I dislike and mistrust governments as much as the next man (believe me), but the only thing more self-serving and amoral than a government is a corporation. There is nothing holy about the free market, no inherent value in laissez-faire leave to arbitrarily fuck with the world and its peoples.

Of course the government needs to invest in alternative fuels. I can hardly think of a better use for tax dollars, with the possible exception of education. Alternative fuels are absolutely necessary for human progress at this point, for man to finally begin rectifying the environmental carnage we've wrought for the longest time. This holy free market will indeed explore other fuel sources, realizing that this is necessary for their profit and survival, but these will not necessarily be eco-friendly sources. The problem with the holiness of the completely free market is that world commerce is in the hands of CEOs who value money and nothing else, who have no other interests or concern for human well-being in general. Governments, as corrupt and inefficient as they mostly are, at least have other concerns besides profit, so I whole-heartedly support their role in alternative fuel progress.