Alternative Fuels History
Believe it or not, the alternative fuels history dates back to the early 1900’s. Back then, gasoline powered cars were difficult to start and
more and more people chose to opt for electric cars. Electricity was actually the first type of alternative fuel. However, the history of
alternative fuels is really long and varied as we travel from those electric cars of yore to the we use today.
In the 1970’s, America experienced a severe gasoline shortage. 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 definitive. What
they found was a product called ethanol which was made from corn.
Ethanol is basically grain alcohol - "moonshine", if you will. Researchers found that a form of grain alcohol with denatured product added
could effectively power a combustion engine just as well as petroleum based gasoline and with less harmful emissions. Ethanol was good for the
environment and a lot cheaper to make than gasoline. Plus, it helped American farmers since large amounts of corn were required to make
ethanol.
Scientists 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. This is where another part of the history of starts
- the development of the alternative fuel vehicle.
Some say that the history of has less to do with technology and environmental concerns so much as it has to do with political power.
Perhaps to a certain extent, this is true. Politicians like to be heroes. With global warming becoming a huge political issue, many of those
politicians support efforts to develop and market en masse.
However, you have to admit that studies have proven that do help the environment in many ways. Whether the use of is politically
motivated or done so for genuine reasons, it really doesn’t matter.
The history of continues to be made and added to. As new technologies emerge, new chapters will be added to the history book of
alternative fuels. It’s an exciting and promising area of the history of man-made fuels and one that can help revolutionize the automobile
industry in ways that would be so good for everyone in the world!
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