EDITORIAL: Accelerate race toward energy alternatives

Thursday's explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico reinforced the need to develop technology for fossil fuel alternatives.

An event held in Whiting last weekend also helped fuel that need.

The Alternative Power Initiative, sponsored by Whiting and the BP Whiting Refinery, was intended to be the first annual 5-mile race for vehicles using alternate fuels. But the best car in the race went just 1.2 miles.

There's a long way to go to build a car for the future.

"Next year I won't have any problem with 5 miles," said Syed Karim Jr. of Chicago, who won $300 for racing his three-wheeled, compressed carbon dioxide-fueled vehicle farther than any other car in the race. No one claimed the $7,000 top prize.

The race was intended to send the vehicles through Whiting's streets, providing the same conditions traditional vehicles face. That real-world test is vital not just to the success of the winning car but also to the development of a practical alternative to fossil fuels.

NuVant Systems Inc., located at the Purdue Technology Center in Merrillville, is working on new fuel cell technology. Fuel cells hold promise for providing renewable energy.

Other energy sources -- especially wind and solar -- hold promise, too, for some purposes and in some areas. But developing practical alternatives for fueling transportation remains tricky, as the Whiting race shows.

The oil rig explosion Thursday was nowhere near as bad as the the BP oil well disaster, fortunately. It is, however, a reminder that getting oil from deep underground is a dangerous business.

It's even more dangerous when that drilling is in a foreign country, because that introduces the threat that the host country could cut off the flow of oil to the United States.

Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., and others have hammered home their point that this nation's reliance on foreign oil is a serious national security concern. Wars have been fought over issues of much less consequence.

Additional energy conservation measures are needed, but that alone won't be enough to solve the problem.

This year's Whiting race is a sign that additional research is necessary to develop the technology needed to wean the nation off fossil fuels from foreign sources. That's a national security concern that must be funded appropriately.