AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007

On The Back Page (continued from page 44) chance they will reduce fuel sales. Americans are slowly coming to realize that a secure fuel supply is a matter of national security, and anyone can see that our current suppliers are in a state of turmoil if not outright war. Why don’t we just import Ethanol? The exportation of ethanol is an embryonic market. The first international trade agreement between Brazil and Japan is in its very early stages. Even though ethanol appears similar to gasoline, there are major differences in the delivery systems. Instead of transporting far less flammable crude oil and refining it close to the end user, highly flammable ethanol is created at the front end of the chain and distributed outward. There is almost no infrastructure to deliver it in the US. Distributors are not willing to convert existing infrastructure when they can sell all the gasoline they can handle. There is a $0.54 per gallon tariff on imported ethanol, making it less price competitive at the US pump. This is in place to encourage the production of domestic ethanol and protect US farmers. Multi-fuel vehicles appear to be the way to go. Hedge your bets, burn gas or ethanol or any blend thereof. I would hope that someone is designing a flex fuel plug-in hybrid, adding electricity to the fuel blend. Several members of Congress want to lift this tariff. What can we learn from Brazil? Multi-fuel vehicles appear to be the way to go. Hedge your bets, burn gas or ethanol or any blend thereof. I would hope that someone is designing a flex fuel plug-in hybrid, adding electricity to the fuel blend. Many newer cars, especially European and Japanese models, are already designed to burn a blend high in ethanol. For years, oil lobbyists have succeeded in obstructing US laws that require labeling on vehicle fuel doors to list acceptable fuels other than gasoline. You may already be able to burn more ethanol but don’t know it! If you cause your customers any transportation woes, they will find another solution, no matter how much money you or they have invested. People need reliable transportation. Corn ethanol is not free of polluting byproducts, specifically methanol, formaldehyde and acetic acid, the latter two both being carcinogens. Although cooperating with the EPA, most if not all current US corn/ethanol plants have already exceeded EPA limits many times over. The Brazilian ethanol industry created more than 500,000 jobs, half in farming, and half in processing, which we all know involves AutoCAD® in some way shape or form. Even though it was highly subsidized, people were working. I would estimate that we’ll have several thousand future CAD jobs in the US. David Kingsley served from 1999-2004 on the AUGI Board of Directors and is the Director of Electrons at CADPlayer Web Courseware. He can be reached at djkingsley@cad-tv.com. Fast Track Design 1-888-FlexCAD π FlexPLANT Industrial Design Series www.flexplant.com PI Integrated Systems is a leader in providing industrial facility design software for the Process & Plant industries. PI’s second-generation FlexPLANT family of equipment layout and piping design programs augments its highly productive 2D FlexCAD modules with powerful new 3D capabilities. Call or email for a 30-day trial CD to discover for yourself and your company what over 3500 others have experienced as the quick-start, ease-of-use, & Flexible implementation of PI Integrated’s Industrial Design Series. IDS-3DDesigner FlexCAD pipe, valve & fittings (PVF), as well as equipment - in 3D IDS-FLOW IDS-PIPE IDS-STEEL - P&ID’s with - Equipment layout - Civil, Structural & equipment, valve, & PVF runs Architectural instrument & line lists IDS-ISO - spool drawings with BOMs π 42 PI Integrated Systems P.O. Box 7786 Houston TX 77270 w w w. A U G I . c o m http://www.flexplant.com http://www.AUGI.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007

AUGIWorld Magazine November/December 2007 Table of Contents The CAD Manager Education & Training Finance Training Google Earth: Now Showing in AutoCAD Civil 3D Get Your Input Here A Good First Impression, Part 2 Share and Share Alike Who's Using Revit MEP? Ready… Get Set… Properties! On the Back Page: The Brazilian Model

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