The drive to save the environment
Okay, so not everybody is willing to pay the extra money for a hybrid automobile, and not everybody is keen on having a car they must "plug in" before they can drive, but if we're going to save the planet from global warming we have to start somewhere. That usually means California.

The Golden State is the second largest consumer of gasoline and diesel fuel in the world, second only to the U.S. itself, Assemblymember Fran Pavley told members of a conference on alternative fuels last week in Santa Monica. The July 21 conference was attended by key energy experts from across the state.

The legislator from Agoura Hills hosted the event to bring awareness to California's growing dependency on foreign oil and the need to cut back on the fossil fuel gases that contribute to global warming.

It's a monumental task, this environmental stewardship, but Pavley has been on the front lines before. She's considered one of the state's leading generals in the war against harmful automobile emissions and has authored landmark legislation that sets stringent standards for California vehicles.

The best way to deal with the problem is to promote the development of alternative fuels, Pavley says. In California, the two most popular alternative fuels are biodiesel and natural gas. Biodiesel is intriguing because you can mix it with regular diesel fuel and your engine doesn't have to undergo an expensive conversion. It's also the nation's fastest growing alternative fuel. Think vegetable oil, not petroleum oil. You can store it in your garage and pump it yourself.

Hydrogen and cellulosic ethanol are also gaining popularity. Conventional ethanol is derived from grains, but the cellulosic variety comes from a wider variety of biomass feedstocks and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85 percent, experts say.

Agricultural wastes are a huge untapped resource, so what are we waiting for? "It's imperative that we have a cellulosic ethanol refinery in operation now," said Spencer Swayze of Ceres Inc., a Thousand Oaks-based genomics company.

Finally, there's simple electricity. The next big thing in the industry is the plug-in hybrid vehicle, one that boosts the non-gasoline performance of a regular hybrid.

If it takes us away from petroleum consumption, then we're all for it. Alternative fuels are economically feasible, not to mention good for the environment. And let's not let the naysayers hold us back. If there's a will, there's a way.