Right now in the United States, there is a growing wave of  people wanting to use alternative fuels as opposed to gasoline again.  Yes, "again."  Although alternative fuels are considered to be kinder to the environment and have been heavily promoted as helping to fight problems of global pollution, this is not the primary attraction for the use of alternative fuels.

   The price of driving a car is rising at an alarming rate.  It has, obviously, become very expensive to drive a car, so most people are looking now for ways to save money on their fuel.  

   The economic crisis we face today and the growing demand for new sources of alternative fuel to power our vehicles is not, however, anything new.

Alternative Fuel History

   Believe it or not, the history of alternative fuels dates back to the early 1900’s.  Back then, gasoline powerd cars were difficult to start and many people opted for electric cars.  Electricity was actually the first type of alternative fuel.  

   In the 1970’s, America experienced a severe gasoline shortage when the refineries significantly slowed down production.  This was largely a response to the federal government's imposing a "Windfall Profits Tax" on the oil companies.  Being international corporations, the oil companies just made more product outside the U.S. which, in turn, created the shortages at home. This is really where the modern history of alternative fuels began. 

  Scientists began to scramble for other ways to power our cars and trucks so that our dependence on oil and gasoline wasn’t so crippling.  What they developed first was a product called ethanol which was made from corn.  Ethanol is basically grain alcohol – just like old fashioned "moonshine."  

  Ethanol was seen as being good for the environment and thought to be a lot cheaper to make than gasoline.  Plus, it was hailed as helping American farmers since large amounts of corn were required to make ethanol.

   Researchers also found that other types of gases such as methane, propane, and hydrogen could also power vehicles.  However, there were problems with running these gases through traditional engines and modifications had to be made. 

   Some say that the history of alternative fuels has less to do with technology and environmental concerns than it has to do with political power.  Politicians do like to be seen as heroes.  With global warming becoming a huge political issue today, many of our contemporary politicians support efforts to develop and market alternative fuels en masse.

   The history of alternative fuels continues to evolve.  As new technologies emerge, new chapters will be added to the history books -- that's for sure.

   Currently, scientists are developing new alternative fuels that offer advantages in so many ways that many people are starting to take a serious look at these as an option for not paying astronomical gasoline prices.
      
   When consumers use alternative fuels both to gas up their car as well as heat and cool their homes, we are helping the environment as well as helping ourselves.  

     There are many different kinds of alternative fuels – the most prominent one as well as the one that has been around the longest is ethanol.  Ethanol, as discussed above, is made from corn and is sometimes called grain alcohol.  It can also be made from organic materials including agricultural crops like sugar cane, sugar beets, soybeans, etc. Ethanol can even be made from plant material left over from logging, and from trash including paper.

   In the simplest form, an alternative fuel is one that is not produced by using crude oil.  Alternative fuels are simply fuels that replace conventional gasoline and diesel as a means of powering vehicles.  They have desirable energy efficiency and pollution reduction features. This is the reason the 1990 Clean Air Act encourages development and sale of alternative fuels.

   The growing trend toward alternative fuels will continue to grow as we become more and more budget conscious and aware of how we may be damaging our environment through our habits and the products we use.  New alternative fuels are being developed all the time and having a wider choice will certainly be a nice alternative itself.