JUL 23

My main concern is why the development of alternative fuel sources to oil have not been produced en masse? I realize there is a research and production/development cost but we have been looking for alternate energy sources and whilst we have used it with some success in hybrid vehicles, etc - it just seems it's still a long way away from being a widely available option that's much more environmentally safe? I hope i am wrong!

acuvue oasys,
It's my understanding that widespread development and implementation of alternative energy and fuels in the U.S. are hindered by an overall corporate fear of failing due to lack of consumer support. Historically, there is enough consumer support for cleaner energy ventures when the price of oil is up; without a government-mandated floor on the lowest price of oil, there is no guarantee (for companies who want to develop alternative fuels/energy) that consumer demand will not disappear once the price of oil goes back down. I'm reading "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" by Thomas L. Friedman. He explains this in detail in chapter 13.
It seems the technology and innovation are available; the only thing lacking right now is consumer demand.

Sluash - hard to argue with that point.

Well said.

I don't see any need for a government-mandated price floor for gasoline. We'd be ecstatic if the free market price went below $2.25/gal for any length of time. It seems to have settled between $2.60 and $2.90 for the past year or so where I live. I think that alternative fuel companies should feel confident that their product will sell if it's priced at $2.50 per gallon or less. That will be tough to do though since there is a big cost of distribution.

I don't understand something.... even if this is an alternative to gasoline and such, it's still a biofuel is it not? Which means that it's a carbon based energy source... How exactly is this better than gasoline and diesel if it still produces hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide when burned? Isn't it still contributing to greenhouse gases?

I see these types of technologies as an advantage if they utilize waste stream materials as the source...of which there is plenty. Growing crops specifically for this is only a step in the right direction in so far as it reduces dependency on foreign sources of energy.

Thorium bed reactors! The clean way to nuclear energy! They need serious development!
China has, up and running, nuclear/electric supplied electric bullet train networks and the associated infrastructures. They produce,as we speak, and oil free, goods, for the world and American markets. Folks within these structures eat primarily veggies and rice!
America has to compete with these Chinese and their tremendous advantages! First the Nuclear factor - almost free energy! Then the social factor! Folks who do not require McMansions, Suburbs or SUV's! Third: These are light bodied folk, living on the least expensive most sustainable foods on earth! Cheaper by far than American fair!
All the synthetic gasoline in the world will not overcome this Asian miracle of efficiency! Face Facts: The American version of a gasoline guzzling car with internal spark ignition engine is the least efficient of all means of transportation! Steel wheel to steel rail transport is a full 400% more fuel efficient, add in the Nuclear/electric energy source and we have a system that beats the American foreign oil in rubber wheeled gasoline engined paradigm by a considerable reach!
Asian pressure on America will not go away! This recession's end marks the beginning of flat out competition for survival with Asian forces! Nuclear development is an absolute factor - Asians build reactors at a rate of ten a year for China alone! We in America simply cannot generate enough bio-mass to equal this force! Grow Hemp, exploit Algae, bio-gas all the sewage you can find! Still, not enough to compete with even one year's energy production in Asian reactors - and they use that power to steal our manufacturing jobs - the very life-source of our nation!
Gasoline production, synthysization, acquisition, is energy folly! America has Solar, Wave, Wind, Hydro, Tidal, Geothermal and Nuclear electricity sources domestically. We must convert from a foreign oil energy based economy to a domestic electric economy , and we must develop all the domestic electricity sources to their fullest.
Some small quantities of domestic oil will always be needed. This is the gap filled by bio-mass/solar fuel production.