Plug-in Cars and Bio-fuels

James Woolsey lays out the alternative fuel choices and possibilities for new technology to lower our dependence on foreign oil. But first a qualification:

But in spite of the technological promise of alternative liquid fuels, skeptics rightly point out that it will take time to build production facilities and learn the practicalities of operating biorefineries and shifting industry from hydrocarbons to carbohydrates. Most of all there is a sense of investor caution, driven by memories of the mid-'80s and the late '90s when sharp drops in oil prices, driven in part by increased production from Saudi reserves, bankrupted such undertakings as the Synfuels Corporation. Also, industry support for moving away from oil dependence has long been weak outside agribusiness, and consumers see little immediate savings from using alternative liquid fuels.

That being said, improvements in battery technology, plug-in hybrid vehicles and bio-fuels could increase MPG to as high as 500, and effective costs to $.70 per gallon.

I'll believe it when I see it, but the piece seems to take the objections I've heard into account. (He discounts the future of hydrogen as an immediate panacea, for example.) Such projections seldom live up to the hype, but even if they fall short by half it will be a huge thing, and I, for one, would love to cut off the funding for international terrorism and people like Hugo Chavez.