Inventors and entrepreneurs, from Ben Franklin to Steve Jobs, have always led the way in enhancing our efficient use of natural and manmade resources. 
 
In the late 1970s, America was focused on an issue that has since become a hearty perennial—the quest for a substitute to petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline.  The November 1979 Textile Rental looked at the idea of “alternative fuels” by reprinting a Chicago Tribune article on the work of two inventors. This dynamic duo thought they’d solved the dilemma by adapting an idea from World War II submarines: a fuel made with alcohol ...