Alternative Fuel Sources: A Difficult, but Necessary Feat

While there are alternative sources in existance and there are alternative sources being worked on, we cannot magically switch to alternative sources overnight. It just doesn't work that way. When you introduce an alternate fuel source, you have to have a vehicle that can use these fuels. That's the solution. But in Murphy's Laws which holds true, each solution comes with a problem. You have to find a solution to that problem and another problem comes with that solution.

In this case, the solution to breaking away dependence from foreign oil is to create new cars that can utlize these sources of fuel. That's the problem that comes along with alternative fuel sources. The solution is to start making cars that can use those sources. But that too comes with a problem: time, money, and resources. It takes time to put forth the research, you need money to fund the research, and you need resources to help with the research and obtain the necessary funding.

The easiest transition we can make is towards the use of ethanol. Brazil is pretty independent from the need of foreign oil on a CNN special report called "We Were Warned: Tomorrow's Crisis" that had aired around March of 2007 and aired again in June. This special report detailed the dependence on foreign oil and the need for alternative fuel. There was the Brazil oil crisis of 1975 in which there was hardly any fuel and the oil was too expensive.

Sir Richard Branson who gave away his Virgin franchise a few years back is currently investion billions of dollars into alternative fuel research. Branson was one of numerous people interviewed in the CNN special report. One of the companies part of the Virgin franchise is "Virgin Airways." It's a small airline company but successful. The airline industry is one of the biggest consumers of fuel which is understandable. His main focus happens to be on the use of corn ethanol.