I worked out today that it takes me 30 minutes to cycle into work, 10 minutes longer than it takes by car. Good enough I thought, I'll start tomorrow. My back tires inner tube was punctured by multiple pieces of glass however, so its back to driving until I get it repaired (thanks Dad for the lift home).

While waiting in a massive queue in the petrol station, I got thinking about alternative fuels, electric cars and energy as a whole. I started to wonder about why the UK government isnt making more of an effort into finding a viable alternative to the standard car. After all, the best time to do it would be now. Fuel prices are rocketing, terrorism and war in unstable regions means that supplies are not always going to be guaranteed, and this is all before the oil will all eventually run out. Why isnt more being down?

Because there is FAR too much money at stake. Lets take a look at the breakdown of a litle of unleaded.

Average Price - 107.9p a litre.
32.60p is the product itself.
8.88p goes to the retailer.

So far - 41.48 - fair enough.

Then the Government takes its share...

16.07p is VAT
50.35p is duty

Which means that 66.42p of every litre of petrol sold is going straight into the pockets of Mr Brown, thats nearly 62% folkes. While I have no idea about the exact quantity of fuel sold in the UK, you would be willing to bet that the money taken from fuel is substancial.

So do you want to know why so little is being done to find an alternative? Because the government simply cannot afford to lose that much revenue. And lets not kid ourselves, thats exactly what it is - revenue.

So next time you hear Gordon Brown saying how he is commited to the environment, just remember how much he stands to lose by removing one of the largest sources of pollution.

Rant over.