U.S. must not forget need for alternative fuels

Remember a few months ago when gasoline was selling for $3 a gallon and everyone was talking about ethanol and biodiesel? It’s funny, isn’t it, that gasoline prices started coming down and the talk about alternative fuels went away. This week, gasoline has been selling for $2.20 to $2.30 a gallon in the Huntington area, and no one is talking about ethanol.

That’s a mistake. Alternative fuels are still part of the nation’s energy future. We can’t go to sleep now just because gasoline prices are more tolerable.

As long as the United States relies on sources of energy from other countries, it will be vulnerable to economic and political instability in those nations. There are some things we must be independent in and control ourselves. Among them are food, education, basic metals, medicine and energy. Otherwise, we are a superpower with a weak spot.

The Defense Department is looking for coal-to-liquid fuel programs to keep its airplanes and helicopters in the air should the world have a shortage of crude oil production. A debate is going on about what the price of crude oil would have to be for oil shale to be a viable alternative.

Herald-Dispatch (West Virginia)