| | Stein Sjølie's Journals Recent Comments I am sorry for any bad experience with Norwegians disliking Germans. These people were still around in the sixties. These days they are literally dying out. Even if the conditions in occupied Norway were lenient compared with occupation rule in other countries, they still were unpreceeded and thus traumatic to Norwegians. The country had never before been occupied in toto. Only before 1753 (peace with Sweden) there had been Swedish campaigns affecting single towns and the route the armies took. Here is one example with Scottish participation: 1612 the Swedish King Gustav II. Adolf hired on Scottish troops for his campaign against Russia. Since the Danish-Norwegian navy had closed the Kategat, the 400 to 900 (according to different sources) Scots under Captain Sinclair landed in Romsdal and marched through Norway to reach Sweden that way. At Kringen in Gudbransdal they were ambushed the 16th August by about 400 Norwegian farmers who had built a stockpile of timber and rocks that they let down the steep mountain side as an avalanche as the Scots passed. The ensuing fight lasted 1½ hours. 6 Norwegians were killed. The Scottish casualties are not certain, but there were 134 survivors. Since the Swedish King was the culprit, this did not lead to strong resentments about Scots in general. Later, during the Napoleonic wars with the continental bloquade, the English Navy barred the sea passage between Denmark and Norway and cut Norway off from grain supplies from Denmark, thus causing a famine in Norway. This, however, led to very harsh feelings about English/British in Norway for many years after. So since 1814 Norway had not been involved in wars. Salad oil engine:
No, kidding about lining diesel fuel with vegetabile oil. Vegetabile oil and diesel have a lot in common. What keeps me from using 100% vegetable oil is the conversion I'd have to do to the engine. Vegetabile oil is a strong solvent for rubber, and if used pure, the rubber oil seals in the fuel system will expand and might clog the system or rubber tubes might turn leaky.
In Germany (and Europe) there is a market for re-estered (converted) colza oil as disel propellant. The high price for all mineral fuels is due to the Mineral Oil Tax (about 75% {at the time of writing} of automotive fuel price is tax), but since the colza oil is no mineral oil, it's tax free. Even if it has far higher production costs, it may be sold below the price of (taxed) diesel. The diesel engines of some car brands built the last 5 years are fitted with vegetabile oil resistant oil seals and tubes. They may use either type of fuel. Alas, my car turns 20 this November 2nd. Mercedes does not fit their new engines with vegetabile oil resistant rubber/plastic parts for the general market. Only the (German) taxi version is thus fitted.
Only the low fuel taxes in the US makes it unfeasible there. But rising world market fuel prices might make it interesting to ailing mid-west farmers. Sensible oil companies would market it as just another grade of fuel. Royal Dutch Shell is into all kinds of alternative energies now, preparing for post crude oil life.
The other scheme to dodge highly taxed fuel is the use of natural gaz as fuel. It's a fairly simple conversion to an otto-engine (gasoline engine) and will run on both propellants afterwards. Natural gaz is taxed, but much lower than mineral oil. The price difference by far offsets the slightly higher consumption. The disanvantages are: If your car is refitted for gaz, you'll have the rather bulky gaz bottle in the trunk. A new car, produced as a bi-fuel vehicle, has a small gasoline tank and the gaz bottle underboard. In Germany, the number of refuelling outlets is scarce (but improving). In Italy, roughly 20% of all service stations (and they are numerous there) also have gaz refuelling facilities. In the BeNeLux countries gaz has been a common car propellant for over 20 years. In Germany, the fire regulations forbid parking gaz propelled vehicles in subterranean garages (like mine), the BeNeLux countries have no problem with that.
Outlook: The colza oil will remain tax extempt due to the rural interest in the production. The farmers have a strong lobby in Europe. And the farmers themselves might also arrive in front of government palaces dumping manure in the streets.
The natural gaz may only expect minor tax hikes keeping it a viable alternative, since other groups including the electric power industry and utilities providers (strong lobby) also use or sell gaz via networks.
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