subject: Is It High Time For Alternative Fuel Cars? [print this page] With the prices of petroleum continuously soaring to greater heights, ripping our pockets off; many people start employing ways to significantly reduce their gas consumption in daily and monthly bases. And now that the price hike seems irrepressible, experts begin to rethink their strategy and start asking: "Is it this the right time to use alternative fuel cars?" The answer to this and the respond of the international community may just turn the tables for oil producers in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
So, again, people ask: Is it time for alternative fuel cars to steal the limelight from traditional car types?
The introduction of hybrid cars (one that uses both electricity and petroleum) in the industry gave a new hope to desperate oil consumers who wanted to take a break from the burdens of oil consumption's monetary demand. Although the prices of hybrid cars are very much expensive as compared to traditional cars, the possibility of being independent from the chains of petroleum use became real for many people.
The demand for alternative fuel cars today only focuses on the benefits that people can gain from being independent from petroleum consumption. However, when the test of reality comes; people often find themselves confronted with more considerations than what they have hoped for. The technology of alternative fuel cars may already be tested by research studies but their actual performance on day- to- day road activities remains to be seen. As well, the claimed environmental advantage of using these cars also needs to be checked. It may be that the emission of greenhouse gases can be greatly reduced, but how about the effects of the exhaustion of other means like biofuels and other alternatives? Do they present other disadvantages that people need to see?
At the end of the day, the need for the substitution of traditional petroleum-powered cars by alternative fuel ones is not only a question of eluding high oil prices. Yes, high gasoline prices at the pump are a big factor, and the financial consequences for many people are significant. But other factors come into consideration as well, including all impacts that these cars have on the environment, employement, regulation and safety. We need to be sure that solving one important problem does not create a host of other problems. So it's important to move carefully and judiciously into this new era of transportation and fuel alternatives.
