Alternative fuels and bio-fuel engines are still being investigated to help steer the U.S. economy from its dependence on foreign oil, scientists said Friday.
Chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Michael Economides said alternative fuels have flaws and will not lessen the amount of oil consumed in the U.S.
"There are no alternatives to hydrocarbon energy in the foreseeable future," Economides said.
If Americans used all the soybeans in the country it would only account for 4 percent of total diesel fuel used; other forms of energy will also not make a big impact in the total consumption nationwide, he said.
"Solar and wind electricity is never going to account for more than half a percent, so just get it out of your mind," Economides said.
The U.S. currently uses 99.6 percent of oil-based fuels in all forms of transportation.
"If trends continue, by the year 2010 the U.S. will import more oil that it uses for transportation," Economides said.
Economides said the price tag has desensitized the market, in that the shock of higher prices will not affect the market and that peak oil will not be reached soon.
"Three years ago I predicted that the price of oil would go to $100 (a barrel) this year," he said.
Peak oil is attained when the world is producing oil at the maximum rate, which will then usher in a sharp decline, he said. If global consumption does not decrease before the peak, oil will drop and prices will climb at a rapid rate.
Economides has predicted that peak oil will probably happen in 2050. Many economists fear peak oil being reached sooner, but little action has been taken by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, he said.
"Make no mistake, OPEC loves $100 oil," Economides said. "Countries like Argentina have expanded their economies to depend on oil revenues."
Another benefactor is Russia. The Russian economy is 85 percent dependent on oil revenue.
"In the future, Russia is going to be a gargantuan presence in the oil industry," Economides said.
He also said that energy would be the choke point in the rapidly growing Chinese economy with its dependency on oil. After a certain point, the country will suffer a shortage of energy resources.
"There has never been a country in the history of the world to increase its oil consumption by 20 percent in a single year until China," Economides said.
Haren Gandhi, a technical fellow with the Ford Motor Company, said that a variety of alternative fuels could be in the future of Ford vehicles with a goal to reduce dependency on fossil fuels in all types of vehicles from compact to sport-utility.
"We don’t want to deprive ranchers of owning an F-150," Gandhi said, "but we want to increase the fuel efficiency of that vehicle."
Gandhi said that vehicles of all sizes would soon be able to use alternative fuel, and that airports are now using hybrid shuttles.
"Diesel will be clean," Gandhi said. "Whether diesel will be accepted, I don’t know."
