You're absolutely right, it's not a permanent solution (like I said) but as current alternatives go it's one of the better ones. At least with biofuels you keep overall fuel economy at a higher level. The USA is in love with ethanol, which is proven to cost more to produce and get less economy than regular gas. Let's switch the corn fields over! Or, as our friends at wikipedia suggest:
Increasing energy use, climate change, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels make switching to low-carbon fuels a high priority. Biofuels are a potential low-carbon energy source, but whether biofuels offer carbon savings depends on how they are produced. Converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands to produce food crop–based biofuels in Brazil, Southeast Asia, and the United States creates a "biofuel carbon debt" by releasing 17 to 420 times more CO2 than the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions that these biofuels would provide by displacing fossil fuels. In contrast, biofuels made from waste biomass or from biomass grown on degraded and abandoned agricultural lands planted with perennials incur little or no carbon debt and can offer immediate and sustained GHG advantages.
Ok, I'm done preaching now, I swear
BTW I have an '06 VW GLI. I'll try to post some pics soon.
