Fuel starts with a little Josh Tickell history, how he and his family used to enjoy the unsullied Australian environment only to move to the southern US States, his mother’s homeland, and be banned from swimming in the bayous, not being allowed to eat the fish, don’t drink the water and often not even breathe the air.
Not one for sitting still, Tickell set off across the US in his bio-diesel eco-van in an attempt to show that there was an alternative to fossil fuel oil. The van, kitted out with its own oil-cleaning system, was topped up along the way with used oil from fast food restaurants.
Two years later, countless demos and school visits under his belt, Tickell expected to get the ball rolling on bio-fuelling America – but it didn’t quite unfold as he expected. Just as he was ready to give up, other bio-fuel sources hit the market, such as bio-fuel from corn and his dream seemed to come true. then covers the rise of Tickellcorn-based bio-fuel, and its fall from grace as it impacted world food prices.
Fuel really gets going about one third of the way into the film, giving the viewer a good overview of the ups and downs of the bio-fuel market, as well as insights into what type of shenanigans oil companies will get up to in their efforts to stop people getting weaned-off the fossil fuel teat.
The one bright spot is that Tickell gives a good insight into bio-fuel from algae. While perhaps not the panacea cure that many protagonists might hope for, as everything has a price, but it does seem to offer great promise to reduce transportation emissions and pollution levels compared to gasoline from refined oil.
Tickell’s documentary does a good job at presenting the facts about peak oil, oil pollution, and the upside of alternative fuels. With some poignant visuals and easy to understand presentations, Fuel gets the message over, loud and clear. If you drive a vehicle and ever wondered why gasoline power is not good for the environment and why bio-fuel might be a better choice – for the environment and the pocket - then take a look at this movie.
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