Green vehicle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A green vehicle is a vehicle that is considered to be "environmentally friendly". This is accomplished by having a low dust to dust energy cost.
Part of the total energy cost can be cut by reducing the vehicle's consumption of petroleum, or, preferably, by using renewable energy sources for fuel/energy throughout its working life.
Examples of vehicles with reduced petroleum consumption include electric cars, hybrid cars and hydrogen cars, although a two-year study by CNW Marketing Research[1] suggests that the extra energy cost of manufacture, shipping, disposal, and the short lives of some of these types of vehicle outweighs any energy savings made by their using less petroleum during their useful lifespan. Solar car races are held on a regular basis in order to promote green vehicles and other "green technology".
A conventional vehicle can become a greener vehicle of a sort by mixing in renewable fuels. Typical gasoline cars can handle up to 15% ethanol. There are some places that have built cars that run strictly on ethanol, but another option is a flexible-fuel vehicle, which allows a varying mixture (often up to 85%, sometimes up to 100%[2]. Diesel-powered vehicles can often transition completely to biodiesel, though the fuel is a very strong solvent, which can occasionally damage rubber seals in vehicles built before 1994. More commonly, however, biodiesel causes problems simply because it removes all of the built-up residue in an engine, clogging filters.
The EU is promoting the marketing of greener cars via a combination of binding and non-binding measures
[edit] Notes
- ^ CNW Marketing Research, Inc (2006). "Dust to Dust - The Energy Cost of New Vehicles From Concept to Disposal".
- ^ Dual Fuel Cars Revive Brazil's Alcohol Industry.
