Hybrid Vehicles and the “Greenhouse Effect”
One of the primary reasons men and women are purchasing hybrid vehicles is because they are environmental conscious. Of course, there is a significant grouping of people that are turning to hybrid vehicles at this point in time because they are fuel efficient. With the high costs of gasoline, hybrid vehicles are perfect solutions for people trying to maintain a strict budget. However, even people who find themselves initially attracted to hybrid vehicles for economic reasons, the environmental considerations also appear to play a role in their purchasing decisions.
In 1990, the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center developed a comprehensive definition of “greenhouse effect that has been widely accepted worldwide. That definition is:
“A popular term used to describe the roles of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other trace gases in keeping the Earth's surface warmer than it would be otherwise. These gases are relatively transparent to incoming shortwave radiation, but are relatively opaque to outgoing long-wave radiation. The latter radiation, which would otherwise escape to space, is trapped by these gases within the lower levels of the atmosphere. The subsequent re-radiation of some of the energy back to the surface maintains surface temperatures higher than they would be if the gases were absent. There is concern that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and manmade chlorofluorocarbons, may enhance the greenhouse effect and cause global warming.”
Researchers have long understood that the primary contributor to the greenhouse effect is the internal combustion engine found in most motor vehicles the world over. While there is variation between makes and models of conventional motor vehicles, a typical automobile emits upwards to 15 tons of emissions annually that contribute to the overall greenhouse effect.
On the other hand, hybrid vehicles emit far, far less in the way of harmful emissions into the atmosphere. The least efficient of the hybrid vehicles emit approximately 6 tons of harmful emissions annually while the most efficient of the hybrid vehicles emit just over 3 tons of harmful emissions each year.
Based on these statistics alone it is patently clear that utilizing hybrid vehicles on a more widespread basis will substantially decrease the release of harmful emissions into the atmosphere, thereby slowing what many experts maintain are the detrimental consequences of the greenhouse effect.
Get the facts before you invest in a hybrid vehicle!