Originally published October 15 2005
Plug-in hybrids may be the best interim solution until fuel cell technology develops
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Until hydrogen fuel cell technology, or some other form of alternative fuel technology, is fully developed, plug-in gasoline/electric hybrid vehicles may be the best alternative to battling soaring gasoline prices, as The Christian Science Monitor reports some of these vehicles can get between 80 and 100 miles per gallon.
By charging the car at night, Mr. Gremban, who lives in the San Francisco area, uses cheap off-peak power-plant capacity.
That extra juice lets him tootle around town using the car's electric motor for 50 to 60 miles without requiring the hybrid's gasoline motor to turn itself on.
One auto critic who tested a plug-in Prius recently reported that in normal driving, not trying to go easy on the throttle, he would still have to fill up the tank just once in 5-1/2 months.
With gasoline hovering near $3 a gallon, several companies are beginning to back the idea of plugging cars into the electrical grid.
The technology is also winning some surprising endorsements.
Energy hawks like R. James Woolsey, former director of central intelligence, touts the PHEV as a here-and-now technology to answer the nation's needs.
So does Set America Free, another group of energy security experts.
"It's like having a second small fuel tank in your car," says Felix Kramer, founder of Cal-cars, a nonprofit tech group in the Bay Area.
It was Cal-cars that Gremban hooked up with to modify his Toyota Prius.
The hybrid got more batteries, a new circuit board, a charger - and a power cord to plug into the garage wall socket at night.
Modifying the car meant ignoring Toyota statements that the Prius wasn't practical as a PHEV.
They warn that shifting from gasoline to electricity generated by coal would harm the environment.
But on a national basis, with electricity generated by a variety of sources, not just coal, PHEVs represent far lower carbon-dioxide emissions - and far greater fuel efficiency - than a gasoline car, counters Mr. Kramer of Cal-cars.
Last week, Hyundai said it was shifting its focus from hydrogen fuel-cell research to hybrids.
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