It is a fact we can’t avoid, that has caused thousands of Americans to move closer to their workplaces and is causing prices to rise daily, a fact that has abetted economic difficulty throughout the world—The world is addicted to energy.

Unfortunately for us energy-addicts, oil prices have skyrocketed to heretofore unimaginable levels. Given that global demand for energy will only increase in the next century, while global fossil fuel supply will begin to decline in 2010, we can only expect to pay higher, and eventually prohibitive, prices each time we use the pump. That which seems to cast an ominous cloud on the future of our global economy, however, could be the greatest blessing our deteriorating planet has ever received.

According to the Nobel Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, man’s addiction to fossil fuels is the primary cause of Climate Change. Each burned gallon of gasoline contributes over twenty pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Gasoline’s unfortunate consequence for our planet has, nevertheless, been vastly ignored, as gasoline has always been the cheapest, most available form of transportable fuel.

Yet with the recent increases in fossil fuel prices has come a pervasive interest to find an alternative source of energy. Politicians, scientists, and average citizens have sought to displace gasoline as the fuel purchased at the pump with a clean, renewable energy source. Many alternative energy sources, have come with enormous drawbacks—nuclear fuel is too dangerous; corn ethanol is too inefficient; solar and wind power cannot be implemented worldwide. Few energy sources are clean, efficient, available, and cheap.

One energy source, though, has piqued the interest of scientists, politicians, and businessmen throughout the world. Studies have shown that biomass—waste products from dried, dead plants—may contain within them the energy necessary to provide for the entire world. By extracting sugar from waste biomass, and then fermenting that sugar into a “beer”, we can develop what is now known as cellulosic ethanol—more simply alcohol made from wastes. Cellulosic ethanol has been shown to have an almost zero-net contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Unlike more popular forms of ethanol made from corn or sugarcane, cellulosic ethanol does not waste expensive food to make fuel; instead, it uses one of the cheapest, most widely available products in the world to make fuel. It employs waste to produce the single most sought-after commodity in the modern economy: energy.

Though scientists are still developing ways to refine cellulosic-ethanol development technology and reduce the cost of extracting sugars from cellulosic biomass, companies throughout the world have jumped to take advantage of what is already a potent technology. Scientists and businessmen are attempting to make cellulosic ethanol competitive with gasoline; signs point to an industry within the next five years. As ethanol continues to become economically feasible, the only obstacle to metamorphosing our economy is our own obstinacy.

Washington, to its credit, is attempting to do its part. Whether through multi-billion dollar research grants or through legislation mandating production of more cellulosic ethanol and more ethanol-fueled cars, politicians are striving to help the nation fight both the fossil fuel and Climate Change crises.

Converting our nation to a cellulosic ethanol-based country is not just the business of scientists, politicians, and businessmen. Without a demand for alternative energy, cellulosic ethanol will never become a reality: without widespread use of flex-fuel vehicles—cars that can run on both ethanol and gasoline—there will be no motivation to help spread alternative energy sources.

As we individuals acquire cars, we have an obligation to our families, our country, and our planet to do our part in stimulating the cellulosic ethanol industry. By purchasing flex-fuel vehicles and taking advantage of federal tax breaks for individuals who do so, we can help the alternative energy industry get on its feet. By using ethanol fuel in lieu of gasoline whenever possible, we can use a fuel source that contributes negligibly to the deterioration of our planet, while encouraging an industry that promises to provide a fuel far cheaper than gasoline.

Never has there been a more opportune time to switch to an alternative form of energy. Rising fossil fuel prices have made ethanol more attractive by the day. The only obstacles to the mass production of ethanol are a few years of science and the willingness of our nation to take action in resolving the impending crises. Let us cease whining over expensive gasoline. Let us allow love for our planet to embolden us in the quest to fashion a fuel that will sustain our progeny for centuries to come. Most of all, let us initiate the change we seek in our world and fulfill the prophecy of Winston Churchill—that “difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”