We're into Web 2.0 for the Internet, and Biofuels 2.0 for liquid fuels. Scientists investigating various technologies for the next generation in biofuels are punting them because they avoid the biggest pitfall of ethanol, which is that it encourages farmers to switch from growing food to growing feedstock for fuel, pushing up the price of food.
One possibility is the use of bacteria to produce biomass from which ethanol can be extracted. Another is the conversion of fructose into dimethylfuran, a fuel that stores 40% more energy than ethanol. And Canadian group Dynamotive is already producing bio-oil from human sewage and waste products of agriculture and other industries.
These emerging technologies may have disadvantages of their own, which is why it's dangerous to assume that new energy sources will allow us to continue with business as usual. The cheapest and safest energy is the energy we don't use. Reduce, reduce, reduce.
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