Alternative Fuels: Smart For Consumers, Good For Environment
The easiest and quickest way to start down the path of eco-friendliness and balanced green living is to explore your options for alternative fuel for your automobile. This is a “win-win” because, as you know, being eco-conscious often requires you either sacrifice quality or pay more: …not so with alternative fuel. They are the wave of the future as scientists look for cleaner burning fuels that won’t damage the environment while providing great advantages to everyday consumers like you and me. Here are the top runners in the marathon of alternative fuels:
The most publicized and well known alternative fuel is Ethanol. Ethanol is often called grain alcohol as it is made from corn or soybeans. Right now on the market is E85 which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Even though it still has petroleum-based gasoline in it, ethanol burns much cleaner than regular gas and saves on gas mileage for those who use it. Ethanol can also be made from organic materials including agricultural crops and waste, plant material left from logging, and trash; including paper!
Another type of alternative fuel is methanol, a relative of ethanol, as they are both alcohol based products. Methanol is sometimes called wood alcohol and can be made from various biomass resources like wood, as well as from coal. However, today nearly all methanol is made from natural gas, or methane, because it is cheaper.
Propane, or compressed natural gas has long been used to provide energy to homes, but it is rising in popularity as a type of alternative fuel for vehicles. Like oil, this common fuel comes from underground. However, natural gas, as the name implies, is a gas much like air, rather than a liquid like petroleum. It has been found to be one of the most environmentally friendly fuels, and its popularity is growing.
You can find another type of alternative fuel in the form of good old fashioned electricity. In fact, electric vehicles have been around for a long time, and they are coming back in popularity due to environmental concerns. Electric vehicles don’t burn gasoline in an engine. They use electricity stored in the car in batteries. Sometimes, 12 or 24 batteries, or more, are needed to power the car.
One of the most interesting and promising type of alternative transportation fuels is hydrogen. While mostly only experimental vehicles are operating on this fuel now, the potential for this unique energy source is excellent. Hydrogen is the lightest of all elements and is easy to produce which is why it is gaining much attention.
These are only a few types of alternative fuels and more are being developed all the time. With a growing concern over global warming, the use of alternative fuels will grow in popularity over time and you will likely begin to see many other types of alternative fuels make their appearance.
When it comes to balanced green living, seeking an alternative fuel is one of the best ways to appeal to the public and both sides of the environmental aisle. I am a big fan of alternative fuels, especially E85 ethanol because it is convenient, cheaper and readily available. It’s the perfect product for the regular folks out there who want to be green without stepping out of their normal comfort zone.
