Unique opportunity

I can imagine a world free of fossil fuels. Even if it's just the cars, it will be a different world. It is easy to foresee a million possibilities coming from that, not only in terms of quality of life improvement, but also in terms of removing one big threat to the environment and humanity. And I can't see a better time to develop alternative fuels than a time when people can't afford gas prices. No one will be able to develop fuel-cell cars in mass scale unless there's no hope with gas engines. That's how things work. Huge developments and discoveries were made during wars, because there was no choice, it was a question of survival. The ethanol program in Brazil was developed because it would be a viable replacement for unsustainable gas prices, which were going through the roof.

I think the US has the greatest chance ever to turn a bad crisis into the best thing ever, because all of the factors involved are pushing for a new fuel. I just hope people acknowledge that and take the opportunity to work in the right direction, instead of complain about not being able to afford their SUVs and trucks.

Yesterday when I was about to leave work, probably because of a talk about new fuels and gas prices, I remembered that my first car was ethanol-powered (how could I not remember that?) -- it was the first generation of alcohol-powered vehicles in Brazil, in the 1980's, and I was certainly one of the “test monkeys” of the era: the car was so bad, it had to be towed from my garage at least three times (at least it was a new car and the warranty covered everything…)

Several generations later, alcohol engines there are as good as the gasoline ones, and lately the buzz has been on natural gas-powered vehicles (including public transportation), but they were counting on Bolivia for the gas and that country’s new president simply took ownership of the refinaries that were built there under contract, and millions of dollars in investment to build those seem to be lost. But interestingly enough, Brazil has just discovered Jupiter, which could place Brazil ahead of the U.S. in oil and gas reserves, and the rule of the game changed.

But enough of memories and history, I'm more interested in the future and where I live now, and that's why I began this blog anyway. I see the current energy crisis as a unique opportunity to have new alternative fuels become the replacement for fossil fuels, and I want to explain why.