Alternative Fuels - What does it all mean?

All this talk of alternative fuels and un-conventional engine types can be a tad confusing. Some may argue that it could be too confusing. Do hydrogen cars actually burn the hydrogen? What is an FFV? What is the difference between bio-diesel and regular diesel. Heck, even I get confused at times since technology is changing so quickly and more and more people are weighing in with their opinions. Luckily the Union of Concerned Scientists have created an Online Glossary of alternative vehicle types and technologies.

Nationally there are some major problems with alternative fuels. There are few actual hydrogen refueling stations to provide fuel to the few hydrogen powered vehicles in the States (Honda has a test program in California) and the resulting solution of a home hydrogen refueling station might not seem very reasonable to some people (see apartment dwellers or those that like going on road trips).

Bio-diesel stations are still relatively rare across the US. The Midwest is starting to develop infrastructure for the production and distribution of bio-diesel but as you head west you might be forced to make a bee-line from one station to the next. Cleveland is lucky enough to have some local solutions AND a client base that wants to take advantage of those services.

However as alternative fuels become more mainstream in the United States these "novel" technologies will become cheaper and more available increasing our fuel self reliance and decreasing pollution caused by auto travel.