Reality Check: Energy

Fossil Fuels Despite all the furor over alternative energy sources, fossil fuels continue to power our lives. Yes, oil is starting to dwindle in supply, but we could always drill for the stuff in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge … and save ourselves a buck per barrel 20 years from now. And global reserves of coal—recently thought to be enough to last for centuries at current levels of production—might actually be significantly lower: "peak coal" could apparently sneak up on us pretty fast. Luckily, scientists have been hard at work searching for ways to mitigate the global warming impact of fossil fuels, such as carbon dioxide storing technology at coal plants—though you may not want to hold your breath for the "clean coal" movement. Biofuels Instead of using petroleum, which is imported, pollution-causing, and slowly disappearing, why not simply power your car with plants of all shapes and sizes? But ...