Professor Tries to Drive Across US on 10 Gallons of Gas

[Hum]

Cliff Ricketts is on a mission. He is trying to drive across the country, from Savannah, Ga., to Long Beach, Calif., on less than 10 gallons of gasoline.

"This is a passion of mine," he said by cellphone. Ricketts, 63, a professor of agricultural education at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., says he's been concerned about American dependence on imported oil since 1979, when Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and the price of gasoline in the ensuing international crisis tripled, to $1.50 per gallon.

"In case there was a national emergency now, it wouldn't be unrealistic for gas to go to $10 or $15 a gallon in the U.S.," he said. "If that happens, people will go, 'What do we do?' Well, we've got a backup plan."

Ricketts, with some small research grants and help from MTSU students, has refitted three used cars - two Toyota Priuses and a 1994 Toyota Tercel - to run on compressed hydrogen, batteries, or E95, which is mostly ethanol with a little conventional gasoline mixed in.

The trip is 2,532 miles, not counting detours for food or motels, and it's complicated.

"My big goal," he said, "is to go coast to coast on sun and water" - extracting hydrogen from water in the lab with solar power - but he ran into trouble getting the needed hydrogen tanks to make the trip. That's why he switched to E95; otherwise the trip would be gasoline-free.

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[Original Poster]

hmm very interested to see how this pans out...