Climate 411

This is Part 2 of a three-part series on Vehicle Fuels and Technology.

1. Plug-in Cars: The Lowdown
2. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles
3. Fossil Fuels and Biofuels

The author of today’s post, Sheryl Canter, is an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles got a big boost when President Bush made them part of his 2003 State of the Union address:

Tonight I’m proposing $1.2 billion in research funding so that America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles… With a new national commitment, our scientists and engineers will overcome obstacles to taking these cars from laboratory to showroom, so that the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free.

That generated a lot of interest in hydrogen cars! So what are they, and can they become mainstream in the next 20 years?

Honda FCX fuel-cell car.

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This is Part 1 of a three-part series on Vehicle Fuels and Technology.

1. Plug-in Cars: The Lowdown
2. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles
3. Fossil Fuels and Biofuels

The author of today’s post, Sheryl Canter, is an Online Writer and Editor Manager at Environmental Defense.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, or PHEVs, have been in the news a lot lately. It’s an appealing idea – virtually no emissions, just plug in your car at night and go. Plus the batteries that drive them could store electricity for homes and offices. When cars are parked and plugged in, the electric utility could draw on stored battery power during times of peak demand (with compensation to the car owner).

But will plug-in cars really be ready for widespread use by 2010?

Toyota Prius, plug-in version.

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The author of today’s article, Sheryl Canter, is an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

In poking around the blogosphere recently, I found several references to a Popular Mechanics article about something called an "Air Car". Air Car?? What I read left me with some questions, so I found the inventor’s Web site and did some further reading.

It sounds like science fiction, but it’s true. A car that runs on air – compressed air – will be sold in India starting in August 2008. It’s designed mainly for city driving, and produces zero carbon emissions.*

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Yesterday, The New York Times published an editorial about coal-to-liquid technology. Their warning against so-called energy solutions that actually worsen climate change is right on target.

For more, check out a post I wrote last month, about why coal-to-liquid technology is a bad idea.

We know our growing dependence on foreign oil threatens our national security. It is also now widely recognized that climate change is a serious national security risk.

Fortunately, we can often kill these two birds with one stone. Many solutions for climate change would also diminish our dependence on foreign oil, and vice versa. For example, a national cap on greenhouse gas emissions would spur more fuel-efficient vehicles, low-carbon fuels and other modes of transportation. All of these would reduce demand for foreign oil. (And, to sweeten the deal, lowering demand would also help reduce the price of traditional gasoline.)

Unfortunately, some ideas being considered to address our dependence on foreign oil would make global warming worse.

One of the most vexing examples is “coal-to-liquids,” a process that converts coal to liquid fuels like gasoline and diesel for cars and trucks. At first blush it might seem like a great idea – we have huge coal reserves, so why not use them to replace foreign oil?

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