Robinson runs the Sandy-based Intergalactic Hydrogen, a company that develops and installs fuel system upgrades that enable vehicles to run on domestically supplied fuels like natural gas, hydrogen, methane and biofuels. He hopes to move alternative-fuel vehicles and fuel-diversifying system upgrades into the cultural and mass-production mainstream of American transportation.

Hydrogen will be fueling America's cars and trucks eventually, being a non-polluting, endlessly renewable, domestically produced fuel, Robinson says. Using the natural gas infrastructure and technology available today is a major step over the hurdles to hydrogen cars, he adds.

"Natural gas vehicles run on hydrogen and vise versa. It's not about waiting for technology or infrastructure. They are here and waiting right now," Robinson says.

Rather than being a question of technology, Robinson says natural gas use is a matter of interest. "People in Utah haven't yet been bothered enough by their dirty air and dependence on foreign oil to do anything about it," he says.

"It does seem like people just don't care," says Gordon Larson, supervisor for natural gas vehicle operations at Questar Gas Co. "But it's a matter of education. You can't cram it down their throats."

Robinson has added a fuel system upgrade to his 1999 Toyota pick-up and other vehicles that enables them to run on hydrogen, natural gas, methane, ethanol, gasoline, or any combination of these fuels, he says.

He says he would like to see the same done to every car and truck and that it can be done economically. "With the incentives state and federal governments offer, and with natural gas pricing about one-third that of gasoline, running your car on natural gas is a smart option," Robinson says.

* Robinson's Web site with links to the alternative fuel community at large is www.IntergalacticHydrogen.com.

l Other sites with pertinent information on incentives, costs, and benefits of CNG vehicles include www.Questargas.com, the federal government's www.eere.energy.gov, and The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) www.nrel.

One may also reach Robinson at 801-201-7370 or by e-mail at Tai@H2go.info.