Sustainability & Transportation

Hey everyone!

Today I will be discussing options for transportation that are greener options than your typical vehicle. Some options that people are most familiar with are: walking, cycling, public transportation, or car-pooling. But what some people fail to realize is that these are all great options, but sometimes just not realistic for everyone. especially those with big families. So what are some more realistic options? This is what I am going to look at in today's post.

Option 1: Hybrids

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-hybrid-electric-cars-work

What are hybrid vehicles? Hybrid electric vehicles, also known as HEVs, are vehicles that "are powered by an internal combustion engine or other propulsion source that can be run on conventional or alternative fuel and an electric motor that uses energy stored in a battery." But what are the benefits of driving an HEV vehicle? "HEVs combine the benefits of high fuel economy and low emissions with the power and range of conventional vehicles."  From: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_basics_hev.html 

Option 2: Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-plug-in-hybrid-electric-cars-work

"Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) use batteries to power an electric motor and use another fuel, such as gasoline or diesel, to power an internal combustion engine or other propulsion source. Using electricity from the grid to run the vehicle some or all of the time reduces operating costs and petroleum consumption, relative to conventional vehicles. PHEVs might also produce lower levels of emissions, depending on the electricity source." From: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_basics_phev.html 

Option 3: All-Electric Vehicles

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-all-electric-cars-work

"All-electric vehicles (EVs) use a battery to store the electrical energy that powers the motor. EVs are sometimes referred to as battery electric vehicles (BEVs). EV batteries are charged by plugging the vehicle into an electric power source. Although most U.S. electricity production contributes to air pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency categorizes all-electric vehicles as zero-emission vehicles because they produce no direct exhaust or emissions. Because EVs use no other fuel, widespread use of these vehicles could dramatically reduce petroleum consumption." From: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_basics_ev.html

So which one is truly better? In my opinion, anything that uses less fuel and reduces harmful emissions is better than your standard option. But, if you cannot afford to buy one of these three options, I urge you to use the options I listed at the beginning of this post to use as much as possible. I know that it's not always possible to car pool or walk places, or even take public transit, but the more we can reduce the number of cars on the road, the better it is for everyone and everything on this planet.

If you are interested in looking at what options that are out there currently, I recommend searching on this website: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/search/ as it is a great resource for searching for whichever type of vehicle you are looking into buying.