Wednesday, October 28, 2009

How Green Is Your Car?

Author: Levi Quinn

Source: articlesbase.com



There has for some, hydrogen car, time now been a, hydrogen car, movement afoot to make motoring a greener, hydrogen car, pursuit. Whatever one’s views on global warming â€" and there are respected scientists, hydrogen car, on both sides of the argument, making it a question, hydrogen car, that needs to be debated â€" there is no doubt that a car with poor fuel efficiency and without the necessary engineering in place can be a serious threat to the environment. Even if it is not contributing to climate change, there is no doubt that emissions from a car can contribute to a poorer atmosphere, with pollution making it more dangerous for many people to live in cities. Clearly, something has to give, and the movement to find cleaner,, hydrogen car, greener ways to drive is a step in the right direction in that sense. The big hope for many on the green side of the argument has been â€" for at least the early stages of the argument at, hydrogen car, least â€" the electric car. Capable of operating without burning any fossil fuels itself, the electric car has been posited as one of the best ways to drive down carbon emissions and contribute to a better environment. The problem seems to be that electric cars, an idea that has existed for some time now, seem to be getting no closer to the day when they will be a hundred per cent efficient. There are few places where driving an electric car would be practical,, hydrogen car, given, hydrogen car, that they require recharging a lot more often than a normal gas-run car needs filling up. However much you may wish to see cleaner air for all, the fact remains that this is a genuine drawback. Hybrid cars are the compromise between the still dominant fossil-fueled automobile and the electric car. They are partly fueled by gasoline and partly electric or hydrogen-powered. Currently they are not seen by the majority as a realistic option because of the upfront expense of purchasing one. Although this cost can be redeemed in the space of about five years, this has, hydrogen car, not convinced too many people to buy one â€" partly because many people intend to trade their vehicle in before they have had it that long,, hydrogen car, and partly because whatever the fuel economy in the long term, they find, hydrogen car, the cost prohibitive right now. It is all very well dangling the promise of future savings in front of someone, but if they cannot afford the immediate cost there is little effect. Honda have recently entered the debate on green vehicles with the unveiling of the FCX Clarity, and this is earning the applause of a wide range of people, including self-professed green skeptics like the British car expert James May, who points out that the Clarity loses nothing in comparison with a combustion engine, and the fact is that hydrogen is no more expensive than fossil fuels from a refuelling point of view. However the Clarity is not expected to commence mass production until 2018 and currently can only be leased â€" and even then only in Southern California. That said, when it is available it will have the added bonus of requiring less frequent servicing due to running on a power plant as opposed to a combustion engine. For the time being, we continue to wait for the ideal green solution.



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