Screw the man
This article was posted on Slashdot tonight and I have to have my say. A man in North Carolina was fined $1000 for running his car on vegitable oil. Now before I go on my tirade this is a legal thing to do. All fuel purchased in the US is taxed by the state to maintain roads among other things, since road tax on the oil was not paid to the state this man owes the state. It's more of a tax on using the roads in NC than the fuel.
Now time for what I really think. This is bullshit. The statement that makes this BS is "we're just trying to make sure that the playing field is level.". What playing field? Is this mans use of vegetable oil hurting me? NO! you? NO! Oil companies, on a small scale, yes! Things like this stifle innovation and personal learning.
Some quick math here. The article states NC has a 29.9 cpg tax on gas. Lets assume this mans original diesel got 40mpg (low estimate) and he ran his car for a year and drove 20k miles (slightly high). I'm no mathematician but what I get is 0.75 cents per mile for a total of $150/year... not $1000.
Lets continue this argument, all bicyclists now have to pay a 'leg' tax for each 100 Calories burned. All solar cars have to pay a 'sun' tax on each 1/2 Kilowatt of electricity they use. Any kid who uses a kite and a skateboard has to now pay a 'wind' tax for every 20 revolutions of the wheels. And I guess Fred Flintstone would pay a foot tax too.
Hopefully everyone can see how ridiculous this is. If this man was selling modified vegetable oil for use in vehicles I could understand the fine but just to use it and show that there are better solutions than paying for a sheik's yacht!?
Here's the link: http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/07/06/12/2238213.shtml
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