ORIGINAL: AndyW
In Europe, nitro is very expensive. So much so that they developed glow engines that ran well on very little or no nitro. Problems arose when those engines were imported to North America. No nitro meant higher compression ratios and when nitro fuels WERE used, all kinds of problems surfaced. That the manufacturers and importers didn't anticipate this is beyond me.
So consider a day that ether becomes so expensive that everyone just packs away their beloved, little engines. For no reason. Our diesel engines WILL run without ether and the problems associated with that will likely be solved by regular guys like you and me.
Andy,
nitro was very expensive and rare outside the USA in the 1960's but that is no longer the case and hasn't been for decades. Diethyl Ether is available as an industrial solvent and is used in large quantities in various chemical processes. It's not expensive in bulk and is not likely to become so.
Ray