Alternatives to Fuel
More and more research and development is being done into finding alternative power for running a car. Some manufacturers already have electric cars on sale and others are researching the possibilities of cars running on hydrogen. It’s not just the auto industry though – the air industry is even looking at running planes on cooking oil. Last month a Boeing 757 used a 50/50 mix of used cooking oil and traditional aviation fuel to make a flight from Birmingham to Lanzarote. The flight was a one-off, but proved that the combination could be used.
It may seem that the use of cooking oil would be cheaper than fuel, but it actually costs more than four times the price of the equivalent jet fuel. If the infrastructure for using cooking oil was put in place, however, the costs would come down tremendously and, more importantly, CO2 commissions would fall dramatically. Unfortunately some environmentalists were less than enthusiastic about the experiment, claiming that biofuels cause the environment just as much, if not more, damage as conventional fuel.
Other, less radical, solutions than biofuels are being put into place in the auto world. London has new emissions regulations for vans and trucks coming into effect from January, meaning that used Nissan commercial vehicles in Kent will have to have upgraded engines if they are over 10 years old to comply, otherwise they face up to a £200 per day fine for driving in the capital.
With technology advancing rapidly, it is hoped that manufacturers will find a long term solution to the emissions problem, meaning the impact of travel on the environment can be reduced permanently.
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