Why We Need Alternative Fuels

From the time I was in high school, I have learned about the importance of finding alternative fuels. Whether it is solar, alcohol-based, biofuel or compressed natural gas, we need to find other ways to power the things we run and operate.

The fact of the matter is that the world’s oil supply will eventually one day run out. Gas prices are already through the roof and rising almost weekly. We are not going to be able to rely on oil to keep the world running forever, and that is where alternative fuels come in.

One of the great things about alternative fuels is that they are plentiful, and they are all around us. One such fuel is nuclear energy. It is often funny to me how so many people associate this with weapons of mass destruction, when in reality, it is used for many things, from powering naval vessels to warming the foods we eat.

One of the great things about nuclear energy as opposed to oil or coal is that nuclear energy is much cleaner than either of the other two. This means less pollution and the potential for less disasters, such as we saw on the Gulf Coast.

Another great example of an alternative fuel is compressed natural gas. Once again, it is much cleaner than oil or coal and it is often cheaper than either.

There are also alcohol alternative fuels, such as methanol and butanol. I have spoken to a number of people who say they do not notice any difference in performance between butanol and other, more conventional types of fuel.

It is scary to me to think that oil companies have so much power over the price of gasoline, and we as Earthlings are so reliant on gas to do everything we need to do. I don’t feel comfortable with anyone having so much control over something so vital. I especially hate it when it starts to become cost-prohibitive to drive, and even more so when I know that something like algae could produce a fuel that could one day provide the energy I need to drive my truck.

Alternative fuels are all around us, and it is about time we started to take advantage of them. Not just to be able to have more options when it comes to fueling up our automobiles or running our factories, but to help make a cleaner and healthier planet. I think that we should all make an effort to use these types of fuel when they become available, because I believe it is the wave of the future.