Since Hybrid/Flex Fuel cars actually make the environment worse...why is their so much hype behind them?

Question

Utility companies sell coal burned produced electricity during off peak hours...which is also when most people are charging their Hybrid cars.

Flex Fuel or Bio Diesel is causing acres upon acres to be cut down to make room for corn fields to be grown to fulfill the increased demand for corn. We are also unable to meet the needs of many third world nations because we are currently experiencing a food shortage of our own due to these Bio Fuel vehicles on the market gaining popularity.

Answer 1

Actually, bio diesel is not bad for the environment if you use waste vegatable oil to make your bio diesel. To say bio-diesel is bad for the environment is a mistake. Yes,  "flex-fuel" cars are bad for the environment but not directly it is due to the fact that they are E85 fuel cars. Ethanol is made from corn. The corn used to make Ethanol is grown by farmers obviously. Not so obviously,  farmers are scraping the other crops they had been growing in favor of corn because if you grow corn, you get government subsidies. To make matters worse, corn is a soil depleting crop so farmers are killing their soil to get more money. In addition, there is not enough land in the contigious (sp) United States, to plant enough corn to make enough E85 for all the cars in the country. Hybrid cars are S****y to begin with. Not in terms of how they are built or run but that they run on gasoline at all. It is obvious that the car companies can develop a car that runs on no gas, they just refuse to do it. Flex Fuel/Hybrid cars just continue our dependancy on oil, they don't fix the problem. Another one of the many, many stupid things I have heard is the plan to run things off natural gas. DONT THEY REALIZE THAT IT IS ALSO A FINITE RESOURCE????

Answer 2

The reason is that someone had a good idea that didn't work. But there is an alternative...check this out. It's a great idea but will probably be bought out by the big oil or car manufacturer companies in order that we can't use it. But what a concept.

Saltwater fuel.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6vSxR6UKFM

Answer 3

Because America is a culture based on consumerism. Even those who are conscious of their impact on the earth have been conditioned by the culture to look for a way to buy their way out of the problem. I hate to be so harsh and militant sounding, but the cold hard fact is that the most Eco friendly car is the one you don't drive, followed by the one you continue to drive in place of buying new because the majority of a vehicles impact occurs before it even hits the road.

However, it would be foolish to miss the point that if a new car must be purchased, getting one that has the best possible fuel mileage would be the best. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, my favorite is making the car smaller.

But yes, Corn Ethanol is a huge joke played upon us by big agricultural corporations, and the batteries in Hybrids are not a perfect solution.

Answer 4

It would help us become energy independent.

For hybrids it would only be better for the environment if the energy came from clean energy such as solar, wind...  A whole home can be powered by solar panels and you could make up for the cost of them in ten years by not paying for the electricity.  

I don't think ethanol from corn is a good idea because much of our economy is based on corn.  However algae is a very good alternative.

Algae Biofuel

-With our current biodiesel feedstocks, like soy and palm, there’s no way we could grow enough to supply all of our transportation needs.  In fact, it would actually require twice the land area of the US devoted to soybean production to meet current heating and transportation needs.

-Algae, on the other hand, could supply all U.S. diesel power using a mere 0.2% of the nation’s land.

-Enough algae can be grown to replace all transportation fuels in the U.S. on only 15,000 square miles or 4.5 million acres of land.

- Algae is the highest yielding feedstock for biodiesel, producing 24 times more oil per acre, on average, than the next leading feedstock--palm oil at 635 gallons/acre/year.

-One company can produce 180,000 gallons of biodiesel every year from just one acre of algae. That comes to about 4,000 barrels, at a cost of $25 per barrel or $.59 per gallon.

-To put that in perspective, it takes 3,750 acres of soy to make the same amount of biodiesel at a cost of about $2.50 per barrel for 4,000 barrels.

-It is possible to use human sewage and wastewater from agricultural endeavors to enhance the growth of algae.  In fact, when done right, algae can double and even triple overnight with the addition of these fertilizers.

-Plus, as algae grows it absorbs C02 from the air.

-In addition, fertilizer for other food crops can be produced by using the leftover nutrients that aren’t used to make the biofuel.

Answer 5

To tell you the truth...I really don't know! But maybe it is because it may not be good for the environment but, It is probably BETTER for the environment than the way they make other fuel.  Just a thought... hope it heps!

:)

Answer 6

actually these vehicles are not worse for the environment, but they are also not better either. all forms of fuel have their issues and we have to accept that. the problem is that people tend to views fads as the thing to do, remember pet rocks? the rubix cube? mood rings? the frisbee? the hula hoop? all these things were fads from various consumer era's and you were a lesser person for not having one. this green energy thing is just a fad we are going through, and in time it to shall pass. we as a society though will be more responsible with our transportation purchases, we wont buy big sport utilities or pick up trucks when we only need a focus or accord for instance. but we are going to have to have a number of different alternative fuels to gain energy independence, and there will be vehicles built to use at least two different types of energy, not to be "green", but to recognize the reality of the situation.

Answer 7

Hy-bred cars help about like hyping global warming . The GW hype is why gasoline is so expensive.

Answer 8

It is because people are crazy an irrational

Answer 9

Perhaps you should do a little more research, and research a source that does not outwardly agree with your position.  

Your info is a little off.  There aren't any plug in hybrid cars currently on the mass market.  Secondly, flex fuel vehicles don't have any impact on anything, it completely depends on the fuel the driver decides to put in, most likely, you are already using 10% ethanol gasoline without a flex fuel vehicle.  Third, biodiesel doesn't come from corn.  Fourth, are you going hungry?

There aren't any "biofuel vehicles" on the market, only vehicles that have the capability of using biofuels.  Any diesel vehicle can use biodiesel, and any gasoline vehicle can use 10% ethanol.  The only special ones are flex fuel (GM) which can use 85% ethanol if they so chose.