why? simple ecconomics. like these easy ones.

you don't like that corporations are as powerful as they are but in reality they are what made this country great. the corporate heads at the time you speak of found oil to be the most profitable for of fuel. it was being drilled long before the automobile for the kerosene used in lighting and heating. gasoline was actually an unwanted byproduct of refining. it was a simple reach to profit from this byproduct with the invention of the eternal compustion engine.

people often ask how we ended up with vhs instead of betamax, the two rival video technologies early on. the answer is simple. that is what the market chose. the markets rule whether you approve or not. always have. always will. when a gallon of gas sells for 12 bucks a gallon it will be economically feasable for someone to capitalize on profits from alternative fuels. not until. off to bed.

jrboogie is right.. It's the market.. and the price of capital outlay and investment.. and risk. The research is very promising regarding algae and other biofuels.. such as you write jmk.. re: switchgrass.. but there is the entire distribution network that needs to be developed which will cost billions of capital investment and years to invest into. And right now.. as I hear it.. algae biofuels is still in the R&D process.. which can take a bit of time to be authorized.. then.. to get investors to invest.. that can be tricky with the competition of wind, solar, and other alternative energy sources bidding for the same monies. A matter of economics..

Now.. my opinion? Just like Brazil.. The government. will have to be involved in a subsidy program here.. such as the solar credit program in the 70's.. perhaps.. even more agressive.this time. But.. again.. who are we going to endorse.. Al Gores plan.. of electric.. or T. Boone's Pickens plan.None of these plans offer biofuels.. Frankly.. there can be room for both.. or a compromise.. for both.. And still have room for biofuels.. I happen to like Willie Nelson's biofuels. But.. his distribution operations is hampered, isn't it?

If there is a public focus on this issue.. and more jobs can be created.. as expressed by both candidates.. then there can be positive outcomes.. to help decrease the debt through increased tax revenue.. and helping our country becoming more energy independent. A win-win situation.

One of the reasons might have been this as well, not to take economics out. Bio-fuel is not as powerful as oil based fuel, and at that time they wanted to make more efficient engines that would have expanded the development of the tranportation industry. Bio-fuel technologically would not have worked. SO in that view it would have been a major blockage that would have had to be looked at.
Remember when Ford was making his early car, they were working off from kerosine, which is not a powerful as gas or diesel fuels, but might have been as strong as kerosine.

Stanley Steamer and other steam cars were actually much better, but because of media fed fears, they lost most of their ability to sell. Remember the 1927 land speed record was set by a Stanley Steamer at 127 miles an hour.

The whole issue of fuels have come around a lot. THe old steam engines used kerosine to heat their water, in what they designed that is still used today, a "flash boiler".

THere have been a number of reasons that other technologies have not worked, but yes they do evolve around economics.

Doesnt make it right though. Like i said i tend to stand for what is right over what is profitable. .

I have almost always, and try as much as possible to work for, spend my money at, and help, small, independant business owners. While i do know that corporations are necassary i dont like the majority of them, or at least how they are ran today in our cutthroat global business economy. The thing that pisses me off about them and is the source of my anger towards them is there monopolizing effects, the effects they have on small businesses trying to live the american dream of working for themselves, and the out sourcing of our jobs so they can save a few bucks by paying someone in another country per week the same wage they would pay us per hour. So alot of them now adays are taking away more jobs than giving. There are some that choose to keep all there business here and give us the factory jobs that the lower middle class needs badely.

Not necassarily, its when they buy up unfair amounts of the market and create a monopoly like old bill gates was caught doing, by making it were all the programs that came out could only run of his operating system(windows 95 at the time)making other competing companies not able to compete.

Another thing that pisses me off about them is they loose there sense of quality and appreciation for the consumer. From 21 to almost 25 i lived in a small mountain town in colorado. All the businesses were small family owned businesses. Everytime i went into one of them i couldnt help but notice the owners working right beside and just as hard as the employee for his living. I was also treated with respect, greeted by name, and got the impression that they greatly appreciated my business and support. When i spent my money at these small businesses i couldnt help feel like i was apart of my community and on such a scale that made me feel good. I felt like i truely making a difference in my local economy and felt like i was truely part of it. I do not get that impression when i walk into walmart or home depot.