Green Transportation Basics

Our automobile culture is devastating for the environment, but private passenger vehicles are unlikely to disappear from our roads anytime soon. Greener cars and fuels will be a necessity for many years to come.Green Transportation Basics is a guide to greening your personal driving habits by dramatically improving the efficiency of an existing vehicle using simple measures such as trip planning and regular maintenance to improve fuel economy. This handy guide also explores the most promising new green cars and trucks, including electric vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and natural-gas cars. And it critically examines sustainable fuels including ethanol, biodiesel, straight vegetable oil, hydrogen, and biomethane, evaluating each according to a set of established criteria. Each green fuel source must:Be socially, economically, and environmentally sustainableHave a high net energy yieldBe clean, abundant, renewable, and affordableDon't let your dream of greening your transportation idleGreen Transportation Basics will guide you through the myths and misconceptions and provide clear options for the road to a more sustainable future.Dan Chiras is a respected educator and author who has published nearly thirty books on renewable energy and sustainable living, including Power from the Sun and Power from the Wind. He is the director of the Evergreen Institute, where he teaches workshops on green transportation, including green fuels and vehicles and electric car conversion.