Sunday 7 August 2011

It might be cleaner, but is it also cheaper?

You might have noticed that several car manufacturers have been developing either "hybrid" cars, or electric cars of late. There is one question I really would like answered about this.
Okay, we all see the sense that whilst driving an electric car it doesn't pollute the atmosphere. However, in the long run does it pollute by the same amount, somewhere along the line? After all the electric needs to be generated to charge the car up. And I know it would be marvelous if all the countries needs for electric was generated via natural , sorry I mean, environmentally friendly generation. Windmills, hydro electric, solar power, and the like. But we are still a long way from this. Plus not everyone likes the windmills....but that's another post. Lastly, the energy providers keep putting up the price of electric, so would an electric car work out cheaper? Maybe, maybe not! It's something to think about.
Just as a crazy aside, the ideal "environmentally friendly" transport would have solar cells, and a small wind generator....and in this country, maybe even a small waterwheel as well! (Bet that's made you smile.)

3 comments:

Blue said...

My mother has one of the first generation hybrid cars that came out in the US a few years back by the car manufacturer Honda. I am not 100% certain on this, but I think the real savings can only truly be seen when traveling long distances. I remember when she took a trip a few years ago and managed to get 50 mpg. But with all of the stop and go traffic in the city, I doubt there's much of a difference. I also know there's a metre near the gas gauge that tells you when you're using up fuel and charging the battery and when you're cruising solely on battery power.

Blue said...

I forgot to add that when she first got it, it was very creepy to come to a stop because it feels as though everything shuts off. I guess it idles on battery power because the a/c will shut off as well.

Sea said...

I could of course have added the oldest gag in the world.....pity they only sell 10 metre extension cords!