Why Are Hybrid Cars Better for the Environment?
In 2009, hybrid car sales represented 2 percent to 3 percent of the overall car market. Sales, already steadily increasing, are expected to rise even more sharply with upward movement of gas prices. According to the website hybridcar.com, hybrid car sales totaled 23,654 units for the month of April 2010, an 8 percent increase over sales during April 2009. A poll conducted by hybridcar.com indicated that over 60 percent of new car buyers at least consider a hybrid.
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About
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To most people, the term hybrid equates to better gas mileage and a decrease in toxic emissions. But not all hybrid vehicles are equal. Hybrids use more than one source of power to move around. All commercially available hybrid cars are gasoline-electric hybrids. There are different types of hybrids (mild, assist or full) that work in different ways to achieve various goals in environmental benefits and effects. Differences in varieties of hybrids are defined by the differences in their drivetrains.
Electricity
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When you compare battery power to gasoline power, electricity is far more efficient. In 2007, the Electric Power Research Institute calculated gasoline would have to cost approximately 75 cents per gallon to be as efficient as a fully charged hybrid electric vehicle. Gasoline has not been that cheap since the 1970s.
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Oil
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In 2005 the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory estimated that three-quarters of the country's small vehicles could be charged by the existing electrical grid without building new power plants. It further estimated that if all those vehicles were replaced with hybrid electric vehicles it would eliminate the need for 6.5 billion barrels of oil per day, or 52 percent of current U.S. oil imports.
Emissions
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According to the National Resources Defense Council, more than one half of the national energy grid is powered by coal, and in areas where electric hybrids are charged through coal-provided electricity, there is the possibility of increased levels of soot and mercury emissions. However, once cleaner electrical sources such as wind and solar power are more widely available, emissions will decrease.
Future
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If hybrid cars are going to take a bigger share of the car market, prices must decrease to a point at which they are more similar to those of nonhybrid models. Until hybrids are developed further and drivetrain technology is not so costly, it is going to be difficult for manufacturers to produce hybrids cost-effectively and pass savings on to consumers.
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- Photo Credit wind farm image by Paul Marcus from Fotolia.com
