|
Low emission cars – International perspective |
While drivers consider their options, automakers are starting to produce vehicles that are, or could be, less damaging to the planet than their predecessors.
Our best hopes, however, lie with state-of-the-art and future cars frugally propelled by fossil fuels or powered by electricity, hydrogen and hybrid combinations.
Biofuels may or may not loom large in the picture
First-generation biofuels can be very damaging to the environment and, while some argue the case for second and third-generation biofuels, the jury is out on their overall environmental impact.
Sadly, automakers' claims about how eco-friendly their creations are can be misleading. Tiny electric cars and swanky bioethanol sportsters alike are constantly, wrongly, described as "emissions free".
How do you know whether a "zero emissions" electric car produces more or less CO2 at the power station than a hatchback? How do you rate hydrogen against bioethanol?
Until the manufacturers produce breakdowns of the ultimate greenhouse-gas emissions from all alternative fuels, knowing what is the best and most environmentally friendly vehicle won't be straightforward.
here is look at what's available, and at some of the exciting future models that could give the planet, and us, breathing space.
|
