipation of the hurricane hitting shore.

About 5 percent of the nation's oil-refining capacity is still off-line due to damage from Hurricane Katrina, which hit Louisiana and Mississippi. Refineries in the Houston area represent another 13 percent of the nation's capacity.

''It's potentially a bigger threat than Katrina because there is more refining capacity in the Houston area,'' said Bob Slaughter, president of the National Petroleum & Refining Association. ''This is a double whammy for the industry - it's an amazing thing to contemplate.''

In Rush Valley, Mellissa Evans' mother, Karren, is disappointed her daughter can't ride her horse to school anymore to help offset the expected price increases.

"It took hours for her to get to school," she said. "But hay is much cheaper than gas."

Article Source: http://www.sltrib.com/portlet/articl...rticle=3054620

[camaro_freak]

now that gives new meaning to the word HORSEPOWER!

[paul3230]

That sucks..the highest output you can get is only one horsepower

[Ming]

I wonder if a K&N air filter around the mouth would give you a 0.1 hp boost?

[[Corporal Dan]]

yeah but youd lose low-end torque

[[Corporal Dan]]

even though horses have plenty down low



..get it?

[Snafu_SS]

i like horses...but since im stuck in the city goin to college i gotta resort to my own two feet to save gas...been seein tons of motorcycles parked all around campus now since gas went up, problem is many of em are too into tryin to do wheelies and crankin that throttle so the squirrels get a movin on that lil crotch rocket lol.

[Ming]

Yup, a neighbor of mine recently bought a smallish Suzuki motorcycle like this one:

http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products...5/Default.aspx

[Suzuki Phil]

You can use Hay, wood or any other biomass to run a car. I have a government manual at home (can't remember which agency) which describes how to build a smoke generator system to power internal combustion engines.

In Europe they were used extensively during WWII because of the lack of fuel. A pickup/truck would be a good choice because you could use the bed to haul the system around.

Not sure on the bales/mile rating?

Philip

[AmericanRevv]

why don't they use candles instead of electricity and morse code instead of the phone?

[Askani]

HHMMMM tough decision. Spend an extra $10-$30 a week for gas, or waste hours a day abusing on my poor horse to make it in the newspaper. I'm sure the horse liked the extra attention, but someone gotta show this girl what a cost/benefit relationship is.

[Smashing1]

Originally Posted by Askani

... or waste hours a day abusing on my poor horse to make it in the newspaper.

Not to nitpick, but how is riding a horse to and from work considered abuse? Horses primary use is utilitarian, is it not? I know now a days we have horse shows, and horse races, and what knot, but it wasn't that long ago that our primary means of transportation in this country was via horseback. So I wouldn't consider riding a horse to and from work abuse.

[Carguy]

The FUTURE means going BACK IN TIME??----Better start CAVE HUNTING!!----Were is my CAVE BABE GETTING CLUB to KNOCK HER OVER THE HEAD WITH??

[mkaake]

Why are people acting like it's so stupid to ride a horse around instead of a car?

You do realize that horses are just as good at the transportation role as what they were 70 years ago, right? They didn't suddenly change when cars became available to the masses, and become incapable of being ridden from place to place...

Is it just me, or has gminsidenews.com slowly been turning into forums where people just yell at each other, and no matter the topic, feel the need to call whatever is being talked about 'stupid'? Shame too, because it's a great place to come for information...

[mkaake]

Originally Posted by AmericanRevv

why don't they use candles instead of electricity and morse code instead of the phone?

or why not just use the horse? she obviously already had the horse, and has enough time to ride back and forth to school on the horse.

so if she doesn't need to use a car, why bash her for that?