IN recent history, the popularity of alternative fuel vehicles has risen. There are many reasons for which research has focused attention on the development of alternative fuel vehicles. The public, especially in the United States, has taken interest in the development of alternative fuel vehicles for saving fuel costs and environmental reasons.

Without doubt, alternative fuel vehicle research has made tremendous breakthroughs technologically that its products recently came to the open market. Although alternative fuel vehicles are now popular, the project is not in the best interest of the developing oil countries and car rental companies.

Proposed legislation proposes that company owned fleets incorporate alternative fuel vehicles. The main force moving legislation in this direction is pollution. An estimated 50 per cent of ozone deterioration and 90 per cent for carbon monoxide pollution is traceable to automobiles.

If such laws were put into force, it would be detrimental to the oil countries and rental car companies. This legislation would not affect car ownership in the private sector. However, the private sector would be affected when using a rental car agency. The mandate of company owned fleets of convert to alternative fuel vehicles has been a topic of debate for years. It is likely that this legislation will never be mandated. Because legislation has not yet been mandated, rental car companies have only performed a test market with marginal results.

Two main reasons for using alternative fuels are at the forefront: not depending on foreign oil, and environmental protection. While alternative fuels are continually being developed, petroleum-based fuels are too. Petroleum engineering has tremendous funding enabling technology to innovate better mileage and fewer emissions. I know, essentially, the big money oil companies will pay to keep alternative fuel engineering from becoming the primary source, if it is possible.

To reduce greenhouse gases, the goal has been to develop vehicles with lower fuel consumption with fuel economy of 80 miles per gallon. It has been thought that this would not be feasible without the use of a power train that uses a fuel cell running on alternative fuel such as hydrogen or methanol. High efficiency diesel engines with hybrid drive-trains are expanding to meet this demand.

There are many reasons why alternative fuel vehicles are a good choice. Their cost is equivalent to gasoline and diesel vehicles. There are many types of alternative fuels to choose from and it does not usually cost much to covert vehicle to run on those fuels. There are federal, state tax incentives, the emissions are very low and the list can go on. Alternative fuel vehicles will only be feasible when the refueling infrastructure can support those vehicles and the cost of those vehicles is comparable to those of gasoline and diesel.

President Olusegun Obasanjo should focus on alternative means of revenue acquisition such as agriculture and manufacturing in the light of threat posed to Nigeria as an oil producing country by this development. We can do it.

Okoduwa is project-general, Global Democracy Project Corp