Rising Gas Prices and the Alternative

We are in the age of instant gratification: video games instead of board games, fast food instead of home cooked meals, cell phones instead of phone booths. We live in a world with the collected wisdom and knowledge of the ages available at the click of a mouse. We travel the information superhighway as fast as our keyboarding skills and ISP allows. And even though our bodies travel at a slower pace, we're in just as big a hurry to get where we're going as we are to do everything else....and we pay the price to get there.

Today, the national average for unleaded gasoline is $3.97 per gallon, up eighty-three cents in the last year: the highest price for fuel in recorded history. And even though fuel prices are expected to drop in 2009, the decrease is expected to be less than 3%. [Source: Short Term Energy Outlook, ] The average American daily commute is approximately 33 miles. At the national average of 24.6 miles per gallon, Americans will pay around $1943, just to travel to and from work. Forget vacations and trips to the market. Just to get to work, we pay an average of nearly two thousand dollars a year...so we can purchase gas to get to work again.

Not to be overlooked, our drive to get where we're going is just as costly to the environment. In fact, the manufacturing and use of cars accounts for almost 25 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, a significant contributor towards global warming and possible climate change. In the United States, the average car emits 3.4 grams of carbon monoxide per mile. Add to that the rate at which we're using our nonrenewable resources and the truth is as plain as the smog over Los Angeles: time to go green.

It's no wonder the Google search engine returns more than 736,000 results for "fuel efficient vehicle" and 7,180,000 results for "alternative fuel." Thirteen gasoline hybrids are currently available on the market with twenty-three more expected by the end of 2009. And that's just the beginning. Tesla Motors offers the 100% electric 2009 Roadster. The base price of $109,000 is steep, but the car goes from 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds, travels approximately 220 miles per charge, and averages out to a cost of two cents per gallon. Even the little guys are getting in on the act: eBay sellers offer plans to build a hydrogen fuel cell booster and increase your gas mileage at least 50%...using everyday ordinary tap water.

What's next? Nobody knows, but nearly everyone recognizes the need for alternative fuel and energy sources. We realize it every time we step up to the gas pump and pay a pretty penny to get where we want to go.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_culture