Many Solutions to Energy and Environmental Concerns
By Ron Cogan, General Manager, GreenCar.com
By Ron Cogan
At Green Car Journal, we are often asked which fuels or technologies are the best
for solving (take your pick) air quality challenges, energy diversity, dependence on
imported oil, fuel economy goals, or environmental imperatives. Of course, there is
no easy answer, but we do have a favorite analogy: "There is more than one arrow in
the quiver." In other words, there is no single answer...there are many from which
to choose, at least at this point in time.
It's easy to point to hybrid electric propulsion as the ideal answer because, in a sense, it
clearly is just that. Cost issues aside — and those will ultimately be resolved — hybrid
power provides the best of all worlds for consumers. Where is the downside when
motorists get much improved fuel economy, extremely low emissions, and the same
levels of performance, comfort, quality, and functionality as more conventional vehicle
choices? None that we know of, especially when vehicle model choices are going to
expand dramatically over the next several years.
Hydrogen vehicles, either powered by fuel cells or internal combustion engines,
also seem ideal in many ways. There are some serious challenges ahead in cost,
packaging, durability, and of course infrastructure. But this is a long haul and
these will one day be viewed as simply speed bumps on the highway to a hydrogen
economy. Investment of time and resources in this arena are substantial and likely
will be sustained until the demonstration hydrogen vehicles of today make way for
commercially viable hydrogen vehicles at new car showrooms in the future.
A bright spot in the natural gas vehicle field is Honda, which will soon begin selling its
Civic GX natural gas vehicle and "Phill" home CNG refueler to consumers. It has
taken some time for this vehicle to evolve into a consumer product from its fleet-only
origins, a transition dependant upon the availability of an affordable home refueling
option. Now that it's nearly upon us and Honda has proved that driving its
natural Gas Civic is nearly indistinguishable from driving a gasoline variant, this
begs the question: Why aren't other automakers entering this market?
Then there are ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles. Today, we have nearly four million of
these vehicles on U.S. highways capable of running on E-85 ethanol, gasoline, or
any mixture of these fuels in the same tank. Yet, there are but a few hundred E-85
refueling stations in the country. As the number of flexible fuel vehicles grows to five
million, then 10, and more...when will government entitles be spurred to action,
knowing that at least one answer to energy diversity is at hand in the short
term, if only widespread fueling opportunities were available?
There are many arrows in the alternative fuel quiver. Some, however, are unused
since they seem just out of reach.
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