KRisten Zelenka World Changing Response #6

Kristen Zelenka
World Changing
Response #6

For my sixth response, I chose the article “Cars and Fuels” on page 74 because of the upcoming oil crisis, its prevalence in the news, and it being a main topic in lecture. I own my own car and I have it with me on campus this year so I am very conscious of gas prices. A car is part of the American identity where everybody wants to own an SUV and be able to drive upon the open road. Unfortunately, most of these inefficient gas guzzlers are only used to get to the grocery store or drive to work which negatively effects our environment and contributes to global warming. We need to start conserving fuel, support clean energy vehicles, and back legislation that makes good regulations about the future of our energy use (75).

I agree with the article when it urges people to put pressure on the auto industry to design, manufacture, and produce the fuel economical prototypes (79). The long-term solution probably lies in electric or hydrogen fuel-cell (74). What I found most interesting about this article was the incredibly fuel efficient car called the Aptera. It gets an estimated 330 miles per gallon at 65 miles per hour (78). It is extremely low weight and streamlined and uses high-output supercapacitors (78). I had never heard of this car before which surprises me. If we have developed something this efficient why haven’t we put ore research into in and tested it more?

I have also never heard of Honda’s FCX design , which is a car that runs on hydrogen and I never conceived of the FCX/Home Energy Station combo that potentially could “slash carbon emissions by 40 percent” and “cut combined electricity, gas, and fuel costs in half” (80).

I believe that more people should be educated about the new developments and technology and how to reduce their fuel consumption. A lot can be done. Before I read this article I did not know about all the different alternative fuels available or how to save gas mileage when I drive.