Time to dump the fossil fuel engine?

Question

The pertol engine is technology from 100 years ago. they say in a moden car about 20% of the engergy from the fuel is converted into power and the rest is wasted as heat and noise etc.

It all comes at a huge enviromental and health cost, that everyboady should be aware of by now.

should fossil fuel cars be fased out?

Should they be replaced with alternitives? (eg electric)

Should cars be crushed and replaced with good cheep and reliable public transport for all? (except emergancy services)

or keep the cars as they are, even if its at the real risk of changing our world for the worse? (eg winter 3 seasons a year)

I know this question will upset the 'jeremy clarkson' wonnabe type. whom will piont al sorts of crazy justfication to keep them. Some pople have an un-healthy love cars.

This question is for the rest of you out there.

Answer 1

Fossil fuel cars should be phased out AFTER better alternatives are available. And then no laws will be needed. People will voluntarily switch to the new transport just like they switched from horses to cars when cars became available. Withholding fossil fuel power from a civilization that has no good alternatives is like withholding milk from a baby too young to eat solid food.

As old as the internal combustion engine is, it is still the best we have for mobile use. Electric motors are fine, but the batteries to power them are not. Public transport is fine for a dense city, but useless for a sparsely populated farming area, or even an average density suburb.

Answer 2

Crush My 61 Pontiac or my 71 Chevy 4x4?   (don't...you will "feel" lead)

Batteries contain lead, mercury, etc. in manufacture and disposal..  



I don't want my enviroment littered with these disposable lead ridden battery operated junk cars that last 4 years or so.

Think a minute everyone!!!   God help us...Please think!

Answer 3

yes definitely they should be looking at alternatives. You can have a car converted to LPG fuel which is meant to be cleaner and cheaper.

Answer 4

Oh 'eck, this is going to sound awful, but please use the spellchecker if you really want to pose a cogent argument, sorry luv, but it doesn't come across very well.  I can't answer your question, as such, because I am a 'Jeremy Clarkson' type: athough I have a 14 year old purple Corsa, I still dream of owning a Spider.  Or a Lambo. Sorry, incurable, I'm afraid.  And there are other arguments about climate change, you know......keep an open mind.

Answer 5

Take a look at this link

http://www.supercars.net/PitLane?viewThr...

Even Jeremy Clarkson would be impressed!

BUT

How are they going to charge the batteries?

Fossil fuel power stations?

Nuclear power stations?

A wind turbine on the top?

Nothing is really green.

lol

Answer 6

Electric vehicle technology is out there to meet all of our personal transport requirements.

They do NOT just shift the pollution - large generators, even using fossil fuel, are far more efficient than infernal combustion in cars which rarely operate at optimum load or temperature; plus unrefined fuel, constant monitoring and maintenance etc.

plus delivered direct to home or work by a very efficient & secure grid system.

and the electric motors are far better source of traction than infernal combustion too; max torque from 0  rpm means huge acceletation from a simple transmission, eg the Tesla http://www.teslamotors.com 0-60 4 secs only 7 moving parts in transmission, so reliable.

Modern batteries are totally recyclable, (unlike fossil fuel0 and can have a lifetime = to car. http://www.altairnano.com/markets_energy...

Answer 7

Yes, we're gradually switching from internal combustion engines to hybrids, and soon plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.  We should also improve public transportation in the US, but I doubt that will happen.

Answer 8

PEAK OIL.  For goodness sake, oil is now $80 dollars a barrel and rising.  The price of oil is flucuating, but one thing is certain - THE PRICE OF OIL WILL NEVER GO DOWN, only up and up as it gets rarer and rarer.  

We have already used half the world's light, sweet crude, that peaked in 2005.  The University of Reading Peak Oil Study Group has taken all the available data and concluded that we will reach peak oil production from all the sources in the world, by 2011 - 2012.  

After that, petrol will be so expensive, and the cost of making any kind of alternative so costly, that no ordinary person could afford to run a car or it's equivilent.  

Get used to walking, riding a pushbike, or a horse.

Answer 9

Get a grip, think about what your saying.  How are you going to charge the batteries?  More demand on power station, creating more CO2.  This whole global warming debate is a joke.  Battle climate change....are people really that stupid, why not battle a volcano or a hurricane, more chance of success.  How about adapt to climate change, that's a winning formula.

Answer 10

Well, I am not a 'jeremy clarkson' wonnabe type. But I am a car driver like the vast majority of families in this country. I think your question is just stupid.

1) Replace all cars with electric cars. So, how do we make all of this extra electricity then? We cant generate even a tenth of what we currently need using renewable 'green' sources, and now you want to use more!!

2) Ban all cars and use public transport? Hahahahahahaha very good joke. Have you ever used public transport? Now lets increase the number of people on it by three times - LOL.

Sorry mate but you are way off base. How about ban fossil fuels for energy production and go 100% Nuclear? That has a zero carbon foot print and will save us from "changing our world for the worse" as you put.

However, I bet you dont like that option. Because you are not a true green. You just want to make stupid statements and be 'seen to be green'.

I am never going to take this issue seriously because the people selling it really don’t want to know the truth about how to save the planet.

Answer 11

Times, they are a changing

by the way there are 4 seasons in a year

Winter

Spring

Summer

Autumn