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 | | Posted by: Green Travel | 9/21/2007 2:27 PM | The race is on and to be adopted worldwide, the new fuel needs to be not only clean burning, but it also needs to hold enough power to move a vehicle at high speeds, and withstand variable altitudes, temperatures and engines.
Article by - Melissa
We are dependent on petroleum, it's a part of our everyday lives and the fact is most of us could not survive without it. It powers our world, takes us to work in the morning, to the grocery store, on business trips and vacations, and back home again. But what is really going on as we are zipping around town, or across country? Our planes, trains, and automobiles require petroleum (in the form of gasoline) to move. The gas must actually be burned to power the engine, and as it burns carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Since carbon dioxide is a major contributor to global warming, it's become apparent that it's about time for an intervention. Huey Luis says it best, "I want a new drug."
Thanks to scientists and researchers worldwide that "new drug" may not be too far away. The race is on and to be adopted worldwide, the new fuel needs to be not only clean burning, but it also needs to hold enough power to move a vehicle at high speeds, and withstand variable altitudes, temperatures and engines. Some alternative fuels are already available today and they include: biodiesel (similar to diesel made from petroleum but made from plant oils), electricity (usually batteries), ethanol, methanol, hydrogen, natural gas, and propane. Each alternative fuel has positive and negative aspects, and some are definitely more promising than others. It will be interesting to see which will become the true leader of the pack and our new healthy addiction.
Thinking about exploring these options? Here is a little FYI:
E85 is a fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline and it is actually available at 900 locations throughout the United States. Cars that can run on E85 are often called Flex-Fuel Vehicles because you can run them on either E85 or regular gasoline.
Hybrid cars run on a mixture of gasoline and electricity (in the form of a battery), and are becoming more and more available and affordable. These cars get excellent gas mileage with a fraction of the carbon emissions of your average gasoline powered car. | | | Permalink |
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