The term “alternative fuel” lately has such a green ring to it, almost a green halo. And this is well-deserved too. It’s just that the term alternative fuel not long ago, meant something dangerous and destructive: closer to nuclear power than a car driven by solar power or ethanol.
There’s been quite a drumbeat for clean power roots for our vehicles for a lot of time now. With the “digg baby, digg! ” administration out and a more middle-of-the-road government in, the newsprints and news channels are more outspoken than ever before today stressing the want to do something drastically to reverse the environmental catastrophe that is foreseen.
Even conservative commentators like the modern york times’ thomas friedman fear now how each other country globally is going to overtake america with inventing and establishing a lock on all kinds of alternative fuel of the future. Spain has the world’s largest solar panel array in position; germany has the world’s largest developing capacity for it; china is pumping all its may into inventing and patenting alternative fuel technologies for the future; conservative thinkers are marveling why the us in the meantime, is still stuck on drilling in the arctic and dreaming regarding oil sands and establishing close friendships with dictatorships in the third world for their oil.
It’s not that there are no gains to be made in changing to alternative fuel, because there are. Vested interests retained by huge energy corporations now could be one answer why nothing looks being happening: they do not want anyone reshuffling the stack that they hold the top card in. Standard americans in the meantime, are completely more than willing and see the point today. Almost 90% of all americans, republicans, democrats or independents completely agree that it is regarding time we quit our gas habit. They have to agree; most of the city buses in new york as an example, run on natural gas; most school buses around the country run on propane; the corn lobby in the midwest can’t wait to get ethanol into the mainstream; there’s evidence that it all works, and it is only an issue of time now.
So is the government really doing nothing for alternative fuel use? Really that’s not really unfeigned, and as standard california leads the country in this area. The mayor of los angeles has declared it clearly that in 10 years, the city will no longer receive electrical power is generated using dirty means such as coal. Alaska has long been a in the same issue in the debate: alaska is the second largest oil-developing state in the nation and this republican state has long hated any talk of alternative fuel that could hurt their oil economy. But the state’s oil growingly, is being sent to other components of the union, and locals are having to pay very high energy bills of late.
Suddenly, windmills are dotting the state’s urban landscape quite a bit, as residents begin to look for ways to cut their energy costs. When a unfeigned red republican like the state’s governor sarah palin starts to make statements in support of turning completely in favor of alternative fuels by 2025, things begin to adjust, things begin to move. And therein lies hope.
