The current level of interest in alternative fuels and energy is fine, but all of these technical fixes are ignoring the roots of the problem, namely, overpopulation.
Yearly Americans are using twice as much fossil energy as the total solar energy captured by all plants through photosynthesis in the United States each year.
Even if that estimate is off by a factor of 10, it gives you an idea of how hard it will be to use biomass to replace fossil fuels, given this country's 300 million energy hogs.
Yes, technical fixes like solar power and better cars are needed in the short term, but someone should start thinking about policies that reverse the growth of demand, and that begins with population. Population policy isn't even on the radar of the politicians or the media.