How Will We Fuel Our Future?

This month Americans celebrated our Independence. As far as we may have come, we still look forward to the day we can celebrate our independence from oil. We know that it is a pollutant, it’s toxic, it’s cancer causing, it’s not renewable, it’s a dirty industry through and through, and of course, the harsh reality is that we will one day run out of it… possibly sooner than we may think. Personally, I’m not looking to just decrease our addiction to foreign oil alone. It is not foreign oil that is currently spewing into the Gulf of Mexico and endangering the lives of millions of species and the livelihoods of millions of people. I look forward to the day when we are independent from ALL oil.

Fortunately, this dreamy-eyed hope of mine is actually a possibility. As featured in the film Fuel, which has recently been made available through hulu.com biodiesel is on the rise again. After a surge in popularity and a shining offering of hope, the possibility of biodiesel as a sustainable fuel source was brought into question after a few slanderous articles were released noting the deforestation that takes place in order to grow the crops to create it. However, new technology is emerging whereby biodiesel is being created not only from our waste, which is astoundingly plentiful in our land of the free, but also from algae, the main ingredient used to create crude oil in the first place (without the millions of years and the drilling).

Fuel offers several interesting facts about the oil industry, its ties to our government, and several methods of alternative energy that we can start using today. Did you know that the diesel engine was originally designed to run on corn? Did you know that Henry Ford designed his engines to run on plant based ethanol before Prohibition  which was pushed forward by Standard Oil’s John D. Rockefeller, forcing him to switch to petroleum? Produced and directed by New College of Florida alum Josh Tickell, who now runs the Veggie Van Organization, the film offers an often emotional look at the history of our energy use and how we can create a cleaner, more sustainable future.

For the month of July, Modern Hippie Mag will give  100% of the proceeds from the sales of our Organic Cotton T-shirts to the Mote Marine Emergency Oil Spill Relief Fund. Not only will your purchase go toward cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico, it will help spread the message that we demand “Alternative Energy Now.” It is all too easy to sit back on our haunches and allow our government and corporate America to make the rules. As Gandhi said, “When the people lead, the leaders will follow.” Show your leadership and start demanding clean energy.

Steve McAllister

In addition to serving as Managing Editor and contributor to Modern Hippie Mag, Steve McAllister is an actor, musician, accomplished author and filmmaker. His most recent novel, The McAllister Code is available as an e-book at www.themcallistercode.com. Find Steve on Twitter, @InkenSoul. Read his reviews and articles here.