‘Greener cars could slash US pollution’

That could lead to a more than 13 percent cut in overall US pollution into the atmosphere, with consumer-driven cars and small trucks currently responsible for 17 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, said the study. However, sticker shock could turn off many consumers, with alternative fuel vehicles costing several thousand dollars more than today’s prices.

Still, the long-term benefits would outweigh the early costs, said the report by the National Academy of Sciences, which called for subsidies and tax incentives to ease the burden on consumers who want to drive green.

“These are things that will not happen in the market naturally,” committee chair Doug Chapin told reporters.
“There has to be real teeth in these policies.”

The study envisions cars and small trucks of the future that drive a stunning 42,5 kilometres per litre, way over the 40km per litre that they did on average in 2005.
More efficient vehicle technologies – like lighter, more aerodynamic designs – could be combined with alternative power sources such as bio-fuel, electricity or hydrogen, reducing petroleum use in 2050 by 80 percent as well, it said.

“There is no silver bullet that is adequate by itself,” said Chapin.
Fuels under consideration include corn-grain ethanol and biodiesel, which are already being produced in commercial quantities.
Natural gas was ruled out because its greenhouse gas emissions were too high.

The study also pointed to “much greater potential” in fuel from wood waste, wheat straw and switchgrass, known as biofuel from lignocellulosic biomass.
“This ‘drop-in’ fuel is designed to be a direct replacement for petrol and could lead to large reductions in both petroleum use and greenhouse gas emissions,” it said.
The study examined hybrid electric, plug-in electric and battery electric vehicles already on the market including the Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Volt, as well as hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles like the Mercedes F-Cell, scheduled for market release in 2014.

High up-front vehicle prices would be expected to endure for at least a decade, even though it would cost less to fuel up and drive greener cars, it said.
The study said the benefit to society in terms of energy cost savings, better vehicles, reduced petroleum use and lower greenhouse gas emissions would be “many times larger than the projected costs”.

The goals set out by the study, which took two years to produce, will be “difficult but not impossible to meet”, Chapin said, as long as they are guided by strong national policies. – AFP.