In the typical American house the roofs over our heads, the flakeboard sheathing, the structural beams, the floor underlayment, the carpeting and vinyl flooring, the cupboards, the paints, the pipes that supply our water and carry away our wastes; and even the insulation on our wires are all made from products derived from oil.  The fertilizers that we apply to our lawns and to our agricultural fields are derived from petroleum and natural gas, as are virtually all of the medicines and other pharmaceutical products that we take to preserve our health.   Detergents, the base of all of our cosmetics, and even "baby oil" and mineral oil are all petroleum products.  Our "wash and wear" clothes depend upon polyester fiber made from petroleum, as are many other synthetic fibers used in clothing, an other fabric products.  The tires on our cars and bicycles depend upon petroleum as does the asphalt surfaces that they travel on.

Twenty years ago, June 23, 1988, a then obscure U.S. government scientist by the name of James E. Hansen appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to testify about Global Climate Change.  His testified that Global Climate Change was: real; a threat; human caused; and, that it was already underway.

Today Dr. Hansen, now Director of the NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, will testify before a House Committee that mankind has only a short time to reverse the "Global Warming Time Bomb".  It is expected that he will call for a rapid shift from fossil fuels and carbon emissions, and the development of alternate energy sources and distribution systems.

Introduced in January 2008 by the mammoth Indian conglomerate Tata, the "Nano" will be the worlds cheapest car and among the smallest when it goes on sale this fall. Meeting the design target of a "1 lakh (100,000 rupees) Peoples Car", the Nano will cost the equivalent of $2,400 USD or 1,554 euros at today's exchange rates. While a small car, the 4-door Nano is not merely an enlarged motor scooter but rather the result of some outstanding cost-reduction engineering.

On September 29th, 1993, U.S. President Clinton, Vice-President Gore and automotive industry leaders announced a new federal/industry partnership to produce a safe, affordable, recyclable automobile with a mileage goal of 80 miles/gallon. The federal government would contribute funding and military technology, while industry would design and build the vehicles. Each of the "Big Three" partners showed hybrid diesel-electric "concept cars" in 2000 and was prepared to deliver working prototypes in 2002. However in January of 2002, after a federal investment of more that a billion dollars, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced that the Bush administration was canceling the project and initiating a new program "FreedomCAR" to promote pure hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Introduced in 1908, the Model T Fords were produced until 1927 with 'assembly line" production being introduced in 1910. The Model T's were powered by a small (about 20 hp) engine that burned either gasoline or locally produced ethanol. Depending upon fuel, driving conditions, and body style (at least 9 body styles, ranging from small roadsters to one-ton trucks were produced) mileage varied from about 13 to 21 mpg. More than 15 million Model T's were produced before production was stopped in 1927. At that time, 9 out of 10 automobiles, world-wide, were Model T Fords.