Alternative Fuels
1. Why Should I Care About Using Alternative Fuels Anyway?
The reality is that driving your vehicle is the one regular activity that has the single largest impact on the earth regarding climate change. Yes, think about it: Every gallon of alternative fuel burned is a gallon of petrol not burned. That’s 20 pounds of heat-trapping carbon dioxide not released into our atmosphere, not to mention carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur and more. Plus, each one of those gallons strengthens a nation’s economy and energy independence.
2. Why Do We Need Alternative Fuels?
Our present fuel resources are not going to be around forever and with the ever increasing consumption their extinction is nearly unavoidable. Also our fuel resources which are mostly made up of fossil fuels are not renewable in nature. Currently around the world the consumption of fossil fuels is 100,000 times faster than their natural production. According to an estimate the demand for these fuels will suddenly outstrip their availability in a matter of centuries-or less. Another fact which should also be paid attention to here is that the consumption of fossil fuels is eating up our environment very fast.
Vehicles
1. Reasons to Buy an Alternative Fuel Vehicle
There are some good reasons to buying a car that uses an alternative fuel source. One good reason is not relying on foreign countries for our fuel source. Another is less pollution. Some of the alternative fuel sources for vehicles include the electric/gasoline called hybrid, fuel cell, and Natural gas. Honda, Ford and Toyota all have hybrid vehicles; they are priced in the mid $20,000 to over $30,000 range. They claim they get great gas mileage. The best one for gas mileage is the Toyota Prius with 52 miles per gallon. The car uses the electric part of the engine at a slower speed. When driving on a freeway or in a city it uses both gas and electric plus recharges the battery while driving (Energy Quest, Hybrid Vehicles).
Nearly 100 percent of the state’s transportation system is currently fueled by fossil fuels. Moving toward a more diversified range of fuels and supporting the advancement of higher efficiency vehicles are two of the goals of the state’s programs.
3. Alternative Fuel Conversion
Conversion systems modify vehicles and engines so that they can run on different fuels than the ones for which they were originally designed. Most alternative fuel conversions involve reconfiguring a gasoline or diesel vehicle or engine to operate on natural gas, propane, alcohols, or electricity, or on a blend of conventional and alternative fuels. Use of clean alternative fuels opens new fuel supply choices and can help consumers address concerns about fuel costs, energy security, and emissions.
