Gas Scares

The recent debate over the validity of introducing LPG cars to the roads seems to be taking a rather strange turn. Despite the fact that it was Howard who seemed to propose the idea as a response to high petrol prices it's a completely valid option. Australia has huge natural gas reserves and it doesn't have huge oil reserves so it would only seem natural for us to have an economy that is fuelled by gas rather than oil. The recent news reports of the dangers of exploding gas engines seems bizarre and is a complete media beatup - LPG cars have been on the roads in huge numbers for years - just about every taxi you see is powered by LPG and its only now that there's talk of LPG cars for regular consumers that this danger is being played up. LPG will not completely solve the problem of dependence on foreign oil - it doesn't have the power to push big trucks for the movement of freight but biodiesel can (and that's another story). Alternatives to petrol are going to become more and more prominent over the next few years and gas is just one of them. The real problem is not what fuels our vehicles but the fact that we drive them at all - one person in a vehicle that takes up as much space on the road as 50 people is just ridiculous. All on bikes I say ...