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From: Michael Edelman <mje_at_spamcop.net>
subject: [Paddlewise] Jet ski effluvia
Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 11:14:00 -0500
Ralph Diaz wrote:

>BTW, the level of pollution created by a jet ski vs. that of a car >are night and day.  I have heard that running a jet ski for an >hour throws as much polutants into the environment as a modern day >car going from coast to coast.  Come to think of it, this >knowledge may also be a salve against guilt...so you can skip >getting that folding kayak.

Pretty much true. I spoke with a friend, a senior engineer for one of
the US auto companies, and he told me that two stroke engines dump
anywhere from 20% to 50% of their fuel *unburned* into the exhaust- as
well as all their oil. Same goes for most pre-2000 outboards, for that
matter. 

A number of high-powered PWCs burn fuel at a rate of 14 gallons per
HOUR. That means they're dumping between 2.8 and 7 GALLONS of fuel and
oil into the water every hour! Newer post-99 fuel-injected boats have
improved fuel consumption figures, but they still dump all their oil and
much of their fuel into the water. Even the rare 4-stroke boats burn no
cleaner than a 1950s automobile engine.

-- mike

http://www.foldingkayaks.org

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