Rising gas costs have spurred some consumers to switch to smaller vehicles this year, but my daughter duly notes that mini-me automobiles still consume gas and spew toxic waste. Despite her insight, it does seem that the consumer radar has tuned in to alternative fuels. But, are available alternatives to gas and to going off "the grid" realistic or idealistic?

Hydrogen fuel, fuel cells, and biomass might sound enticing even as investments - especially when our President touts them; but, research reveals that every resource needs much more refinement, some alternatives are unrealistic financially, and still others will require years to mature. Currently, the creation of a majority of these alternative energy sources requires more energy than it takes to pull fossil fuels from the ground, refine them, and ship them to your local gas pump. Plus, marketing experts claim that alternative fuel cars just aren't "sexy" enough for sales.

Not sexy enough? Forget realism and idealism - it appears that the option to go "off the grid" has turned into a game. And, as in any competition, opponents seek to win either through power or through cunning.

For instance, if you've flown into Los Angeles recently (like within the past ten years), you probably noticed the low-lying yellow/green/purple cloud that covers that city like a bruised blanket. While this cloud is invisible from a worm's-eye perspective, there's a direct correlation between that blanket and lung-related diseases and breathing-related conditions in that area (see BREATHE California of Los Angeles County for more details). The automobile exhaust that gathers in that valley is to blame for many residents' breathing problems.

To counter this issue, California adopted a ruling that would increase sales of ZEV's, or Zero Emissions Vehicles. Recognizing that car companies were not ready to meet California's ambitious ZEV goal, the state amended the regulation several times to rollback deadlines and to grant companies credit for low-emission vehicles and for hybrid cars in 2001 (cars that use zero emissions operations along with regular internal combustion engines). Unfortunately, the rollbacks and delays allowed the auto industry to challenge this ruling and to sue California for regulating gas sales.

If Los Angeles' problems were contained within a game, I would take a risk and push for localized incentives for public transportation and for ZEV's. No state regulations, just citywide incentives. ZEV's currently are ideal for city driving, unless you have an extra $10,000 handy for the new electric car battery that tightens the gap between internal combustion engines and electric car performance. So, while a cost barrier remains a problem for long-range driving ZEV's, a market could exist for these cars within large cities that maintain local grid sources to power these vehicles and their batteries.

Yes, batteries still use the grid to recharge, and batteries are now a burden - literally - for groups like the U.S. Army. The Army wants to try out a new hybrid portable radar in 2007 that will combine lithium ion batteries and methanol fuel cells. This newer model will weigh less then current portable radars, a plus for soldiers who must carry these tools into the battlefield. Fuel cells don't rely on a grid; instead, they use methanol or ethanol, or hydrogen to function. This fuel is produced from corn and from expensive and "still-testing" processes used to extract hydrogen from water (and from other products like petroleum) respectively.

Once again, if this were a game (and it isn't at this point), the player would need to expand his budget and/or cut corners elsewhere to afford this new technology. These costs would include fuel transportation, among other items. Additionally, the players are unsure whether this gambit is going to work, especially when so many other alternatives are marching over the horizon.

While the competition sits with a big smirk on his face, some players have an alternative ploy up their sleeves for their next move. A farmer or two sits between each large city and its power grid sources. Farmers are definitely game for profitable crops, and what with recent droughts and hailstorms, they've run into a bit of trouble with corn production (a water-intensive crop). So, nothing could excite a farmer more than growing a field full of Miscanthus for cash.

Miscanthus is a woody, perennial, rhizomatous grass that originated in Asia and that grows very well in places like Illinois (read: the entire Midwest). The grass is a low cost seed, easy to grow, resists bugs, thrives on little water, and it can be harvested several times per year (no, it isn't Kudzu). According to a South African news source, U.S. scientists want to burn the crop in a 50-50 mix with coal to generate electricity. It would be suitable for use in some existing power plants, although others would require slight modification. You might want to check out switchgrass as well, a viable alternative to displace oil, natural gas, and electricity used for heating fuel when it's reduced to pellet form.

Since we're not off the grid and probably won't be for years, these grasses might provide a suitable "hybrid" fuel for the grid until some other low-cost alternative appears. The use of grass as a renewable substitute for coal and other limited fuel sources would sustain batteries and other electric alternatives without the expenditure and repetitive testing used to extract hydrogen from various sources.

While watching the grass grow might bore you to tears, my daughter and her buddies are willing to play this game with patience and cunning - resources that often trump power (I think she got that last equation from Sun Tzu and his "Art of War"). The simple fact that they think that the alternative fuel "ugly" cars are "sexy" is just one clue to their strategy. You can bet that their boyfriends are listening, too.

Until Next Week,
Linda Goin