hybrid fuel cars?

Will Camus: Most hybrid cars use lead-acid batteries, most of whose components can be recycled (certainly the lead can), so battery disposal isn't as severe a problem as some would have you believe, even if lead-acid batteries are not a perfect solution. Our local waste collection centre here in London, for example, collects lead-acid batteries for recycling.Increasingly, hybrid cars are likely to use Ni-MH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) or Li-Ion (Lithium-Ion) batteries. The Tesla car uses a Li-Ion battery pack, while Toyota (I think) showed a prototype MPV with a large NiMH energy battery pack. As NiMHs and Li-Ions have a better energy storage to size ratio than lead-acids, they allow a car to go further and faster on a single charge. They are also environmentally friendly and simpler to recycle.The production and recycling of batteries certainly take energy, but extracting oil, refining it and then transporting it to where it's needed consume large amounts of energy as well...! .Show more

Clemente Schoeck: Why not check out the "World"s Cleanest Car" instead."BBC News is reporting that a French company has developed a pollution-free car which runs on compressed air. India's Tata Motors has the car under production and it may be on sale in Europe and India by the end of the year.The air car, also known as the Mini-CAT or City Cat, can be refueled in minutes from an air compressor at specially equipped gas stations and can go 200 km on a 1.5 euro fill-up -- roughly 125 miles for $3. The top speed will be almost 70 mph and the cost of the vehicle as low as $7000."...Show more

Brittanie Zakutney: Use of hybrid vehicles would help with our overall consumption of oil due to their overall better fuel mileage. As for helping the environment; there are some significant downsides to hybrid technology. The batteries will need to be disposed of and are made with some pretty toxic component materials. Due to the fact that hybrids use the brake s! ystem along with their small gas engine to generate power to r! echarge the batteries they require more brake maintenance and disposal of worn parts. They also have a much shorter tire life due to the extra friction. A co-worker has a Toyota Prius with 150,000 miles on it and is on his 6th set of tires. Tires on regular cars should last at least 50,000 miles or more so his tire consumption is twice what it would typically be. Let’s not forget either that one of the primary components of tires is petroleum. Hybrid batteries also do not operate as well in cold temperatures so anyone in a colder climate will be using the gas engine more than someone who lives in a warm climate thus reducing the overall benefit. The cleanest running cars would be powered by hydrogen fuel cells as their only byproduct is water however that is a very expensive and difficult technology to use so it is really not practical. Bio-diesel and regular diesel fuel is much dirtier than regular gas and requires considerably more emission controls on the vehicl! e to keep pollution to a minimum. Motor Trend magazine published a pretty comprehensive article on the subject of alternative fuels. It can be found at http://www.motortrend.com/features/consumer/112_07......Show more

William Vickerman: electric is best

Ruby Martis: if someone can, can you please direct me to a site that says how electric cars and helping global warming. thanks

Robbie Starchman: Mother Earth News magazine had an article several years ago on the "carbon footprint" of electric cars. If I recall correctly, the EV's had a fraction (1/4) of a comparable gasoline car.The world's cheapest vehicle to operate (Googe that) is an electric pickup truck that runs on discarded batteries.http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=world%27s+chea......Show more

Lu Tiner: I was considering getting an electric scooter but none seem to go very fast and none seem to go for a very long trip. But I'm now considering a gas powered scooter, the only problem is t! hey are SO loud! Any quiet ones or ways to make them as quiet as electr! ic scooters?

Palmira Lochridge: Get a bicycle! it is man's best invention!

Teodoro Lamond: Hello! The choice of guitars by alternative rock bands is really all over the map! Many times, guitar selection ends up being a brand or model you have never heard of before, just because that is what the player was able to afford when starting out and just stuck with it. I would focus more on what feels and sounds right to you, as opposed to the mainstream preferences. Your Ibanez is an excellent choice for a wide variety of rock music, and will give you solid performance from alternative all the way to metal. Sure, the Fender Stratocaster (and Telecaster, but more for cleaner tones) is one of the great guitars of all time (and I am a die-hard Fender Strat player), but unless you pick up and play one that you just cannot put down, stick with your Ibanez! Best regards, Dana...Show more

Cherlyn Tefera: www.whokilledtheelectriccar.comOr search for it on U Tube

Oscar Wieland: Electric cars are possible worst for the GW as it will produce more CO2 to charge it. As u change from mechanical to electrical and then to battery and back to mechanical . Every time it transitions u loose in efficiency and thus produce much more CO2.

Pearlie Medora: right that's a shorter answer: Hybrids could be compatiable with biofuels or petroleum fuels and are extra effectual, incredibly in case you force short distances. Pay very close interest to while fashions come out, considering the fact that there are important tax reward for paying for new style hybrids, yet those disappear while they have offered some variety of a given style. in case you may no longer get a tax smash, it's going to take a jointly as so you might recoup the extra cost of a hybrid. evaluate a diesel. I force a 2006 Jetta TDI, can use biodiesel as much as i prefer and get an common of 45MPG in primairly city driving, fifty 5 on longer journeys and characteristic quite ! a few circumstances gotten sixty 5 on my previous trip. Any which way, ! get a easy motor vehicle with a small engine....Show more

Jill Thomer: Electric cars will cut total CO2 emissions if the electricity they use 1: is not made from fossil fuels other than natural gas.2: does not make it necessary for the grid to buy electricity from a distant plant run on fossil fuels,3: does not prevent the local grid from exporting clean electricity to other areas that are significantly powered by fossil fuels.Now in North America, this includes no areas whatsoever.If one provides ones own power from wind or solar, one can power a car as far as the batteries will take it from your home base without using power that is made from fossil fuel or forces someone else to use more fossil fuel. Or, you could sell that power to the grid and make a direct contribution to reducing total CO2 production....Show more

Romeo Tinnea: So...I just recently bought an Ibanez...and I have a feeling that I should exchange it for a Fender Strat or Fender Telecaster. ! I love playing rock music. But, I'm not much of an expert when it comes to choofing guitars. All I know is that Fender is pretty iconic and sounds really clear, but the Ibanez sounds more rock and is easier to shred with.So...what kind of electric guitars do these nads use:Fall Out Boy Jonas Brothers (lol)Paramore Meg & Diabtw, please help me as much as you can...Show more

Minh Lefrancois: Do they help the environment? No. As other posters have already noted the battery disposal will be a very bad thing when the time comes. Is it better for CO2 emissions? Yes, you get more MPG plain and simple. So less fuel burned for a given distance traveled. I have had mine since Katrina. I went from 16 MPG in my 6 cylinder F-150 to 32 MPG (all MPG’s here are expressed in the overall average vs. city or highway) in my Ford Escape Hybrid. I still drive the same amount so I put out half the C02 (actually less than half because the Atkinson cycle engine is more efficient than th! e Otto cycle in the F-150 but lets keep it simple) Now, of course I cou! ld have bought many different cars that get 32 MPG without resorting to hybrid technology. However, I am a big guy and I do not like to sit low to the ground. I have a nice comfortable and roomy vehicle that I sit up high in and that will tow my boat and *still* get 32 MPG. A very important distinction, at least to me....Show more

Floyd Labuda: Toyota Hybrid batteries are Nicad, so no acid, will be 100% recycled by toyota. Don't take a lot of energy to make compared to overall car manufacture. Probably more nickle in your stainless steel cutlery set.they are a way of introducing people to the pleasure of quiet, smooth relaxing to drive electric vehicles without upsetting the big oil companies.Li-ion batteries http://www.altairnano.com/markets_amps.html that give a 250 mile range and 10 minute recharge time mean we don't need the highly polluting hard to recylce infernal combustion engine, ice, with lots of composite components rare metals and petrochemical contaminati! on, and very large quantities of nasty by-products.www.teslamotors.com...Show more

Cliff Jacoby: see the King review of low carbon transport for the "establishment" viewhttp://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/...Basically because electric motoirs are far more efficient motive force than infernal combustion,even if the electric comes from fossil fuesl there would stillbe a significant saving.plus Generators are constantly monitored and maintained running at optimum load & temperature using unrefined fuel and minimal transport. Delivered direct to your garage.plus electric car are just more enjoyable to drive, smooth, quiet, smell free, low maintenace ... can be recharged in 10 minutes for 200mile range & performance that beats Ferrari or Porche (and porche are taking London to court because their cars are too polluting to avoid £25 a day congestion charge - electric cars are free) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/ne... (but typical of British! media they compare it not with a picture of a porche but a reliant 3 w! heeler- why!)...Show more

Buster Exline: particular, you have gasoline and electric powered skate boards, scooters, bicycles, recumbent, and velomobiles (at what factor is it a vehicle.) One chum has an electric powered skateboard it relatively is operated with a handheld distant. enormously cool. an electric powered bike that has been on the marketplace for some years now's the Vectrix. It has mixed comments. i think of the unfavorable comments are ordinarily via people who do no longer understand what to anticipate from an electric powered motor vehicle. BionX is one business enterprise that makes an electric powered help hub motor for a bicycle. there is likewise a business enterprise that makes constantly variable gearing for a bicycle and final I heard they have been questioning of adapting this to an electric powered bike. i think of the final internet site under has a great number of excellent solutions for you.

Gilberto Cratin: They won't help, because m! an made global warming is a myth. Do not drive a golf cart, buy a truck.

Riley Migl: some are good. But also, those batteries contain acid- which when desposed of is not too helpful on our planet. There are some hybrids that aren' t that expensive and are mainly there to help with gas prices rather than helping the environment. Riding a bicycle is the only sure and safe way to travel that wont do harm to the earth.

Lilli Kochel: tough to find--pure electric cars use electricity off the grid...contributing to the production of power plant related pollution. Depending on where you live, the pollution associated with the electricity could be substantial. In the US, about 50% of electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants. But, if you live in in some parts of the US (like Chicago), the majority of the local grid electricity is nuclear...

Gregory Dilg: Hi Caroline, I make a device for cars, makes them all a little hybrid, cost $!0 a year to run s! aves 30% fuel Only Australia

Bo Perham: hybrids are a joke. all ! gas cars sometimes get comparable mileage, so why pay all the extra money. here is a link to the Tesla Motor Company. An all-electric car in the beginning stages of sales and development. Current cost is around $100,000 for a sport coupe. Sounds like alot, but comparable gas powered coupes cost nearly the same, plus cost alot in fuel and oil and repairs. Can you imagine if development money for hybrids instead went to this company? $20k sedans in the near future? oh, and they also are working with a solar company for panels that could keep the car charged. and now 0-60 in FOUR seconds!...Show more

Randal Deyarmond: What type of Hybrid were you looking at?? I work for a Toyota dealership and can get of the salespeople to help you out. We do sell a ton of Prius'. Besides the Camry it is our best selling cars. What area are you in??

Charis Deguzman: Hybrids are a way of getting electric powered cars out there. Right now, they're iffy. But once we come up with! zero point energy extraction, it'll be a snap to pull out the gas engine and most of the batteries, recycle them, and install a Searl or Hamel or Hutchinsen energy generating system.

Chris Rosenkranz: electrix btr for envirnmont. n faster excelration

Irving Jordahl: Natural Gas (except for cerified sewage natural gas) is bad a) 10 years more than petro oil before gone. b) NG vehicles burns in 1 day the equivalent of 1 year of household heating for 1 home.Best choice: Diesel. 1) Technology is already here (no more tax money needed) 2) Newer "Clean Diesel" has emision qualities that is already far better than most Unleaded vehicles w/ smog cntls 3) Instant change over to Bio-diesel as it emerges as the new fuel of the future. 4) With Bio-Diesel only CO2 and NO2 and H2O is the byproducts (plus heat)5) You can get a Diesel-electric hybrid.6) If you have a garage, you can make bio-diesel at home, with mostly store bought supplies.7) Int! irely green sources.The best alternative vehicle , next to bicycles or! horses.....Show more

Danica Timperman: Hi,Here is a go at answering your question and some of the issues brought up in the other responses:1) Battery recycling:Toyota does have a battery recycling program -- here is a little blurb on it: "Toyota has a comprehensive battery recycling program in place and has been recycling nickel-metal hydride batteries since the RAV4 Electric Vehicle was introduced in 1998. Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled. To ensure that batteries come back to Toyota, each battery has a phone number on it to call for recycling information and dealers are paid a $200 "bounty" for each battery."More here: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/should_we_...I think people are envisioning these hybrid battery packs as huge -- they are actually quite compact -- not a lot bigger than a couple shoe boxes as I recall. When you compare the small issue of recycling the battery! pack at the end of the cars life to the 88000 lbs less of CO2 emissions (see below), its hard for me to believe that the hybrid is not a large environmental plus.2) Energy SavingMy Prius gets a consistent and reliable 50 mpg -- this is carefully recorded over 37,000 miles. This is twice as good as the Subaru Outback I had before, which was about the same size. Over the 200,000 mile life of the car, this saves:4620 gallons of gas88,000 lbs of CO2$13,840 in gasoline cost at $3 per gallonThese are from: http://www.hybridcars.com/calculator/A great way to compare car fuel econ and emissions.The idea that other cars get as good a mileage simply does not hold up -- use the calculator and see for yourself, or check with ConsumerReports.org.3) Diesels and Hybrids:I think the new diesels that use the new low sulfur fuel will be a good choice, and will get good fuel economy. One thing to bear in mind with diesel is that one reason they do well on fuel economy is that the fuel has! about 15% more energy content than gasoline -- this also means that it ! has 15% more carbon and 15% more CO2 emissions -- so it will not do as well in reducing greenhouse gases as it does in reducing fuel costs.Of course, if you use bio-diesel this does not apply, but its doubtful (to me) if enough bio-diesel can be made to supply a significant fraction of the fleet.4) Brake Wear:One response said that hybrids wear out brakes faster. It is just the opposite. A lot of the braking energy goes into the regenerative braking system that recovers stopping energy to charge the battery. This is energy the brakes don't have to absorb, and they therefore last much longer.5) Tire Wear:I don't understand why hybrids would experience faster tire wear, and it is not my experience.Who knows what technology will bring in the next 10 or 20 years, but if you want to do something NOW, I think hybrids are the a good way to go.My experiences with my Prius:http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Vehicles/ourp...Useful links on hybrids, electrics, and biofueled cars:! http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Vehicles/vheh...Gary...Show more

Leif Andreason: yes, they are more efficient