Ethanol and Biodiesel: New Alternative Fuels for an Alternative Future

The adverse affects of human civilization on the environment is slowly becoming an epidemic that we cannot ignore. Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth was an eye opener for many to a problem that has been worsening well before our life time. The good thing is that at least now there is less and less a case for those who want to ignore the problems we are facing.

Many countries around the world have chosen to take action, with a wide degree of change from them all. Automakers are being held more accountable, with demands being made to reduce pollution emitted from their vehicles, as well as a call for the production of cleaner fuels to go into those cars. The United States has made several steps towards a healthier environment, but unfortunately, there are a lot of influential companies that still have a lot of influence over lawmakers. Currently, gasoline makes up 17% of the energy consumed, and it will not change as long as companies have money to change politician's minds. Until politicians get their hands out of the pockets of automakers and oil companies, American's will be left behind in the world's environmental revolution.

Several feasible solutions have been proposed to lower pollution emitted by humans. The most important and influential of these has to do with automobiles. There are currently over 500 million passenger vehicles in the world, most of which are in the United States and Japan. This number is increasing daily, and when it is considered alongside with the fact that gas efficiency in these cars has steadily declined since the 1970's, there is no wonder that the United States, and most countries in the world, are dependent on oil to fuel their economies.