this, Derr also points out that several improvements have been made in the automobile industry since particulate, volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide have all been decreased by large percentages for new automobiles. Despite these improvements, the problem of population growth exists, and therefore more and more people are still buying automobiles which results in more pollution (Derr, 1994. p. 30). Pollution is a grave problem worldwide. It is well known that ever since the Industrial Revolution, pollution has been on the rise, and within the last few decades, the issue has attracted more attention. Tim Thompson points out that "Polluted clouds are forming lower, icing over, and dying in mid-air." He continues stating, "Our autos are literally 'exhausting' the atmosphere" (Thompson, 1992. p. 40) Automobiles are a huge cause of the pollution crisis we face today and therefore many people are beginning to develop new technologies to combat the situation. As quoted in Tim Thompson's article, James Hansen, a NASA researcher, warns "that, by pumping tons of pollutants into the world's atmosphere, we are 'unwittingly building a huge time bomb with enormous destructive potential.... If we don't find clean alternative fuels quickly,' he emphasized, 'we face human refugee problems dwarfing any in history" (Thompson, 1992, p. 40).
             Alternative fuels have been researched within the past years and several options have been discovered. Of these options, several still consist of fossil fuels. Even though alternative fuels will be polluting much less, they are thought to be more efficient than the present technologies we have. This is true despite the fact that these alternative fuels use the same combustion technology. Three popular alternative fuels currently being researched are ethanol, methanol, and propane. Ethanol is a fuel that ...