Risk factors

So by chance I'm offered a lift to my next destination, and I accept as my back has had enough after the previous days 10km fully loaded. Things will get better, the sooner I finish reading about the silly little 'Emma' the sooner I can lose another half kilo of wasted exertion. Before we even set off I have created much amusement and intrigue among the hotel staff, for I'm doing something unusual. It's called a seat belt and after some conversation one of the young guys uses the word 'safety' and gets an understanding response from another. Clearly that too is a loan word/concept from English.
We follow a jeep which demonstrates the rather different approach to vechicle lights in India. In this case the reversing lights and rear headlights are wired in with a couple of other red, blue, green and yellow bulbs and flash alternately.
As we get going the driver asks the usual questions, nothing untoward, and then offers me a beer. I refuse as even for me its a bit early, but shortly he stops and gets a bottle. I should point out that his driving until this point was good by Indian standards, his dangerous overtakes are balanced by a little bit of power in the car which means we tuck infront of the trucks nicely. After this point he is a little distracted, for the primary danger of drink driving is that one hand is then tied up holding the bottle. It all makes sense now! Its still only about 2.30pm and this is the main coast road in bright sunlight, but seems to be accepted.
He talks about wanting to do something with his life, and just as I'm expecting some uninteresting introspection he mentions he has a BSc and his personal interest is in biofuels. Actually experimenting with marine plants and mentioning a shortage of land. This is curiously something which has interested me before, and I've read what I see about the debate, ethics and concern of iron sulphate seeding for algae. I try and engage him with a discussion on increasing the productive land - as shortage of water and good soil are other avenues, but I'm not sure if I am understood. I get tied up in an explanation of desalination costs, and he drifts onto Indian corruption (the death of all conversations in India)