Even if there were not an already existing network for refining and distributing gasoline, it would be hard to beat as an automobile fuel in heat value per volume (i.e., driving range per tankful) or volatility in cold weather. Even its toxicity, though not at all negligible, is not as high as that of methanol. Nevertheless, like all new forms of energy that are more concentrated than their predecessors, it scared the pants off people when it first appeared. Thus, in 1875 the Congressional Record reported the following:
"A new source of power ... called gasoline has been produced by a Boston engineer. Instead of burning the fuel under a boiler, it is exploded inside the cylinder of an engine...
"The dangers are obvious. Stores of gasoline in the hands of people interested primarily in profit would constitute a fire and explosive hazard of the first rank. Horseless carriages propelled by gasoline might attain speeds of 14, or even 20 miles per hour. The menace to our people of vehicles of this type hurtling through our streets and along our roads and poisoning the atmosphere would call for prompt legislative action even if the military and economic implications were not so overwhelming. [T]he cost of producing [gasoline] is far beyond the financial capacity of private industry... In addition, the development of this new power may displace the use of horses, which would wreck our agriculture.
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Vol. 7, No. 5
Newsletter: Access to Energy Newsletter Archive Volume: Volume 7 Issue/No.: Vol. 7, No. 5 Date: January 01, 1980 03:04 PM Title: Huxley, not Orwell
Copyright © 2004 - Access to Energy Newsletter Archive
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