Alternative Fuel Sources 3
The field of alternative fuel is wide and varied, but the prepared survivalist will have some knowledge of several methods and include alternative fuel in his survival plan.
Many colleges and universities are offering programs in alternative energy across the country. Some of the most active are in the Midwest and Southern states, and especially in the Ozarks region, where the spirit of self-reliance has existed since the first pioneers came to the area with Daniel Boone.
One of these schools is Missouri State University’s West Plains campus. MSU has become a leader in alternative energy. The school offers a certificate in Alternative Energy which includes a unique combination of electricity, electronics, biofuels, solar and wind energy courses to provide practical knowledge and experience in the alternative energy field. While the Certificate in Alternative Energy may be completed as a stand-alone program, courses in this certificate may also be used to complete the Associate of Applied Science in Technology-Alternative Energy. The program has become well known at self-reliance and preparedness events in the area for instructor Jim Hart’s lectures on using wood gas as a fuel to either generate electricity, or to power a vehicle such as a pick-up truck.
Wood gasifiers are still manufactured in China and Russia for automobiles and as power generators for industrial applications. Trucks retrofitted with wood gasifiers are used in rural areas of North Korea. Hart has shown many people in the US how to burn wood, then re-burn the gas the wood produces in order to power a generator. In an area with abundant supplies of excess hard woods, such as oak, this creates a very inexpensive alternative to solar and wind power, or a supplemental power source to offset some of the problems with wind and solar. Hart has also appeared with several area residents who power their trucks using fire wood.
One of these, Wayne Keith is well known. Keith has retrofitted several pickups to run on wood, showing an initial preference for Dodge Dakotas, and he has traveled well over 100,000 miles on wood in these vehicles. Each retrofit has resulted in improvements. In September 2011, he officially broke the world wood gas speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah increasing the record from 46 mph to 71 mph and has his eyes set on 100 mph in the future, now working on a retrofit of a Dodge Ram 2500.
Tune in tomorrow for the final piece of this series!