When you complain about your fill-up bill, check this out.

An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer costs $643,500 in marine diesel to fill-up. In addition, the federal government wants its ships to run on an algae-diesel bio-fuel at $5 per gallon. That will mean a fill-up will cost $2.5 million per ship!

Just think of the total cost to the Navy (and taxpayers) that used 597 million gallons of diesel fuel last year.

 

There are alteratives out there for fuel. But we as americans try to go with the least expensive. That is why at one time we drilled our own oil. Because what we got from the middle east was cheaper so we stopped drilling. Not so any more. If you want to become independent of the middle east... get out your pocket books. I do hope we find alterative sources that will remain a value we all can afford. That will be the answer and whoever comes up with solutions will be rich.

 

Energy independence is an emphasis item in the DoD now...the air force is looking at synthetic jet fuels made from coal for all it's aircraft. It's already been tested on B-52s and C-17s. It is quite a bit more expensive but energy independence equals increased national security. If we only rely on other countries for our energy then we are at their mercy. If you have ever been to the middle east and seen our oil dollars at work there it would make you sick.

 

One reason that aircraft carriers are nuclear powered. We need to get rid of the internal combustion engine. You have to drill the oil out of the ground. Run pipes to get it to a port. Carry it in rusty old ships. Process it in billowing smokey smelly refineries. Truck it to gas stations where idiots spill it all over the car and ground. Then you pay good money to burn it and its gone forever. But hell, it puts food on my table. :-)