mr502go
Posts: 111
Score: 100 Joined: 7/30/2007 Last Login: 8/5/2009 From: Kennesaw, GA, USA Status: offline
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Since the announcement of no cool power, I have done a small bit of research on the nitro situation here in the us. Angus DOES still produce Nitromethane for hobby purposes. They are no longer selling Nitro (NM) to the NHRA due to inconsistant handling practices at the user end. Apparently there were some teams that were handling the fuel in an unsafe manner. To give you an idea of the potential energy in NM. . .a 5 gallon can has enough energy to produce a fatal blast radius of 42 feet, while carrying enough energy to cause injury and destroy property within a 316 foot radius. The company in good conscience would not sell to teams that were handling fuel in a haphazard fashion. In order to purchase directly from angus, there is an application process that basically ensures that you understand what you are getting yourself into by handling this chemical. You basically have to know what makes it blow up under normal circumstances, what things will sensitize it, or make unstable, and what things will make it more stable (in our case methanol) There was a case made back in 1993 I believe where Angus attempted to maintain a more cocmpetitive position in the marketplace. It protested the fact that the chinese were able to sell nitromethane at a price that was "below the fair market price" in this country. In China many prisoners, political and others, are used basically as slave laborers to produce many of the products china exports. Their labor costs are dramatically lower than ours, and hence the ability to market products at very low levels. I have also found that China's main reason for the lack of nitro production (along with lack of production in most other industry there) is to decrease the amount of air pollution in light of the olympics, and need for clean air for the games to be fair. Beijing, has about the worst air quality in the world. It makes Los Angeles' worst day look like you are in an unpopulated rural area of this country. From what I understand (from people whom have visited there) your clothes actually get dirty just from being there. Asthmatics should stay far far away from Beijing, you WILL be in the hospital in short order. China is trying to put on it's best face for the world to see during the Olympics. I typically hate politics, but I feel this is just wrong. If their business is so nasty that it destroys air quality to the point you can't run from here to there, then they do not deserve to have the olympics. We as consumers should not support slave labor, even if it is in a country where things are "legal" China doesn't care about the product it releases, countless pets have died from their poor quality pet food, children are getting sick from lead paint, they are destroying our atmosphere, all in the name of money. We, the citizens of this planet are buying into it. Everything must be cheaper. Economics say, and always have said that prices will balance out with demand. If we had supported our American company from the beginning, this never would have been an issue. There would be more companies here producing nitro, and more money in our economy by employing people here in the U.S. Part of this also means that yes, while we all want to make bigger paychecks, we need to learn to take more pride in our work, and not be quite so concerned with how much we make, but with the job we do, to ensure that we always have our jobs before they are farmed out to some country that cares nothing about it's customers, ethics, or it's people. Imagine how many Chinese people are dying because the air is so unhealthy. Yet we support that country by buying chinese. Sorry for the rant, I typically don't get into political matters much, I'd rather not be "bogged down by the small s**t" but this is an issue that really does affect all of us in this world. I'm no hardcore "greenie" by any means, I love race cars, ride motocross, I believe lawnmowers and weedwackers should be two-stroke gas powered. There must however be a balance between things consumed, and things produced (from a natural resource perspective). How much are we REALLY paying for these chinese products. The air over China doesn't just stay in china, it's our air too. If they trash it so badly that they can't have a sporting event. . . how bad is it going to be for us in 10 years, after their industry continues to grow without some mechanisms in place to ensure that they are doing their part (on a global scale) in "good housekeeping" As much as I like cool power, I don't think I'll buy any more following this. I will support those fuel companies that buy from a source OTHER than China that has more ethical business practices. The only way this world will change for the better is if we all put our voices (money) together and speak up.
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