Recently I watched a CBC documentary on fuel. Our addiction to gasoline and fossil fuels. It tracked the progress made by the alternative fuel movement specifically on bio diesel. It left me more convinced than ever as to why we should continue searching for ways to create better alternatives to oil to fuel our society.

The start of the bio diesel may not have been the best, the use of corn had an impact on rising food prices, but it was likely not the sole cause. Rising fuel prices in general in my view had as great an impact on it as anything else.

But it showed ways through the use of algae that we can come up with bio diesel that takes less energy to create than it does to use. My understanding of it through waste water from power plants pumped into a pool to create algae they can create bio diesel in about three days. A lot quicker than the thousand or so years it takes to make conventional oil.

I was also surprised to see that alternative fuel is not something new. Back in the Jummy Carter administration they did a study on how to create bio diesel and they found that a 1500 square mile section of the Nevada dessert I believe it was could produce all the fuel for America's needs.

Amazing to me that they wouldn't do it. But then again maybe not. The oil and gas industry has a lot of the politicians in their back pockets and/or wrapped around their fingers. But I would think any forward looking business person would be able to see clearly that the wind is blowing away form fossil fuels and into renewable energy.

There are so many reasons I can come up with to get into bio diesel and any other type of alternative fuel.

1. Don't have to worry about the stability of a despotic regime. We can now have our policies live up to our ideals and not prop up tyrants.
2. Save money in the long run. With cleaner air we are likely to see less respiratory illnesses.
3. Different jobs. Yes there will be a loss to the oil and gas industry but we will see new jobs in the renewable energy sector.
4. Less environmental disasters. Look at the BP oil spill or the Exxon Valdez or the and the list goes on.
5. Or remember the world has seen 3 major nuclear meltdowns in my life time. Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and the one in Fukushima.

How many more of these do we need to see before the detractors see the light? To be fair, and this is a digression but turning on your lights in New York won't make the wind blow in Vancouver, and the electric, hybrid and some diesel cars may be more than some people can afford. The key with fighting climate change is to do what you can even if all you are able to do is switch to CFL lights in your home.

So hopefully this helps you realize there are ways to come up with alternative fuels and not to believe all the negativity from those whose interest it is to keep us in the dark.