Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
conversion is approximately $10,000, which is likely more than the savings in gasoline costs across the life of
the vehicle.
These savings in gas costs are also counterbalanced by maintenance costs, which are generally higher for hy-
brid engines than for gasoline-only engines. The hybrid battery is under warranty for 100,000 miles in some
states and 150,000 miles in others, with some owners reporting battery life over 200,000 miles. However, new
batteries cost approximately $5,000 to replace, including installation. Many people believe that these batteries
are hazardous. Toyota has a program to completely recycle its batteries.
Electric Cars
Electric cars in one form or another have been a part of car culture since the vehicle's inception. In fact, the
first cars were electric, developed before the internal combustion engine was constructed. The development
and subsequent improvements of the combustion engine ultimately pushed electric cars from the market. Then,
as now, electric cars faced the problems of limited mileage on a single battery charge and the lengthy time
needed to charge the battery.
Other attempts at reviving the electric car include the EV1, released on a lease-only basis by General Motors in
1996. The last of these vehicles were leased in 1998, with lease terms and extensions expiring in 2003. Subse-
quently all returned EV1s were crushed, though a few remain in museums. To learn more about the EV1 pro-
gram and its death, watch the movie
Who Killed the Electric Car?
(2006).
With the recent increase in gasoline prices, interest in electric cars is once again on the rise. Despite technolo-
gical advancements, these cars still face the same problems: battery technology that limits the total miles a car
can drive on a single charge and the long time it takes to recharge. Several companies are developing electric
car technology. For example, Chevrolet has recently released its all-electric car, the Volt. The Volt gets about
40 miles per charge and is emissions free (not taking into account the method used to generate the electricity
the car uses to charge its battery). Currently, electric cars work well for owners who plan to use them only for
short commutes.
Tesla is a car company devoted only to electric cars. Tesla was started in 2003 and released its first car in 2008,
the Roadster. The Roadster gets about 275 miles per charge with zero tailpipe emissions. A second model, the
Model S, will be released in 2012 and get about 300 miles per charge. Charging the Tesla roadster with a
110-volt plug takes about 32 hours. However, plugging the car into a 220-volt outlet allows the car to charge its
batteries in only 3.4 hours.
Detractors point out that electric car technology trades one form of CO
2
and other gas emissions for another, as
the electricity to charge these cars still must be generated. Traditional gasoline cars are
mobile-source
forms of
pollution, meaning that emissions can be moved from one location to another as the vehicle drives. However,
the emissions of electric cars are considered
point-source
emissions, localized at the electric power plant
where the car's electricity originates, which may burn coal, natural gas, or petroleum (or may depend on renew-
able technologies including wind, solar, or geothermal).
Other Vehicle Options
Traditional gasoline is no longer the only option for powering cars. The new energy-efficient diesel cars that
account for approximately 45 percent of new car sales in Europe are 30 percent more fuel efficient and emit 20
percent less CO
2
than conventional gasoline-powered cars. Besides making diesel from crude oil, diesel can be
made from coal (synfuels). Diesel cars also can be converted to run on biodiesel. Biodiesel can be made from
either plant material or from vegetable oil. Brazil runs 45 percent of its cars on ethanol. Other countries are ex-
