Customer demand, regulations and globalization prompt manufacturers to design more fuel-efficient products. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato is credited with saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention." More recently, U.S. Senator John Kerry has said, "You can't drill your way to energy independence. You must invent your way there." Regardless of whether you agree with the en-tirety of the Massachusetts Democrat's state-ment, which he employs in his battle to prevent drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, his words and Plato's both speak to a phenomenon already under way in the United States: The country's growing need to reduce its idependence on fossil fuels is driving invention.
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