Future Energy Sources

Although renewable sources should also be used, nuclear energy should be top priority. The United States has not built a nuclear plant in over thirty years. Environmental concerns are important, but so is energy independence. If nuclear energy provided all our electricity needs, we could use coal to make oil like South Africa has been doing since the seventies. Using sugarcane to make ethanol like they do in Brazil, would be a great boost for Florida's sugar industry. Soon the Chevrolet Volt electric car from General Motors will go on sale. Although the Volt uses a small gasoline engine, it's used only to recharge the electric motor that powers the driving wheels. Nissan already has the Leaf electric car on the market, which is being made in cooperation with French affiliate Renault and can go for about 125 miles on a charge.

Israel is already building a network of electric car recharging stations that will be like an enclosed car wash. Electric cars will come in and immediately the spent batteries will be replaced or recharged. Israel has ordered about 500 of the Renault-Nissan electric cars, and many other countries will be watching the Israel's experiment closely. The biodiesel-electric hybrid bus is already in use by the Miami Transit Authority, and by cities on Florida's gulf coast.

Honda has a natural gas powered car that is being test-marketed in a few cities. There is plenty of natural gas in the western United States. BMW is testing a gasoline-hydrogen hybrid car in the United States, the car has a button on the steering wheel that switches from gasoline to hydrogen. A hydrogen powered Volkswagen vehicle is being tested in the USA. Hydrogen would require all new infrastructure to make it viable, plus the public perception of hydrogen as being dangerous has to be overcome.

The steam engine has been around since the 1700s, and successful steam cars were on the road in the early 1900s. Steam power with improved technology could make a successful comeback.