over looked fuel

[werewolf]

I am surprise that nobody has address the issue of Biodiesel for the generators. it is possible to generate enough of that to keep the pumps running and also since they do have cows the waste can be made into methane. If BURT had stuck around he would have referenced the mad max movie beyond thunder dome. the colonist have a library right? I am sure that there should be books on those subjects. As much as PEGS knows about crops. she sounds like she might have grown up or at least near a farm, yes I know she was a florist when all hell broke loose but that doesn't mean that her earlier years could have happen that way,and as much as shes been rattling off ideas to CJ I am surprised this didn't come up.

[TacticalJHP]

I thought this exact same thing when i was listening to the episode. Woodgas, Biodiesel, or even converted cooking oil from all those fast food joints around the area. I'm sure they can make/find something.

Just because the power goes out they throw in the towel? NO! You adapt and overcome. Looks like Datu is on top of things, give him the recources he needs for his R&D.

"We are low on fuel, things are hard, and mike fights with me." Jeez CJ, have some cheese with that whine.

/rant over

[scbubba]

I think we may be seeing the "good planning, poor execution" from CJ again. Tis is suddenly a lot harder than she originally planned, things didn't just go her way, she can't come up with the solutions and have everyone jump to do it.

Let's face it, CJ wants to be the smartest person in the room. When others appear that might challenge that premise, she often tries to bully them down. When it becomes apparent that she doesn't have or can't come up with all the answers, she doesn't
T know what to do. Major ego hit! She would rather throw in the towel than have others come up with solutions she didn't think of.

Like you guys are pointing out, there could be all kinds of alternatives other than the ones CJ thinks of. But instead of enlisting other people to brainstorm ideas and come up with other plans, she assumes nobody can solve the problem because she can't.

Bad leadership qualities there.

Working in Software Development in different industries, I've seen this type of person many, many times: project managers, team leads, directors, CEOs. Hell, I almost WAS one of those guys except for a great manager I had early on....

[HardKor]

The idea of biodiesel floated through my head a few times also. It would make an excellent stop-gap measure for the short term. I'm pretty convinced that the long term solution is going to have to be re-learning how to live in a pre-industrial society. But I think CJ hit on a few of the problems with that. L.A. isn't exactly the most fertile area, especially when you consider the contamination of above ground water sources. But I like that Datu is working on a windmill to power the water pumps. That is definitely the right way to be thinking.

The other thing that would really help them is canning their food. Pegs mentioned digging out root cellars, but that only works for some things and only for a short time. Properly canned fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, can last for a pretty damn long time, and won't require refrigerators to keep them fresh.

[TacticalJHP]

You know, even a steam powered pump would be able to pump water out of their little watering hole.

Datu could really go nuts here, since he already was doing compressed air experiments, he could move right on over to steam and make all kinds of steam powered engines. There is plenty to burn.

[Unit]

I brought this up in detail on another thread. It doesn't take too much to convert vehicles to run off pure vegetable oil even, and the same could be done for the generators and such. Once fuel runs out there is probably still plenty of veggie oil around. nd like you mentioned biodiesel can be made. But these are both still temporary fixes for the larger problem, they need something more sustainable long term.