Mark in the OK Gazette!

Mark Sprowls, CNG purveyor extraordinaire, is featured in the latest OKG article on alternative fuels!  Read what he has to say here:  Oklahoma Gazette – Oklahomans explore alternative fuel options.

Finally, a little recognition!

There is no doubt that alternative fuels are more popular today than ever before, and there are countless TV specials, articles, and books about just that topic to back me up.  Something I’ve noticed, however, is that most of these informative broadcasts and papers tend to focus on the more romantic alternative fuels: solar, hydrogen, ethanol, etc.  That’s why I’m glad to see CNG vehicles mentioned in this AOL Autos article about gasoline-free cars.  It’s about time the media got the news out.  Unfortunately they forgot to include Honda’s Civic GX as a private-market natural gas vehicle (NGV).  

AOL Autos: Alternatives to ‘distilled dinosaur juice’

Getting Science-y

For those of you who crave the nitty-gritty textbook version of how CNG vehicles actually work (past filling the tank and pressing the pedal), head on over to HowStuffWorks.com for a chemical-by-chemical explanation of natural gas cars.  For the meantime, here are some CNG advantages according to HSW:

 

“The biggest advantage of NGVs is that they reduce environmentally harmful emissions. natural-gas vehicles can achieve up to a 93 percent reduction in carbon monoxide emissions, 33 percent reduction in emissions of various oxides of nitrogen and a 50 percent reduction in reactive hydrocarbons when compared to gasoline vehicles. NGVs also rate higher in particulate matter 10 (PM10) emissions. PM10 particles transport and deposit toxic materials through the air. NGVs that operate in diesel applications can reduce PM10 emissions by a factor of 10.
Natural-gas vehicles also offer these benefits:

NGVs are safer. The fuel storage tanks on an NGV are thicker and stronger than gasoline or diesel tanks. There has not been an NGV fuel-tank rupture in more than two years in the United States.

Natural gas costs are lower than gasoline. On average, natural gas costs one-third less than gasoline at the pump.

Natural gas is convenient and abundant. A well-established pipeline infrastructure exists in the United States to deliver natural gas to almost every urban area and most suburban areas. There are more than 1,300 NGV fueling stations in the United States, and more are being added every day.

Natural gas prices have exhibited significant stability compared to oil prices. Historically, natural gas prices have exhibited significant price stability compared to the prices of petroleum-based fuels. This stability makes it easier to plan accurately for long-term costs.

NGVs have lower maintenance costs. Because natural gas burns so cleanly, it results in less wear and tear on the engine and extends the time between tune-ups and oil changes. “

And while we here at CNGTulsa may be a bit biased toward our own cause, we are also the fair sort so here are CNG disadvantages from HSW, in a nutshell: the cars are less roomy, driving range is reduced, filling stations are currently not as common as gas stations, and natural gas is still a fossil fuel. A very clean fossil fuel, but nonrenewable nonetheless. Now then, if these facts are dimming your view of CNG vehicles I reccommend reading the advantages again;  trunk space seems pretty trivial against slowing climate change.

 

Harris, William.  “How Natural-gas Vehicles Work.”  09 September 2005.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ngv.htm>  15 May 2008.

Tulsa World article: BP chairman recommends natural gas for clean transportation

In this article by Jason Womack of the Tulsa World, dated April 23, 2008, the chairman of BP Capital Management, Boone Pickens, encourages the use of natural gas as a clean, cheap, domestic alternative fuel.  Oklahoma-produced natural gas will lessen dependence on foreign oil and provide Oklahoma with a brighter future.
 

Read the full article here:
 http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?articleID=20080423_5__Boone60642