If it can be done, why aren't we using alternative fuels such as biodiesel like we use fossil fuels?

because the oil company's put so much money in the governments hand they control politicians.any new fuel idea gets crushed by them so they can make more money they can get any bill or patent crushed with frivolous lawsuits and legal challenges that most company's cant afford to fight back for any length of time.the only reason we have hybrids is because they use gas

I recently saw on "fifth gear" programm an electric car that was really fast and looked stunning. I think this is the future, as you can generate your own electricity from wind or solar power, and more people would have these things for their home electricity in the future anyway, so apart from the cost of materials for the solar sells and wind turbine there would be no cost for fuel. The only thing is that since it's something relatively new - they are not that affordable at the moment for the general public. (Maybe the electric car manufacturers should start offering a solar chargers or wind turbines with the package:-). But otherwise I think it's just not profitable for anyone to invest in development of new fuel technologies, because main investors in it are fuel companies, like BP. and they are only investing into it because they are afraid that they will be out of business if someone developes new fuel. And since they are doing quite good out of selling curent fuel - they are not willing to give up positions. Never know how the market would turn out with new fuels...

Who says we aren't using biodiesel like we use fossil fuels? The only thing that stops biodiesel from taking off is economy of scale. Since making biodiesel is new compared to making oil and there aren't yet a lot of customers willing to buy it, it will cost more now than if everyone bought and used it. Hopefully, more people will buy it so producers of biodiesel can make more and sell it for cheaper.

Biodiesel is currently more expensive to produce than petroleum diesel. Most people remain unwilling to pay more for transport (and all the goods they buy that have to be transported), even if it is less environmentally damaging. That's the biggest political consideration. If biodiesel was cheaper the oil companies would be helpless - people would be selling the stuff by the roadside - or, more likely, they'd be producing it.

Biodiesel is something that would have to be phased in, because there isn't currently enough production capacity to completely replace petroleum.

beacuse the infrastructure is already in place to refine oil. It would cost a huge amount to generate enough biodiesel just to run the transport trucks in the USA . Think about it fuel stations, refineries. we will only change when we have too. and there aren't enough people that would pay 3cents a gallon more to make up the cost...We have the technology to go to the moon but when was the last time that happened... Politicians are sails in the wind, they will go whatever direction public opinions pushes them.... blah blah blather blather... Hey I could run for office... just make the L with the finger and the thumb

Wow you people are seriously disturbed. Do you honestly think that if bio-fuel was a viable sustainable market the oil companies wouldn't corner it by pointing a finger at it. Nobody is buying it.

Ok now everybody use their heads. What is oil. BIOFUEL. One exception, it is no longer part of the ecosystem. Ok lets think again. How much cropland would we need to support our fuel needs and still have viable land. HHMM. Well we could use the stalk of corn, they don't go to the market.. Well what goes back to the land. Well fertilizer to replace the nutrients that left with the stalks. Cropland has finite boundaries, it becomes unusable. Ask the ancients, they knew it for **** sakes. And Biofuel doesn't put carbon into the air.......yes it does moron. Burning elements of the current ecosphere is way worse then burning stuff already removed. In fact if we cared as much about forests as we do about the atmosphere they would be thriving in enriched CO2, ask a botanist. You are looking at people who want a piece of the pie. Farmers who see themselves rich if their crop turns into gold and they are capitalizing on you fear. Ok I'm just going to stop here because if you still don't get it your hopeless.

You ignorants probably won't even read this far.

There are lots of alt fuels already produced. Greenland has the first hydrogen refuelling station. We cant replace petrol for 1 simple reason, economy. If we replaced all gas cars with hydrogen fuelled cars, where will the billions of people who work in the industry go?( I mean employees). Alt fuel will leave lots of people wanting help from there goverments, and the world will go into a depression again, some countries only means of trade is oil.

New concepts don't stick around long enough to be proven as a good alternative to gasoline. They have to be accepted by people, and most people firmly believe that gasoline will be around forever. New concepts have to be proven in a short period of time or they'll soon be forgotten.

Some alt. fuels just can't provide the same energy as gas., and are harder and more expensive to produce. Some alt. fuels don't provide as much output energy as the amount of energy used to produce them.

Most people are so used to using gasoline that they can't imagine, nor will they accept, anything that will take it's place. They want to drive their battleship sized SUVs and have cheap, accessible fuel too. And most people think that gasoline would have to be replaced, if its to be replaced at all, by one simple inexpensive product that will provide the same result: the ability to push a a large pickup truck at 120mph while pulling a camper and a boat behind, and sound cool at the same time.

b/c it's bad for the fuel business... we are talking big money in which the politicians have their arms elbow high in, so till they no longer make money they will not fix the issue. By the way... every time someone comes out w/ a new cool concept, the car /fuel people buy it out and burry it.

Lobbyists don't help ether.

Because the Man says we're addicted to oil.