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Buy the Right Car, Save a Polar Bear

A recent series of news stories suggests thatglobal political and environmental concerns
polar ice caps are melting "faster thanheighten the demand for alternatives to
expected," and that this phenomenon maypetroleum-based fuels, scientists will
result in the extinction of one of humanity'scontinue to work on more efficient ways of
favorite animals, the polar bear. Apparentlyproducing ethanol.Diesel cars can run on
polar bears need to be able to migrate ontobiodiesel, a combination of regular diesel
the ice to fish for food, and this shift infuel and vegetable oil - based fuel; some
climate is already beginning to interruptcars are being run on D100, which is 100
their ability to feed themselves.Mostpercent vegetable oil. Two concerns with
rational scientists believe this shift inbiodiesel are, again, availability, and the
arctic climate is due to global warmingemissions of nitrogen oxide, another culprit
resulting from the greenhouse effect, whichin the greenhouse effect. While biodiesel is
is produced largely by automotive emissions.promising, and has the added benefit of
While some scientists are speculating that itreducing dependence on foreign oil, any real
may be too late to reverse the trend ofeffort to make biodiesel cars more popular
global warming, at least in the short run,will have to come with much stricter
others believe that we need to do somethingemissions standards which greatly reduce
drastic - now - to avoid environmentalnitrogen oxide content.An interesting irony
disaster.Internal combustion engines are theis that the EPA's mileage standards, while
big culprit here; they emit a variety ofhaving been criticized as inaccurate, are
gasses into the air as they burn fuel,actually a good way to gauge automobile
including carbon dioxide, one of the mainemissions. That is because the EPA actually
causes of the greenhouse effect. Twomeasures the emissions exiting the vehicle as
automobile  manufacturers, Toyota and Honda,a way to gauge automobile mileage. While a
high MPG rating may not necessarily be
have created gas-electric hybrid vehicles -accurate in terms of your gasoline usage,
the Prius by Toyota, at this point theit's actually a pretty good way to choose a
top-rated hybrid designed to have the lowestcar with lower emissions.Global warming
emissions, and several designs by Honda,endangers more than polar bears; as the polar
including the newly engineered Honda Civic -ice caps melt, the temperature of the oceans
smarter, sexier, more fuel-efficient, andrises along with the sea level. Warmer ocean
with lower emissions, than its earliertemperatures fuel hurricanes, making level
versions. Ford offers a hybrid SUV in its newthree, four, five and hurricanes more
Escape, and even Lexus has come out with afrequent. And many millions of people, in
luxury hybrid.Many cars on the market todayMicronesia, Southeast Asia, and around the
can burn a gasoline-ethanol blend, which canworld live in areas literally inches above
lower emissions. As a matter of fact, anysea level; their habitat, and possibly their
gasoline-powered vehicle can tolerate blendslives, are threatened by the rise in sea
of up to 10 percent ethanol, while many canlevel accompanying global warming. While
use E85, an ethanol - gasoline blenddriving a car with low gas emissions isn't
containing 85 percent ethanol. The Dodgegoing to completely solve the problem of
Caravan and the Chrysler Sebring are only twoglobal warming, it's a contribution that any
of many current model cars on the marketconsumer shopping for a new car can decide to
which can burn E85.One problem is thatmake.Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer
ethanol, particularly E85, is not readilyliving in southwestern New Hampshire. She has
available everywhere. Additionally, somewritten numerous articles for local and
critics have dismissed ethanol asregional newspapers and for a number of
impractical, claiming that ethanol requiresInternet websites, including Tips and Topics.
more energy to create than it produces. As



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