Just read the FJ business reporter Melissa Burden's report on biogas. It was good to see the Journal commit to sending a reporter to Sweden to cover the issue and, as always, Melissa has done a good job.One major change in her coverage from past (way in the past) Journal excursions is that she is also doing the photographic work that would have normally been done by a photographer. Clearly, this had to be a sacrifice to the current financial situation, but it's sad that a photographer didn't have a chance to go along and record the trip.
The one question I was left with is the man they (and it looks like he was wired for a television interview) talked to at a gas station said he has used biogas in his "three" vehicles since 1997.
Because I am driving the same car I purchased in 2000 and will likely drive it for several more years I am curious if he has had to recycle cars because the biogas is hard on them, or if he is just a guy who likes a new car every three years.
The story says the biogas conversion costs $4,000 to $5,000 per car and it takes two years to recoop the savings from using biogas to pay for the conversions. If you trade a car in every two or three years, it would not seem worth the money.
Biogas is made from municipal waste, which is converted to an odorless (hopefully) biomethane which can replace gasoline and diesel.
In the story, the man Anders Folkessom, said the range is less than traditional gasoline and diesel engines. What the story doesn't say is how much shorter? If I have to stop every 200 miles to refuel, I'm probably not interested either.
I was also stunned to read that this high tech technology coming to Flint is expected to bring 25 new jobs. Now any new job is great, but all this State and local investment for a company expected to bring 25 jobs seems a bit over the top.
If they're looking down the road at other businesses (the story mentions that some company will need to make conversion kits for vehicles) then maybe it's worth it.
But a 25-job crap conversion plant will hardly replace the thousands of GM jobs that have left for other parts of America or the world.
2 comments:
the flint journal must really be hurting for money. sending a reporter to sweden?
I'll bet that the money spent on sending a reporter to Sweden pales in comparison to what they spend each year sending one or more reporters to cover the miserable Lions away games.
In this case, I can see the advantage of sending a reporter to Sweden (afterall Channel 12 did as well), but following the stupid Lions when you can watch them on television when they are away seems a huge waste of money.
That said, Tom Kowalski, a friend and colleague of many years (going back to my days at the Oakland Press) does a good job of covering a very, very bad team.
And, of course, his stories are being fed to all eight Booth newspapers, so there is a savings there.
But as one who has written the Lions off permanently, it just seems a waste to cover them at all.
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