Fuel Alternatives

When considering the confusing maze of alternative fuel options, weighing their relative merits and shortcomings, it can be easy to lose sight of why so many are eager to shift away from the fuel that has powered the automobile during most of its first century.

Runaway cost was once a compelling reason to explore biofuels, electric hybrids and hydrogen-based technologies, but it may be several years before the supply of renewable alternatives reigns in the expense of filling up. Until then, consumers must consider the total global cost of petrochemical dependence, and take that into account when considering joining the green car revolution.

These are some of the most important reasons to reduce or completely avoid the use petroleum fuels:

• Oil reserves will are finite and will not be renewable. While geologists disagree (according to their employer) as to the exact amount of available oil remaining, there is little doubt that demand is already outstripping supply. The ongoing industrialization of large developing nations means that competition for the remainder will be fierce. The most optimistic estimates include shale oil deposits, which are of low quality and require strip-mining to extract.

• Burning petroleum-based fuels is causing local and planetary pollution, from plainly visible smog in most major cities, to acid rain documented since the 1970’s, and a measurable and rapid decline in the polar ice caps on an annual basis.

• The drilling of petroleum itself is problematical, affecting wildlife and, in many cases, disturbing the lifestyle of local inhabitants, who frequently earn no revenues from their valuable land and are sometimes slain to quell protest, as occurred in East Timor. Moreover, every accidental supertanker spill represents an ecological disaster that threatens sensitive coastal habitats.

• Conflicts over petroleum supplies have been continuous since the Second World War and have dominated politics in producing nations, bringing several to the point of war and invasion, particularly in the Middle East. The cost of preserving the oil lines has been great indeed in terms of military expenditures, rights of indigenous people, and human life in these regions.

One day, for better or worse, the wells of “black gold” will run dry, and the world’s vehicles will be fueled by one or another alternative. Until then, the question is: as a driver, are you part of the problem…or part of the solution?