Given the rising fuel cost recently, it is unsustainable to drive a normal petrol consuming car in the long run. Many has turn to Hybrid cars to curb this problem. Not only that, it is also more environmentally friendly as it emits less carbon.
I have rented and driven a Toyota Prius recently, and it is really really energy efficient. Say there are 10 units altogether for the measure of fuel. It only went down 1 unit for a 300km drive (highway throughout). It was amazing! I was told that it was energy efficient, but this totally exceeded my expectations. Therefore, it prompted me to do a little research.
From an environmentalist perspective, Hybrid cars is considered unsustainable. It still does pollute the biosphere. Therefore, it is still socially unjust to our future generations. But looking at the bright side, we are improving progressively, sustainability is a relatively new concept and it’s hard to take a big leap. What more when its dealing with the transportation system- one of the hardest, most difficult thing to change.
Well I can’t actually agree with you in saying Hybrid cars aren’t the solution to our environmental problem. While it still does pollute the environment, it’s a better option until people are able to find another way to power cars while still keeping car prices low. So when we’re comparing a hybrid car to a normal car, hybrid car should be the way to go. In this case, we’re comparing between the bad and the worse, and a shift from worse to bad is already a positive move, and should be encouraged. Though it doesn’t solve all our environmental problems, it is easing the environmental burden…
My 2 cents’ worth…
By: Chiox on June 8, 2008
at 11:05 am
In my opinion, I do not think that Hybrid car is the answer to our environmental problem. Although I agree with Chiox that it is a step forward, it’s not a solution. it’s just like plugging a hole with your finger to stop water from flowing that fast. Reason I said this is not a solution is because although Hybrid cars are half electric and half petrol is ok, but the real question is: where does our main electric source come from? they come from power plants that uses coal and gas anyway.
Therefore, if everyone switches to hybrid cars, our power plants would need to generate more power to cope with the demand and the only way to do that is to burn more coal and gas so it’s not really helping at all (if not worse).
Only til the day when we use water/solar/wind as our main power source, would I truly be convinced that that Hybrid car is the way to of the future.
By: Huate on June 9, 2008
at 5:00 am
Huate, not all hybrid cars needs to be charged by plugging into a wall socket.
According to Wikipedia,
Hydraulic and pneumatic hybrid vehicles use an engine to charge a pressure accumulator to drive the wheels via hydraulic or pneumatic (i.e. compressed air) drive units. The energy recovery rate is higher and therefore the system is more efficient than battery charged hybrids, demonstrating a 60% to 70% increase in energy economy in EPA testing.
As you can see, this type of hybrid car is superior to those that need to be charged, as the kinetic energy is converted back into electricity and stored in a battery when the car brakes.
By: Chiox on June 9, 2008
at 6:05 pm