Thursday, February 12, 2009

Fuel - the film

My husband and I were invited to a prescreening of a new film called Fuel at our local Laemmle movie theater. It tells about one person's journey across the US and to China and Europe (and back in history) to figure out how we can replace ugly, dirty petroleum as a fuel.

He starts back in the beginning, with the primordial algae that became oil, and ends now and in the future, with algae farms growing nice clean oil. In between he visits historians, politicians, pundits, scientists, financiers, truckers, school children and even movie stars, of course, to find out what is the right thing.
Through most of the film he is really hepped on biofuels - until, of course the market fell out from under it, in the deepest darkest emotional pit of the movie.

But he quickly rebounds and discovers algae - and solar, wind, energy conservation, public transportation, etc. etc. and how YOU and I can get this going. As someone told him, "Change a light bulb first and then change a politician."

If you enjoyed the movie KilowattOurs you will enjoy Fuel. And there are loads of other great films out there after you've seen these.

I want to conclude with today's Daily Ray of Hope from the Sierra Club:
It is not the strongest of the species that survives,
nor the most intelligent that survives.
It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.
-- Charles Darwin
Addendum:
I just wanted to add (a couple of days later) that there is a fascinating book called Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives by Edwin Black, about the early history of the use of petroleum for transportation.

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