First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature - Gizmodo Comments

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

thegoonie — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:17:45 EDT

I can has Thermal Nuclear War cheaper?

thegoonie

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

jimothy — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:24:00 EDT

The largest natural gas reserves are in Qatar. The second largest is in Iran. So much for energy independence.

jimothy

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

heroineworshipper — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:53:06 EDT

The Chinese version flies into space on a nuclear fusion ion engine. Beat that, US.

heroineworshipper

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

FLskydiver — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 01:47:51 EDT

I just wanted to congratulate Jesus for the extremely high quality writing in this post. Awesome stuff, Sir.

FLskydiver

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

Gerxt — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:38:05 EDT

OK so the story is that the US airforce is actually doing this for fuel security purposes not because they like the world.
The other thing is that aviation biofuels DO NOT USE FOOD CROPS !!! I am sick of hearing this kiddos. The are using shit. That's right. Algee made from shit.

Gerxt

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

shatbox — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:35:19 EDT

They didn't include the fact this controversial super fuel is made from coal. Liberation from foreign dependence in exchange for greater greenhouse gas emission? LA Times

shatbox

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

hoselshaft — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:08:15 EDT

hippies 2.0 // we play whale songs in the meth lab

hoselshaft

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

hoselshaft — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:53:27 EDT

soylent green biodiesel >> power from the people

hoselshaft

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

lianna_g — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:29:03 EDT

I think the article is spot-on in adopting the smiley-face/strangelovian tone needed to talk about cleaner fuels and nuclear payloads in the same breath. Of course it's insane.

As far as other forms of mental illness go,

but if the Chicoms or Russians or OPECians or other goomers ever try to blockade or deny fuel to the US during wartime, I suspect all the usual whiners in the US will be thankful that the military has an alternate source of fuel.

ranks up there.

First of all, the US doesn't go to war with ANY country which has a significant military-at least not in the last 35 or so years. Secondly, if the "OPECians" (!?) try to blockade or deny fuel, exactly how are nuclear weapons going to get that fuel flowing? Note: I said flowing, not vaporized.

lianna_g

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

junyo — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:09:48 EDT

@Balance_In_Life (PSN):
The fact that we don't have a bottomless pit of taxpayer dollars for R&D, the utter absence of consumer infrastructure or the negative consumer cost/benefit to deal with. That would be our excuse.

Thank you,
The GM Management Team

junyo

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

tehronin — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:53:58 EDT

@strider_mt2k: Ouch, truth hurts.

tehronin

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

LEO1WOLF — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:33:45 EDT

My GOD - does no one realize the TRUE tree-hugging answer here? We need to harness all the gasses being emitted from their Arses & what ever toxic/noxious gases being spewed from the masses. This would power the entire freakin' planet for (I.D.K.) an eternity AND what ever by-product that produces, we'll just fire in a pretty capsule toward the sun.

Heh-heh, I'll bet you thought I was a genious. Laugh it up, I am.

-Lone Wolf

LEO1WOLF

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

fastmike — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:31:11 EDT

Make that two high octane cheese burgers to go....who said theres meat in Tacos ?

fastmike

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

DestroyerMTL — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:51:55 EDT

@strider_mt2k: You're forgetting the large amount of political apathy that needs to be mixed in there as well.

DestroyerMTL

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

liquidsoapdispenser — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:24:45 EDT

@SchruteBuck: Prius? Ha, as if Ed Begley Jr. would drive anything other than a bicycle or a car powered by electricity or natural gas!

liquidsoapdispenser

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

DelSource — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:47:36 EDT

@bitfactory:

I'll assume that was an attempt at some form of humour........

;o)

DelSource

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

bitfactory — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:26:34 EDT

@DelSource: You realize 'biofuel' doesn't mean jamming cheeseburgers and taco meat into the gas tank, right?

bitfactory

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

DelSource — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:16:52 EDT

Hey, anything is better than biofuel. Using food to power cars and planes is a f***ing moral disgrace.

You know, what with several hundred million kids going to bed every night with little no food in their bellies. And the mass clearances of rainforest required to grow the precursers.

DelSource

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:03:12 EDT

You forgot to mention using Kent's phase congigate target tracking mirror and Chris and Mitch's laser to pop popcorn inside Hathaway's house.

Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

fastmike — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:15:06 EDT

WOWWWWWW war at Walmart prices , bring it on , do we get a free glass with every 5 gallons?

fastmike

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

Balance_In_Life — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 06:06:03 EDT

So even our Military managed to start using synthetic fuels before GM. Whats your excuse now GM?

Balance_In_Life

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

HDC — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:36:09 EDT

The Fischer-Tropsch process is actually quite old. Check out the Wikipedia entry on it and you'll see that it was used by Germany in WWII to help fuel their war effort. Not hippies, Nazis! But of course our Nazis are better than their Nazis, naturally.

HDC

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

Bachblast — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:30:56 EDT

@ruggels: well, yeah, but, an eco friendly NUCLEAR (or nuculur if you are presidental) bomber! ECO FRIENDLY + NUCLEAR WEAPONS ......holy freakin' cow!

Agreed, the point is to not be beholding to imported oil, in that case kudos to the USofA

Bachblast

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

zamafir — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:14:38 EDT

"Using a fuel that is cheaper and cleaner ... what could be better?"

Oh I dunno... say... Not using fuel which is made from coal which has contributed significantly to increases in the price of coal which affects insignificant things like energy prices and the heating of homes stuff like that. Yup, the Airforce being the largest single fuel consuming entity in the US (per the WSJ when they last mentioned it today) Consuming huge amounts of coal to create synthetic fuel is definitely a win win situation.

It's entertaining really how articles in rags like the WSJ actually apply that critical eye to stories like this where as most internet news sites (not fingering giz, just internet news/blog sites in general) just take the article at face value, add a quip, and pretend there aren't any wide sweeping consequences.

zamafir

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

MadCrazy — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:58:05 EDT

A greener apocalypse, now that is mad and crazy...next they'll make everyone more easily biodegrable..Lol

MadCrazy

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

scarbrtj — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:53:29 EDT

Dudes, I have nothing to add except that the B-1B's commander's name is Rick Fournier
How bad would it suck to have a last name synonomous with gangrene of the balls:
[en.wikipedia.org]

scarbrtj

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

Mandatory_Field — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:51:34 EDT

@strider_mt2k: Meh, you're losing those anyway. May as well get some synthetic fuels out of it....

Mandatory_Field

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

Mandatory_Field — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:50:17 EDT

They are aiming "to have every aircraft using synthetic fuel blends by 2011,". So no need for anybody to ask "will it blend". The answer is yes, yes it will...

Mandatory_Field

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

GiltProto — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:45:39 EDT

I don't see what makes it greener, but if the Chicoms or Russians or OPECians or other goomers ever try to blockade or deny fuel to the US during wartime I suspect all the usual whiners in the US will be thankful that the military has an alternate source of fuel.

GiltProto

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

AndersonBMX — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:41:22 EDT

soviets tried to become treehuggers a since a long time ago:

"In 1988 a modified Tu-154 (dubbed Tu-155 and Tu-156) successfully flew on liquid hydrogen and in 1989 on liquified natural gas used as a fuel in its engines."

AndersonBMX

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

ILikeMacsWhatAboutIT — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:20:13 EDT

The last air show here was titled "The Sound of Freedom." Awesome.

ILikeMacsWhatAboutIT

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

SchruteBuck — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:27:07 EDT

I can just see Ed Begley, "Dammit Mr Bush, we need flex fuel bombers to deliver our nuclear payload. I just cooked soup in a cardboard box lined with tin foil, and I will NOT tolerate nuclear bombers with a large carbon footprint. IF I HAVE TO DRIVE MY PRIUS OVER THE ENEMY I WILL!".

SchruteBuck

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

electrikecho — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:24:58 EDT

It would be cheaper and allow the US to operate free of foreign oil, but I doubt they would even bat an eye if it were "dirtier". It probably creates more CO2, but being able to fly anywhere outside Saudi Arabia's pocket is the selling point.

electrikecho

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

klew — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:24:23 EDT

But if we don't use that oil, then our enemies can use it against us!

klew

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

strider_mt2k — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:21:12 EDT

The downside: Synthetic fuel is made of human rights.

strider_mt2k

First Supersonic Flight with Synthetic Fuel Shows Air Force's True Treehugging Hippy Nature

Monty — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:20:23 EDT

Woo-hoo! Let's start WWIII so we can start saving the planet with our synthetic fueled thermo nuclear vehicles.

God bless America!

Monty