I was on the ethanol bandwagon but got off. It simply isn't going to work well. Diesel is a better option, and biodiesel (not veggiediesel) looks to be the most promising, made from algae emissions. They use
special strains of algae that make a lot of oil, skim the oil, and there it is. And, says that the algae makes more usable fuel with a 1 acre pond than you can get from 30 acres of crops, and it's cleaner to begin with. Combine this with the fact that a diesel is far more efficient than gasoline (gasoline burns all its fuel almost instantly, while a diesel burns for the entire power stroke, which is what makes all the torque) for pushing a vehicle, you have a real winner here. Because of the way diesel burns, you can use a smaller engine to push a vehicle than you need for gasoline, and with a turbo on it the diesel is just as fast.
Get algae diesel into our tanks, and it will burn cleaner, carry us farther on a gallon, and make our crude supplies last far longer since you really only need to mix in regular diesel in the wintertime, and then at a 15 percent mix rate to ensure wintertime starting.
This won't be the final solution, but it'll get us further down the road to one. Same with nuclear power. I don't see it as a final solution (eventually solar cells will be able to provide unlimited power, seems they are able to double the output on average every 3 years) but I do see it as an effective bridge to the next level. When you combine the increases in solar cell efficiency with the increases in electrical product efficiency, I see two points far apart building a bridge to each other, with solar cells making more power and appliances needing less power to operate, the magic crossing point is actually coming along a lot faster than people realize.
Just last year they came up with a new cell that makes 3 times more power than they used to, and they just came up with the first LED that makes as much light as a 60 watt incandescent bulb. One old solar cell would make enough power to operate one 60 watt incandescent, a new solar cell of the same physical size will make enough power to operate 3 60 watt incandescents, 12 CFLs, or 30 60 watt-equivilent LEDs. Just as a rough example.
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