Why are Hybrid Cars a Good Idea?

  Just look at this Video from the Ad Council to get one perspective

hybrid cars are good for the environment. They can reduce smog by 90 percent and they use far less gasoline than conventional cars.

hybrid cars are economical. They can get up to 55 to 60 mpg in city driving, while a typical SUV might travel 15-20 miles per gallon, or use three times as much gas for the same distance!

hybrids are better than all-electric cars because hybrid car batteries recharge as you drive so there is no need to plug in. Also, most electric cars cannot go faster than 50-60 mph, while hybrids can. Most electric cars need to be recharged every 50-100miles.

hybrid cars are lighter, which their tires create half the drag of conventional cars because they are stiffer and inflated to a higher pressure.

hybrid cars often recover braking energy. Electric hybrid motors take the kinetic energy lost in braking and use it to charge the battery.

hybrid cars are often more aerodynamic, reducing wind resistance.

hybrids burn less gasoline per mile, so they release much less pollution and fewer greenhouse gases.

Our Planet & New Technology

The number of the cars on the planet (204 million in the US alone) is growing and steadily contributing to the health of the environment.  

Global warming is a process by which greenhouse gases are trapped and radiate heat back to earth.  They’ve become known as “greenhouse gases” because they have the same effect as the glass in a greenhouse.  If you’ve ever walked inside a greenhouse, you know how potent the effect is.

Some greenhouse gases are natural and normal – they help the earth to maintain temperatures compatible with life as we know it.  Carbon dioxide, for example, comprises part of our atmosphere.  We breathe it out every time we exhale and plants take it in as part of photosynthesis.  But when we overproduce carbon dioxide, among other gases & chemicals, we now know that we are destroying our environment.  Not only are we destroying it, we’re setting the stage for future cataclysmic events.   

We have already seen effects of global warming.  A recent Time magazine article notes that our polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate.  Okay, so?  The net effect of just this one change secondary to global warming can submerge coastlines around the world, including the United States.  Even some American cities, like the islands that make up New York City , are vulnerable on many levels.  Scientists predict that the increases in earth’s temperature will also lead to increases in worldwide mosquito born diseases, increased numbers and severity of floods and droughts, increased heat stress, and poorer air quality just to name a few of the consequences.

America produces more greenhouse gases than any other country in the world.  In the United States , automobile use is second only to coal-burning power plants in creating destructive greenhouse gases that are causing global warming.  The United States comprises 4.6% of the world’s population and yet we produce approximately 25% of the environmentally destructive carbons.  One-third of those carbons come from our automobiles & trucks.

Our dependence on foreign oil affects both our economy and our security.  We currently spend approximately $13 million per hour purchasing foreign oil.  In addition to less destruction of the world’s environment, our dependence on foreign oil would be reduced by 1.5 million barrels of oil per day if we simply improved automobile fuel efficiency by just 5 mpg, far less than the savings found in the cars at Hybrid Limousine.

Businesses are increasingly becoming aware of their responsibility to protect our world from global warming, and business travel is a key area where businesses have recognized changes can be made both immediately and effectively.  The United States government’s Environmental Protection Agency has even set up “Green Meeting” tools to help businesses change corporate travel practices so that the contribution to global warming is minimal.