“There is a limited supply of oil and we have to ensure that we have the ability to satisfy our demand in the future." It's a problem capturing the attention of researchers across the country. They hope to meet transportation demands in a way that's more environmentally friendly. The Rochester Institute of Technology in New York state is on the cutting edge. It's created a new sustainability institute to look for answers. Nabil Nasr says: "We are looking at different alternative fuels from biodiesel to ethanol to hydrogen as fuel ... also fuel cells. We are looking at all the alternative fuel options that we have and looking at when some of these options will be ready for broader use." Alternative fuels are already being used in buses. But often times, change comes at a higher cost. Mark Aesch says: "It used to cost almost double to buy a hybrid bus as opposed to a regular diesel bus, but we’ve seen those prices really drop back. Today a hybrid bus is only about 50% more.” One way to cut down on emmissions is to get more people to take public transportation in the first place. U.S. reliance on foreign oil would decrease 40% if one in 10 Americans used public transportation daily. Mark says: "Clearly there’s a comfort level with using your car. If we can make it easier and more technologically friendly to understand how to use public transportation with the high price of gas, it’s a wonderful alternative for people.” When considering public transportation, you might also want to consider this...You're 79 times safer riding a bus than driving you own car. A diesel powered school bus produces 6,000 pounds more pollution than a natural gas model.