Your Guide To Green

Many of us enjoy our vehicles, and we often cherish them just as much as we do our loved ones. But the internal-combustion, or gasoline-powered, engine has many downsides. Consider the following steps to help minimize these harmful side-effects.

Drive less, buy HEVs, demand ZEVs

Vehicles cause a minimum of one-third of all air pollution, and automobile gasoline represents 30% of all energy used in the U.S. In 2006 alone, the U.S. used about 137 billion (137,000,000,000) gallons of gasoline. This gas doesn't just magically disappear; it is converted into air pollution. A car's tailpipe emits the following: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, ground-level ozone, benzene, formaldehyde, 1,3-butadiene, acetaldehyde, and more.

Benzene has been linked with leukemia and lymphoma and impairs bone marrow and red blood cell formation. Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin and deprives cells of necessary oxygen. It is associated with lung disease and nervous system damage. Formaldehyde can cause genetic mutations and is recognized by the EPA as a probable carcinogen. Ground-level ozone results in smog and impacts our lungs. 1,3-butadiene has been shown to cause reproductive and developmental defects and is an EPA-recognized carcinogen. Acetaldehyde causes birth defects and is a probable carcinogen. Nitrogen oxide is the culprit responsible for acid rain (along with sulfur dioxide).

It is estimated that the average vehicle pollutes two to four times its weight in emissions every year. For example, if you have a 5,000 pound car, it emits 10,000-20,000 pounds of pollution every year (depending on how much gas you consume). The following are a few practical ideas for reducing our gasoline (petroleum) consumption:

• Walk, bike, and take public transportation whenever possible
• Drive only when no other form of transportation is feasible
• Carpool and car-share ( www.carsharing.net )
• Work from home or close to home
• Warm the car up for only a very short period of time. Vehicles warm up fastest when they are moving.
• Don't idle your vehicle– it's simply just a waste of resources
• Travel the speed limit – speeds over 60 result in a 20¢ extra cost per mile traveled
• Buy the most fuel-efficient vehicles available (currently hybrid electric vehicles)

Several ways of improving the current fuel economy of your vehicle include getting tune-ups, having properly inflated tires, replacing spent air filters, removing all unnecessary weight from the vehicle, and using “energy-conserving� motor oil. These steps alone can increase gas mileage by 50% or more.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)--Toyota Prius and Camry Hybrid, Honda Civic and Accord Hybrids, and Ford Escape Hybrid, to name a few--are powered by both a conventional gasoline engine and an electric motor. Hybrids often get twice the miles per gallon (mpg) of regular vehicles. The Toyota Prius gets up to 60 mpg. The Honda Civic Hybrid gets around 50 mpg. The Ford Escape Hybrid is the first SUV hybrid and averages about 34 mpg. The rule here is the more fuel efficient the vehicle, the better. To find the most fuel-efficient vehicles, go to www.fueleconomy.gov .

Zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), or fuel-cell vehicles, have arrived! A fuel-cell vehicle is an electric vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel to create electricity. The only emissions are water vapor and heat. Fuel-cell vehicles are more than twice as efficient as today's gasoline-fueled cars while emitting zero pollution. The Web site www.fuelcell.org is a good resource for further information on ZEVs and HEVs. Several states have adopted zero-emission vehicle programs to increase ZEV usage and decrease pollution. The development of an infrastructure to support hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles currently is under way throughout the U.S. (and the world). California law has mandated that by the year 2016, 16 percent of all vehicles sold in the state must be ZEVs. Demand ZEVs, they're the wave of the future!