Now, to run that American-made car, you're going to need some good old Middle-eastern oil.

I've gone on about how oil dependency is one of the greatest strategic threats to the US, especially in how it creates competition with countries like China, so I won't drag that out today. And, there's the environmental impact of burning all that fossil fuel; global warming, hurricanes, etc.

But the emerging potential of bio-fuel technology, charged by advances in genetics, could Change Everything.

'Could' is the operative word. Gareth Cook of the Globe reports:

Veterans of past alternative-energy booms agree that there is palpable excitement now but that this same excitement has come and gone in the past.

"There is no question that interest waxes and wanes based on the price of oil compared to alternatives," said David Barclay , executive director of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. Barclay said many alternatives need government financing to be competitive because they are still operating on a relatively small scale.

I would hope that these projects get priority funding, considering the huge stakes. It's the patriotic thing to do.