Sen. McCain offers $300 million prize for new auto battery

John McCain hopes to solve the country's energy crisis with cold hard cash.

The presumed Republican nominee is proposing a $300 million government prize to whoever can develop an automobile battery that far surpasses existing technology. The bounty would equate to $1 for every man, woman and child in the country, "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," McCain said in remarks prepared for delivery Monday at Fresno State University in California.

McCain said such a device should deliver power at 30 percent of current costs and have "the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars."

The Arizona senator is also proposing stiffer fines for automakers who skirt existing fuel-efficiency standards, as well as incentives to increase use of domestic and foreign alcohol-based fuels such as ethanol.

In addition, a so-called Clean Car Challenge would provide U.S. automakers with a $5,000 tax credit for every zero-carbon emissions car they develop and sell.

"In the quest for alternatives to oil, our government has thrown around enough money subsidizing special interests and excusing failure," said excerpts from McCain's prepared text. "From now on, we will encourage heroic efforts in engineering, and we will reward the greatest success."

The proposal comes as gasoline has reached a record cost of more than $4 a gallon. That has boosted the price of virtually all goods and services, sent commuters flocking to public transportation and increased tensions between the United States and its Middle Eastern oil suppliers.

Last week McCain suggested one way to ease supply concerns would be to lift a federal ban on offshore oil drilling if individual states want to allow it. His Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, opposes that idea, saying it would do nothing to address immediate price concerns.

On Sunday, Obama told a Washington audience he would strengthen government oversight of energy traders whose futures speculation he blames in large part for the skyrocketing price of oil.

In his latest speech, McCain expressed exasperation both with the federal government and the private sector.

He said rising costs during a time of stagnant wages evokes the 1970s era of "stagflation."

Without blaming his fellow Republicans in the Bush administration directly, McCain said: "It feels the same today, because the unwise policies of our government have left America's energy future in the control of others."

The pork-barrel opponent also blasted "a hodgepodge of incentives" for the purchase of fuel-efficient cars.

"Different hybrids and natural-gas cars carry different incentives, ranging from a few hundreds dollars to four grand. They're the handiwork of lobbyists, with all the inconsistency and irrationality that involves," McCain said.
Sen. McCain offers $300 million prize for new auto battery - Yahoo! News

Nice incentive.....hopefully this $300 mill. is just for U.S. businesses.

Have a good one!:s4:

Too many tax incentives for big business. Don't like it. If people cared about this issue they would just stop buying new cars until the car companies got smart and started building cars that the public wants. Free market system? Isn't that waht the repubs usually advocate?

Yeah he probably has some sort of friend who knows how to make a sufficient innovation, and he'll just give it to him. Its a pretty vague offer, don't you agree? 300 million, to "whomever can develop an automobile battery......"
Possible that its just a shitty written article, not specific in detail...or, its just some crazy thing he said.
If I were John McCain and I saw myself losing by 15 points the other day i'd say something desperate for headlines too. Quick 50 trillion to "whoever" can build me a robot dinosaur car that can fly.

The technology already largely exists, it just seems that government (at least here in North America) largely ignores it. India has recently developed a car that can run entirely on compressed air; able to go 160 miles (about that) on a single tank, up to 65 Mph. Japan has made an all-electric car running off the latest advancements in lithium-ion battery technology, with the ability to drive up to 300Kph and go several hours on a single charge. Another company, I wish I could remember which one, has recently made their first fully-functional and phenominally-effective hydrogen-powered car.

As is, there have been many, many electric cars that can match and surpass their gasoline-powered counterparts. Yet so governments and businesses continue to perpetuate the myth that an electric car can only exist as a weak and inneficient go-kart. One thing I'm sure of; bio-diesal is not the solution! Mexicans are already finding it exceedingly difficult buy corn tortilla's because of the corn shortage being put into fuel. One estimate I heard from a scientist on CNN purported that if we used all the corn in America to fuel our cars, it would cover 2% of our fuel needs.

Sugar-cane is far more effective anyway, with 3x the energy-output of corn, but unfortunately doesn't grow very well in most North American climates. Brazil has seemed to have done a fine job utilizing it to cover 85% of their car-fuel consumption, but I still don't like it because it depletes soil nutrients that should not be wasted. What we need is a fuel source that won't deplete another essential resource like food.

Without knowing the specifics, I can't really say what I think. But in general I like these kinds of incentives for innovations. It's not a straight ongoing subsidy for a favored industry, which I think usually tend to outlive their usefullness and then become a waste of money. It's a fixed-cost budget item to spur innovation and to provide the capital to develop the technology for market.

In the past these kinds of constests have worked out really well. In the early days of aviation, there were contests paid for mostly by waatlhy individuals to spur innovation in aviation. There were prizes for thisngs like altitude records, or speed records or the first to cross the Atlantic. The money was an incentive and so ws the prestige. Recently the Ansari X prize for the first private company to send a reusable, manned vehicle into space twice spured the developmenn of Spaceship One by Burt Rutan. Without the prize it probably would not have happend by now.

I think these kinds of contests can work realy well and be a very cost effective way to promote needed inovations. How about $300 million to the company that can develop a way to make ethanol out of corn stalks, wood chips and other cellulose waste for the same cost as using corn? Or $300 million to the company that can develop a way to make solar electricity as cheap as electricity from coal? Or $300 million to the company that can develop a way to make food waste and orgainic waste that now goes to the landfill into fuel oil for less than $50 a barrel? These kinds of innovations would easily be worth the cost of the contest.

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

I think these kinds of contests can work realy well and be a very cost effective way to promote needed inovations. How about $300 million to the company that can develop a way to make ethanol out of corn stalks, wood chips and other cellulose waste for the same cost as using corn? Or $300 million to the company that can develop a way to make solar electricity as cheap as electricity from coal? Or $300 million to the company that can develop a way to make food waste and orgainic waste that now goes to the landfill into fuel oil for less than $50 a barrel? These kinds of innovations would easily be worth the cost of the contest.

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HELL YEAH, and for the big prize they can further research on this:

There is an estimated 2 trillion barrels of oil buried beneath parts of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Geologists, petroleum companies and the federal government have known about these massive deposits for nearly a century. The trouble has always been: how do you get at it?

It is believed that the shale deposits in the Green River region of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming are holding the equivalent of approximately 1.5 trillion to 1.8 trillion barrels of oil. Called â??oil shaleâ?� or â??shale oil,â?� according to scientists and petroleum companies, much of it cannot be recovered with current technology due to the costly processing involved and the depth of the deposits buried beneath the Rocky Mountains.

Still, if only half can be extracted, scientists believe the amount is nearly triple the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.
U.S. HAS MASSIVE OIL

THIS would make us energy independent for years.

Have a good one!:s4:

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Originally Posted by Psycho4Bud

HELL YEAH, and for the big prize they can further research on this:

There is an estimated 2 trillion barrels of oil buried beneath parts of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Geologists, petroleum companies and the federal government have known about these massive deposits for nearly a century. The trouble has always been: how do you get at it?

It is believed that the shale deposits in the Green River region of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming are holding the equivalent of approximately 1.5 trillion to 1.8 trillion barrels of oil. Called â??oil shaleâ?� or â??shale oil,â?� according to scientists and petroleum companies, much of it cannot be recovered with current technology due to the costly processing involved and the depth of the deposits buried beneath the Rocky Mountains.

Still, if only half can be extracted, scientists believe the amount is nearly triple the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.
U.S. HAS MASSIVE OIL

THIS would make us energy independent for years.

Have a good one!:s4:

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Well, that one I personally would not be in favor of, because oil shale is not a renewable resource, and it is still very polluting.

But there are probably a lot of great applications for these kinds of contests. It's one way government can work with industry without getting too involved. NASA has sponosred a few of these things, and they should do more. There is one going on right now related to a "Space Elevator" and others related to moon landers. These contests are composed of a lot of "baby step" contests. It's not like they said, here's a billion dollar prize for making a space elevator. They have one prize for innovations in making the elevator tether material of a certain strength. And another for making a certain milestone for the "climber" that goes up the tether. That way they have achievable goals that lay the groundwork for the big goal.

Its just time to do away with the internal combustion motor and move on technically. Its been around for over 120 years. Its a dinosaur.

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Originally Posted by FreshNugz

. . . Quick 50 trillion to "whoever" can build me a robot dinosaur car that can fly.

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:D how did you know??? . . . i'm working on one right now. buahahahahah :D

i read somewhere that algea is the most efficient bio-fuel, (several magnitudes more efficient than corn or sugar, etc) it is like 50% pure veg oil or something and takes nothing from the food supply. the challanges are growing it quickly and inexpensively, contolling for water evaperation getting just the right strain of algae for the conditions, etc.

i'm thinking this could be my new project, algea farming. i think we need lots of grant money to fund this kind of home grown R&D, as well as cash prizes for the winners. :rastasmoke:

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Originally Posted by boaz

i'm thinking this could be my new project, algea farming.

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I'm an algae rancher runnin' 100 billion head of free-range sprulinas in a pond out back. It's a great life, and there's nothing like takin' 'em to market on one of the great long-distance algae drives. "Yah! Get along little algaes!"

Why not we turn back to steam engines??



lets clean for greener air


ban fossil fuels all together

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Originally Posted by silkyblue

Why not we turn back to steam engines??



lets clean for greener air


ban fossil fuels all together

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Steam engines can't move a car at the speed and distance of todays standards. We do have clean-burning steam power for our cities though... it's called nuclear. :D


You can't just ban fossil fuels. The economy, food, transportation, war efforts, and basically the whole country would grind to a hault. It's not like you can ban oil one day, and have us all on hydrogen the next.

The other problem with the idea of switching to steam engines is that STEAM is not a fuel. Old steam engines used to burn coal to make the steam pressure, so the fuel is still a fossil fuel. In fact, almost all exisitng electric power plants are steam turbines --- they just burn different things to make the steam to turn the turbines and make the electricity: coal, natural gas, whatever.

This just in... "Halliburton developes new Hybrid battery tecnology, and claims $$300million from US govermnet " :wtf::jointsmile:

wouldent be suprized ...

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

I'm an algae rancher runnin' 100 billion head of free-range sprulinas in a pond out back. It's a great life, and there's nothing like takin' 'em to market on one of the great long-distance algae drives. "Yah! Get along little algaes!"

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:S5:

rollin rolling rolling ... keep those prankton flowing :stoned: the seaweed life is the life for me. (sorry :rastasmoke: )


here a blurb from wiki

Algae fuel, also called algal fuel, oilgae[1] or third generation biofuel, is a biofuel from algae. Compared with second generation biofuels, algae are high-yield high-cost (30 times more energy per acre than terrestrial crops) feedstocks to produce biofuels. Since the whole organism converts sunlight into oil, algae can produce more oil in an area the size of a two-car garage than an entire football field of soybeans.[2]

. . .

The United States Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require 15,000 square miles (40,000 square kilometers), which is a few thousand square miles larger than Maryland, or 1.3 Belgiums.[3] This is less than 1/7th the area of corn harvested in the United States in 2000.[10][11]

In the 2008 U.S. Department of Energy Biomass and Biofuels Update to Congress (by the Office of Biomass Program)[12] appears the move to algae fuels.[13]

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Steam engines can't move a car at the speed and distance of todays standards. We do have clean-burning steam power for our cities though... it's called nuclear.


You can't just ban fossil fuels. The economy, food, transportation, war efforts, and basically the whole country would grind to a hault. It's not like you can ban oil one day, and have us all on hydrogen the next.
__________________

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yes they can quit using fossil fuel and switch to nukes

who cares if we get a Chernobyl

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Originally Posted by boaz

rollin rolling rolling ... keep those prankton flowing :stoned: the seaweed life is the life for me. (sorry :rastasmoke: )

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Home, home on the pond
Where the oilgae biofuel's spawned
Where never is heard a discouraging word
And the water is slimy all day!

That's a lot of money...Wish Ron Paul had that kind of money, he may have got the nomination and we'd have a choice for someone who's going to fix some problems rather than beat around the bush.

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Originally Posted by Markass

That's a lot of money...Wish Ron Paul had that kind of money, he may have got the nomination and we'd have a choice for someone who's going to fix some problems rather than beat around the bush.

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Ron Paul got plenty a dollar from a lot of donors, and gained more support from troops than any other candidate; more than twice as much as the second-place contender for that title, Barack Obama. His loss wasn't due to lack of funds; it was lack of popular support pure and simple. What can a guy expect, running for the Republican party with promises of ending the drug war, immediately pulling out of iraq, and generally vying for state independance from the federal government's right-wing monopolization on morality? He never stood a chance, but I think he accomplished what he really set out to do; bring public attention to issues completely and utterly ignored by the other condidates of both parties. God knows I've yet to hear a single other candidate talk about taking the federal reserve out of private hands and returning monetary control to the government as it should be.

Anywho, I noticed that john mccain has promised this 'if elected.'

I don't want this fucking yoo-hoo wasting 300 million dollars on something as stupid as this. This country has enough problems with spending as it is..

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Originally Posted by Markass

Anywho, I noticed that john mccain has promised this 'if elected.'

I don't want this fucking yoo-hoo wasting 300 million dollars on something as stupid as this. This country has enough problems with spending as it is..

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Something as stupid as this? What would lead you to believe that trying to offer a reward for innovators in this nation to come up with new technology to help ease us off of our dependance of oil as stupid? This isn't meant to be our renewable/alternative source of energy obviously. It's meant to ease our need for oil and gasoline.

Rewards have worked in the past. Look at the xprize. Private space industry has REALLY REALLY taken off in a very short time frame. It may not seem like a big accomplishment but we've really gone leaps and bounds. X PRIZE Foundation

Keep in mind the technology to build what he suggests will probably cost more than 300 million to produce. Research and development is not cheap.

Personally I commend him for giving incentive. People in this country don't want to do something for nothing. I really don't care if Halliburton, Exxon or Joe blow next door create this technology because in the end it is a huge step forward for us all. Let's all stop our bias towards the right and big corporations and think about whether something like this would benefit us as a nation. The answer is, if someone comes up with this technology and it's put in use, then yes.. it is worth it and 300 million is a small price to pay. We spend well beyond that on oil alone every day. Imagine reducing that cost by 70%. :thumbsup:

What gets me is that no one seems to realize...
THERE IS NO $300 MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE!
All he did was 'propose' one.

It's a campaign trick, to make you believe he cares about the environment and/or the economy. It will never actually happen.

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Originally Posted by psteve

What gets me is that no one seems to realize...
THERE IS NO $300 MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE!
All he did was 'propose' one.

It's a campaign trick, to make you believe he cares about the environment and/or the economy. It will never actually happen.

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We won't actually know until someone takes office. One thing I've learned is that it's ok to speculate, but never make assumptions. You'll end up being very disappointed if you live by assumption.

Everything in life starts with an idea.

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Originally Posted by psteve

THERE IS NO $300 MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE!

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No, no, no... This can't be right. I got something in the mail that said I might already be a winner...

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

No, no, no... This can't be right. I got something in the mail that said I might already be a winner...

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You are, but for the $30 "Convert a Burrito Grande to biofuel [methane] in 2 hours" prize. You got a long ways to go... :jointsmile:

Steam engines... ever wonder where the heat to make the steam comes from? hint: They don't burn water...
Unless you're running nuclear, geothermal, or solar collector, you're still burning fossil fuel.

I would like to burn anything that does not cot us over $5 Bucks a gallon.

The government is giving grants to people who are picking up the Oil from restaurants. At one time they had to pay to dispose of it now they are getting paid and so is the vendor that picks it up.

Soon it will be in our furnaces and in our Diesel Trucks. That is not an problem solver that is just tainted fuel watered down. They allow upwards of 20% to be added so the price wars begin and the people don't realize they are burning 20% french fried oil to heat there house...

Bring back the electric car that was destroyed in Cali. When Bush changed the grants from electric to Hydrogen.... That was a great answer to the problem on fuel. GM already has the 300 million dollar battery locked up with a lot of other technology they don't want to release . During WW2 Hitler had a pill that would be added to a tank of water and would convert it to Diesel. That technology is sitting buried in a safe owned by General Motors.

Drill in the US so we don't have to depend on the Middle East:thumbsup:

This is political corruption that is costing Americans all this extra Scratch to travel.

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Originally Posted by GreenLeaf420

Bring back the electric car that was destroyed in Cali. When Bush changed the grants from electric to Hydrogen.... That was a great answer to the problem on fuel. GM already has the 300 million dollar battery locked up with a lot of other technology they don't want to release . During WW2 Hitler had a pill that would be added to a tank of water and would convert it to Diesel. That technology is sitting buried in a safe owned by General Motors.

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I'd be interested in seeing the patents on some of this stuff. Do you have any links?

There was a movie on it I was just told the name again yesterday. I can not Remeber it Now I will and post it back!!!!

I got it....

Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006)

Overview

Director:Chris Paine

Writer:Chris Paine (writer)

Release Date:4 August 2006 (UK) more view trailer

Genre:Documentary more

Tagline:In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline...........Ten years later, these cars were destroyed. more

Plot:A documentary that investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future. full summary | full synopsis (warning! may contain spoilers

I think they touch Haliburton to them fuckers are involved in every SCAM in this country..

Like I said before, the technology is already here! There are just people who would lose a lot of money if this technology came out. Just google the Tesla Roadster. Also Japan has came out with a hydrogen car that runs off any kind of water and now they're trying to get contracts for mass production. If I were Michigan I would be on the phone non stop with Japan to try and get these contracts going! Don't be fooled we HAVE the technology already!!:thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GreenLeaf420

There was a movie on it I was just told the name again yesterday. I can not Remeber it Now I will and post it back!!!!

I got it....

Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006)

Overview

Director:Chris Paine

Writer:Chris Paine (writer)

Release Date:4 August 2006 (UK) more view trailer

Genre:Documentary more

Tagline:In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline...........Ten years later, these cars were destroyed. more

Plot:A documentary that investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future. full summary | full synopsis (warning! may contain spoilers

I think they touch Haliburton to them fuckers are involved in every SCAM in this country..

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Thanks for the info.. my interest has been peaked and I'll probably hit my local video store today to check it out. :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by epxroot

Like I said before, the technology is already here! There are just people who would lose a lot of money if this technology came out. Just google the Tesla Roadster. Also Japan has came out with a hydrogen car that runs off any kind of water and now they're trying to get contracts for mass production. If I were Michigan I would be on the phone non stop with Japan to try and get these contracts going! Don't be fooled we HAVE the technology already!!:thumbsup:

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Yes we do that is why Dick Cheney is running around the Arab country's telling them to pump more and more!!!!!!!

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Dick Cheney is running around the Arab country's telling them to pump more and more!!!!!!

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Pump more Dick ! Smile for the camera Dick!


lol

they shouldve never desserted the pitiful poor steam engine


:(

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Originally Posted by silkyblue

Pump more Dick !

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That's the only way we are going to get through this crisis --- pump more dick. I think I'm going to start selling bumper stickers that say, "Pump more dick!"

Yeah. That would be great.
Farm Collector - The Medina Tragedy
Boiler explosion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wreck at Rice Hill, Oregon 1912

You know they still run on fossil fuels, not water, right? That's how the water gets hot enough to become steam. Coal is the common one for trains and industrial applications, but you can fuel a steam engine with anything that can heat the water in the boiler. While liquid water can reach only 212'F, steam [water vapor] may be heated indefinitely under pressure and becomes quite dangerous. Remember PV=nRT. Gasoline-fuelled car fires, even racing cars, rarely kill people nearby, but a boiler explosion can, and also cause life-threatening burns to anyone unlucky enough to be anywhere in the vicinity. The boiler of a steam engine requires constant monitoring to ensure that the pressure does not rise above a safe level, and an unskilled or inebriated operator is a downright hazard.

I am personally happy to see a primitive and exceptionally dangerous power plant be laid to rest, and go view steam engines from a safe distance at the three county fair every fall.

Silky loves them steam engines, but yeah, very dirty and somewhat dangerous. Old style steam engines are not as efficient as modern engines and create a lot more pollution.

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

You are, but for the $30 "Convert a Burrito Grande to biofuel [methane] in 2 hours" prize. You got a long ways to go... :jointsmile:

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My gut is an amazing biogas reactor vessel!

Heck, if I could get even 30 bucks for what comes naturally I'd be ecstatic. Or even just a subsidy for the burrito feedstock... A coupon... Anything...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

Yeah. That would be great.
Farm Collector - The Medina Tragedy
Boiler explosion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wreck at Rice Hill, Oregon 1912

You know they still run on fossil fuels, not water, right? That's how the water gets hot enough to become steam. Coal is the common one for trains and industrial applications, but you can fuel a steam engine with anything that can heat the water in the boiler. While liquid water can reach only 212'F, steam [water vapor] may be heated indefinitely under pressure and becomes quite dangerous. Remember PV=nRT. Gasoline-fuelled car fires, even racing cars, rarely kill people nearby, but a boiler explosion can, and also cause life-threatening burns to anyone unlucky enough to be anywhere in the vicinity. The boiler of a steam engine requires constant monitoring to ensure that the pressure does not rise above a safe level, and an unskilled or inebriated operator is a downright hazard.

I am personally happy to see a primitive and exceptionally dangerous power plant be laid to rest, and go view steam engines from a safe distance at the three county fair every fall.

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Yeah, the boiler system that they had at the hospital was a trip! Ran off from natural gas primarily with an oil back up system. When that s.o.b. would fire up the entire room would shake. I guess years back one blew down there...wiped out the entire room and scorched the maintenance man pretty good.

If I recall correctly, state inspectors come in once a year to check the brick, valves, etc. They'd shut down and relieve the system so the inspectors could crawl inside and check out the internal brick...what a bitch to replace! IF the brick needed to be replaced the inspector had to come back and give the thumbs up before it could be re-fired.

Have a good one!:s4:

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Originally Posted by dragonrider

That's the only way we are going to get through this crisis --- pump more dick. I think I'm going to start selling bumper stickers that say, "Pump more dick!"

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Ill buy one that's a good bumper sticker.....:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: It's automobile related.. LOL:cool::cool: