-w The Michigan Daily-Sund Page 2-SundayFebruary 10, 1980-The Michigan Daily Free space The Big 3: Are synfi the energy of the futi 0 i0 _________ . (:3 By Tom Mirga "The first thing we have got to do is to face the facts. There is sim- ply not enough oil available in the world to meet all the demands of all the people in all the nations on ear- th. Americans are just now begin- ning to realize with simple common sense that there are only two ways to guarantee supply: one is obviously to control our demand, to cut back on the waste of energy; and the other is to develop our own sources of energy to replace foreign imports so that we can have control over our destiny." -President Carter. Speech in Kansas City. 7/16/79 O OF ALL THAT is clear today on America's energy budget, what seems most noticeable is that we cannot rely on the oil of others- to meet our future needs. America has raw energy inside the confines of the country waiting to be tapped. Unfor- tunately, these resources are like the cheese ensnared in a mousetrap: the question is, can we snag the riches without a seemingly assured backlash wiping us out? Are the economics of the sun, the nastiness of the nuke, the land pillage .of coal production, and all the rest obstacles we can overcome? Included in all the banter and cross- signals passing for a national energy policy today has been an increased in- terest in the creation of "synfuels." True, there has been controversy surrounding them. While the president has sounded gung-ho on this alternative to oil since the July speech that kicked off his energy offensive, many obser- vers have warned of the dangers syn- Tom Mirga is the Daily Univer- sity editor. fules create for the economy and the environment, and of their only long- term benefits. But there isn't any one specific ob- stacle blocking synfuels production right now. Instead, it seems the usual entanglement of corporate decisions is the prime reason that alternative is not under full investigation. To bring syn- fuels into widespread use, we need a common approach from those who will be the prime deployers of them-the auto companies. All we have now is a mish-mash of theories on which syntletic fuels are best, and how we can economically produce them. "Itsseemstunanimous that theapublic wants us to move as fast as the president does in the alternative fuels field," remarks Serge Gratch, director of Ford Motor Company's Chemical Sciences Laboratory and a recent ap- pointee to the newly-created National Alcohol Fuels Commission. "But the fact remains that his plan is very big. By the end of 1981 the amount of alcohol available for transportation in this country, for example, would amount to less than one per cent of all gasoline we consume." Thus, we can read Ford Motor's hand: they are shooting, at least tentatively, to explore the possibilities of mixing alcohol with, or using it as a substitute for, automobile fuel. Do the other automobile companies pay attention to what Ford is doing with synfuels? If so, they seem to be reacting to Ford's actions by backing away, to some degree or other, from a solid commitment to "gasohol." Joseph Bidwell, executive director of the General Motors Research Laboratories, says that Carter's programs are far too optimistic and simple-minded. "By 1990 he says he wants us to produce something like 1.75 million barrels of some alternative fuel per day in this country," he says. "I 1! "4 ", - fi l :>pA GPWI SYFVELF~tC 'S Sritr think we'll be lucky if we even get one- quarter of that amount by that time." Bidwell emphasizes that General Motors is delving into the production of oil shale-a rock which, when it has un- dergone a heating process, can be used to produce oil. "The biggest roadblock is financing production. The cost of getting an oil shale plant on board is going to run something like four or five billion dollars," tells Bidwell. "Not only that, but it takes years to get these plants in the production stage. This is no little feat, it's going to take one hell of an in- vestment," he asserts. So!, you say, at last an organzied, convincing approach to the future of. synfuels. You're sold, right?-oil shale+ is the way. Well, you're wrong. At least, you are according to Charles Heinen, director of research and materials engineering for the Chrysler Corpor- tion, the last of the holier than holy trilogy of auto companies. Each synfuel alternative, he says, is "iffy as hell. "The fuels we decide to use in the future will not depend upon straight engineering questions," he says, "but on politics and differing philosophies. There's truly a morass of information out there. You can't just listen to a presidential promise in an election year and want level barr up th all of medi lot of We to M his r isn't How aren Ame story unre our ques area abou beco like attra ener An one-1 with milli quar tight Petr (OPi locat the w OP pric( alme emb. high pric4 Am weal situa An mea The maj( best year tive: prow depl lifet seve, cons as ti abou imps polit poetry Faith I had believed that every summer night fireflies would be here; Here in my black backyard dotting like lake buoys the portion of uncolored sky in children's crayon drawings: between the heads of their people and the nebulous blue line that marks the start of above. Rake Caught in a Door Unlike the silent struggle of the beetle, his patterned shell imbedded in the wet paint like a single mosaic tile, the quivering metal legs of the rake caught by the wind slammed porch door ring out the pain of surprise. -Dave Masello 41' a" jrsokc own }c - AL4 e- v \oiv 1,L .r~ f-ea ItAt4 N~n4 ca+(al rarr J -