I’ve been reading some of the past threads on oil and no one seems
to have mentioned Bio-Diesel or Bio-Fuels [ethanol].
An American company called Changing World Technologies are going
to have a Thermal Depolymerization plant up and running in Ireland
by the end of 2007. [ [size=84]The US don’t want them for some reason 
[/size] ]
Aren’t Bio-Fuels just another form of solar-energy… A perfect form…?
[ [size=84]Edit : name change [/size]]
cars powered with bio diesel, plates covered with soylent green… sounds great!
-Imp
Yeah, there is some very exciting research going on in that field right now. It is still a little too expensive (they just developed a technique that was competative in countries where gasoline is taxed and bio-diesel is subsidised), but they are working on it.
Similarly, they are working on making plastics from that ubiquitous agent in America: High Fructose Corn Syrup.
I will give the corn (and tabacco, but that’s another thread) lobby this: they know how to repackage their product and keep updated for the future!
Sheesh… that was helpful. 
Don’t worry, the thread won’t run away. Plenty of time for you to research all the latest developments.
P.S. - Thanks Xunzian.
With this diesel technology from 2003, you Americans could
cut your fuel bills by 90% - [ 285 mpg from a 299 cc diesel ]
car-reviews.automobile.com/Volks … t-car/637/
American National Dept = 8.5 thousand billion. 
Only 1% of US cars are diesels — WTF !!? — What’s your problem ?
~
This ones actually for sale ( no excuses ).
The diesel-powered Volkswagen Lupo 3L TDi is one of the most fuel-efficient cars in the world. It’s called the “3L” because its official fuel consumption is below three litres per 100 km – 94.1 miles per gallon. In 2000 a Lupo 3L went on a globe-trot. It covered 20,699 miles at an average speed of 53.1 mph on daily journeys of between 76 and 478 miles and used only 174.7 gallons of diesel – an average of 118 miles to the gallon. The best fuel consumption recorded was 141.9 mpg, the worst 100.9 mpg. The Lupo 3L TDi is powered by a 1.2-litre 61bhp three-cylinder diesel engine with direct fuel injection.
Americans don’t like diesel. It smells funny. It’s noisy. It’s not like your living room. Except for turbos, which insurance companies charge more for, they don’t have that neck-snapping acceleration.
We don’t like manual transmissions (I do) - gets in the way of the cellphone calls to talk radio shows.
SirEbrum - I’m beginning to think you wish us to make a sacrifce of convenience. You are no american.
I am no American.
But perhaps from afar, I can see the forest, and you only trees.
I found out the difference between European and American diesel today.
I also found out that this ‘difference’ has only just recently been abolished by law.
gasandoil.com/goc/news/ntn62580.htm
That right, there’s nothing wrong with diesel engines [ [size=84]50% of Europeans can’t be wrong[/size] ].
It’s just that American diesel was shite.
people dont realise the massive massice amounts of fuel and labor needed to harvest products for bio fuel. All that raw product and capital could be put to better use.
i say, buy a bike.
Yes it is another form of solar energy. The energy in oil and coal also stems from solar radiation absorbed millions of years ago. Most of the current energy sources (all fossil fuels, all bio-energy sources, hydro, wind, ocean currents etc.) are driven by the absorption of solar energy in the ecosystem. It’s good to remember this even though the engineering term “solar energy” usually refers only to immediate conversion of incident sunlight to thermal or electric energy.
Energy sources which are not driven by the absorption of sunlight include geothermal energy, tidal waves and nuclear energy (sunlight itself is actually generated in nuclear reactions in the sun).
Bio-fuels should grow significantly in the coming years, they’re already important especially in Brazil. But growth will depend completely on the energy policies adopted by governments, it’s not going to happen without substantial tax benefits because nearly all countries are locked into the oil infrastructure right now. You can’t make a bio-choice if there aren’t any biofuel stations around.