Recently Girlawhirl heard something on the news that startled her at first and then made her think that if it's true, anything is possible. The country of Sweden projects it will be petroleum free by 2020!
Girlawhirl wonders if it's truly possible that an industrialized nation can run without fossil fuels? Sweden believes it can, and hopes to be there in just 13 years. Already a world leader in alternative fuels – in 2003 26% of its energy came from renewable sources, far ahead of the EU average of 6% – Sweden uses fossil fuels mostly for transport. Heating systems in most buildings have already been converted to steam or hot water that's heated by geothermal energy or waste recycling.
There seems to be a lot of debate as to whether or not Sweden can do it. But always optimistic, Girlawhirl believes it can, and hopes that some of the innovations that work in Sweden can be used throughout the rest of the world. And it turns out that Sweden's not alone in its goal to be petroleum free. Iceland has declared that by 2050, all the cars there will be run on hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, and Brazil says that in five years, 80% of its transportation fleet will be powered by ethanol that comes from sugar cane…
Which makes Girlawhirl really wonder about what the cars of the future will be like.