Alternative Energy Choices: Drive Greener!

Second in a Series

Have you driven past huge oil and gas fields and wondered how, as a consumer, you could reduce your impacts on the environment?

Fortunately, we now have better choices than ever when buying a new car or truck. Why pick less-polluting vehicles? Consider these facts:

• Tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks produce almost a third of the air pollution in the U.S.
  
  
• Burning one gallon of gas emits 28 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2).

  Honda Insight (Honda)

  
  
  
• U.S. cars and light trucks alone account for more energy-related CO2 emissions than the nationwide emissions of all but three other countries in the world.
  
  
• According to the Environmental Protection Agency, driving your car is probably your most polluting daily activity.

Today's environmentally friendly vehicles use recycled parts and non-toxic materials, are more fuel-efficient and meet strict tailpipe-emission standards.

In addition, two "hybrid-electric" cars are now available, and at least two SUV hybrid models are planned for 2003. These vehicles combine the internal combustion engine with an electric motor, providing considerably greater fuel efficiency than conventional cars. The Honda Insight gets 68 mpg on the highway, and the Toyota Prius, a larger family-sized sedan, gets great mileage as well.

Both use three integrated energy sources: a gasoline engine provides

Learn More! You can learn more about energy-efficient vehicles by visiting these websites: www.epa.gov/greenvehicles(EPA ranked vehicles) www.fueleconomy.gov(includes links to car size/safety) www.greenercars.com(green car ratings) www.rmi.org(fuel cells)

mechanical power; electricity supplied by the generator powers the electric motor; and electricity supplied by batteries boosts the power of the electric motor. In addition, the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius are both rated Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles (SULEVs) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, meaning that their tailpipe emissions are only a tenth of those produced by the average new car.

The advent of fuel cells could signal the end of the internal-combustion engine in the foreseeable future. Fuel cells, like batteries, convert a fuel's energy directly into electricity via a chemical reaction. Fuel cells convert fuel (usually hydrogen) into electricity far more efficiently than internal-combustion engines, and emit no pollutants. Fuel cells have powered space missions but, until recently, costs have been too high for commercial application.

Today, all major auto companies have developed test cars that run on fuel cells. But before fuel-cell-powered vehicles can be introduced to the market, their production costs need to drop considerably and hydrogen must be more widely available to consumers.

Until then, we can help boost sales of gasoline-powered and hybrid vehicles that are healthier for us and our planet!