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$26 a gallon?! Navy's 'Green Fleet' meets stiff headwinds
Reuters ^ | 7/2/2012 | David Alexander

Posted on 07/03/2012 8:47:48 AM PDT by kingattax

A U.S. Navy oiler slipped away from a fuel depot on the Puget Sound in Washington state one recent day, headed toward the central Pacific and into the storm over the Pentagon's controversial green fuels initiative.

In its tanks, the USNS Henry J. Kaiser carried nearly 900,000 gallons of biofuel blended with petroleum to power the cruisers, destroyers and fighter jets of what the Navy has taken to calling the "Great Green Fleet," the first carrier strike group to be powered largely by alternative fuels.

Conventionally powered ships and aircraft in the strike group will burn the blend in an operational setting for the first time this month during the 22-nation Rim of the Pacific exercise, the largest annual international maritime warfare maneuvers. The six-week exercise began on Friday.

The Pentagon hopes it can prove the Navy looks as impressive burning fuel squeezed from seeds, algae and chicken fat as it does using petroleum.

But the demonstration, years in the making, may be a Pyrrhic victory.

(Excerpt) Read more at today.msnbc.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: fuel; green; navy; watermelon
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To: cableguymn

Probably wouldn’t come up with the required data, besides, if they’re going to spend that much, they should do it on active vessels, not something tied up to the pier.


21 posted on 07/03/2012 10:11:02 AM PDT by stuartcr ("When silence speaks, it speaks only to those that have already decided what they want to hear.")
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To: kingattax

It is time to start lopping off heads.


22 posted on 07/03/2012 11:16:53 AM PDT by Iron Munro (John Adams: 'Two ways to enslave a country. One is by the sword, the other is by debt')
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To: kingattax

We are lucky Obama (the smartest president EVER!) didn’t think of saving Solyndra by demanding the military put Solyndra solar panels on the F-22 and the newest Virginia-class attack submarines.


23 posted on 07/03/2012 11:31:59 AM PDT by Iron Munro (John Adams: 'Two ways to enslave a country. One is by the sword, the other is by debt')
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To: kingattax
Here's some info on Solazyme:Source.

As usual with the Chicago mob, follow the money.

24 posted on 07/03/2012 12:08:13 PM PDT by upchuck (FACEBOOK... Share pointless stuff with friends you don't know. Beg for intrusion into your life.)
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To: kingattax

I guess the military has to do whatever Obama orders, even if it kills them just as we all have to do whatever he orders in health care even if it kills us. This is what it is like to have an inbred royal in power.


25 posted on 07/03/2012 12:14:45 PM PDT by SaraJohnson
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To: kingattax

As a green alternative, this experiment is a disaster.

As a military retiree, I am, however, interested that our defense machine can still operate if for some reason our access to petroleum became limited.

I’m not real sure what doomsday scenario would call for it, but if in that scenario we’re down to seeds and garbage to run our ships, then I’m glad we’ve figured out how to make our ships run on seeds and garbage.


26 posted on 07/03/2012 12:48:52 PM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Those who truly support our troops pray for their victory!)
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To: xzins
That used to be what the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was allegedly for.
Now it's just another political re-election tool.
(”we'll release this fuel to lower gas prices!”)
27 posted on 07/03/2012 12:57:26 PM PDT by TurboZamboni (Looting the future to bribe the present)
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To: stuartcr

There’s already enough data to know that “green fuel” works. There’s also enough data to know that “green fuel” is a waste of money due to the exorbitant cost.


28 posted on 07/03/2012 2:43:03 PM PDT by A.A. Cunningham (Barry Soetoro is a Kenyan communist)
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To: kingattax

Count me in the minority here — but I think the Navy is right. This isn’t about saving money or saving the whales, this is about national security. A huge percentage of the world’s oil comes from the Arabs, Russia and Venezuela. Ensuring that the Navy’s operations aren’t jeopardized by an embargo makes sense.


29 posted on 07/03/2012 4:30:51 PM PDT by Alter Kaker (Gravitation is a theory, not a fact. It should be approached with an open mind...)
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To: Alter Kaker

Everything you just said would be a non issue if we drilled here for the oil we know is down there.

You have just provided a red Haring.


30 posted on 07/03/2012 7:27:52 PM PDT by cableguymn
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To: Alter Kaker
i take it you didn't read post #12...
31 posted on 07/03/2012 7:36:17 PM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: cableguymn

Would that ship be the USS Umbilicus?


32 posted on 07/04/2012 7:22:59 AM PDT by Scrambler Bob (If you could read my mind ... just count up the felonies!)
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To: A.A. Cunningham

Ok. Let the navy know of your findings.


33 posted on 07/04/2012 8:29:40 AM PDT by stuartcr ("When silence speaks, it speaks only to those that have already decided what they want to hear.")
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To: A.A. Cunningham

Ok. Let the navy know of your findings.


34 posted on 07/04/2012 8:29:50 AM PDT by stuartcr ("When silence speaks, it speaks only to those that have already decided what they want to hear.")
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To: Timber Rattler
I wonder how long it will take for stories to start appearing about these ships suddenly needing emergency engine overhauls?

They probably won't; Diesel engines are pretty dang robust. So much so that I am somewhat confused as to why these are costing so much... especially when you can look up on the internet people making their own.

35 posted on 07/04/2012 9:03:30 AM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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