by Ted the dog » Tue May 09, 2006 2:48 pm
<br><br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12676374/">www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12676374/</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><br><br><br>Phillips: How much of a burden will that put on oil companies to start distributing ethanol? To dedicate a pump to ethanol? I mean what about trucks? What about their holding tanks?<br><br>Khosla: In most cases, the same holding tanks can be used. The same trucks can be used to transport the ethanol. There are logistics problems to be solved, to be sure, but it’s not a difficult transition. I’ve looked at all the issues they raise. In fact, most of them are bogus.<br><br> <br>As for the expense, Khosla estimates it would cost about $15 to 20 million to offer ethanol pumps at a thousand gas stations in California. <br><br>Khosla: $15 to 20 million dollars. Exxon alone made 36 billion dollars last year. <br><br><br>But Khosla, who’s invested millions of his own money in companies working on ethanol technology, says government must play a role as well, by requiring that gas stations everywhere offer ethanol, that all new cars be flex-fuel, and that oil companies play fair. <br><br><br>Khosla: We need to make sure that the major oil companies don’t manipulate the price of oil enough to drive ethanol out of business.<br><br><br>Phillips: Do you believe oil companies would deliberately drop the price of oil?<br><br><br>Khosla: Absolutely. A senior executive of a major oil company came up to me and said, “Be careful.” In a very warning tone he said, “Be careful, we can drop the price of gasoline.” <br><br>(not surprising, but a little shocking to see it in print.)<br><br><br>Phillips: What do you say to skeptics, who say, you’re a money maker, you’re an investor and what you’re trying to do here is to drum up support and governmental help to make sure your investment pays off?<br><br><br>Khosla: Well, I am in the business of investing. But in fact, this has become a mission for me: to get the message out of how simple it is to get independent of petroleum. In fact, my mission now is to put the fossil in fossil fuels. <br><br><br>==========================================<br><br><br>LMFAO @ skeptics claiming that THIS guy is the greedy money maker/investor who's only really doing this because he wants to make even more money in this situation.<br><br>If this guy makes trillions and trillions of dollars, and big oil is forced to convert, america is weaned off middle eastern oil and the planet is improved, I'm fine with that. If my money has to go somewhere, I'd rather it go to companies that have converted to ethanol than to companies that just chug away as usual.<br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>
