Intro to Environmental Biology 1110K
April 17, 2009
Mr. Herron Wyatt
Jasmine Gray
Hybrid vehicles are popular in today’s society. I remember summer 2008 when gas was almost five dollars a gallon. I was driving a Honda Civic and it cost me forty dollars to fill up my gas tank. When I first bought the car it only took me ten dollars to fill up the gas tank I was disappointed. I though very hard about purchasing me a hybrid vehicle. A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more power sources to move a vehicle. (Wikipedia, 2007)These vehicles contain one or more electric motors and an internal combustion engine. There are many types of power sources that can be used on a hybrid vehicle. Some powers sources include gasoline or diesel fuel, rechargeable energy storage system, hydrogen, compressed air, wind, solar, human powered, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, coal, radio wave, wood, or other combustibles. .(Shabna,2007) Hybrid vehicles are popular because they provide improved fuel economy, environmental benefits, quieter operation, better performance, and increased functionality. The hybrid vehicle achieves lower emissions and greater fuel economy than the conventional internal combustion engines. . (Shabna, 2007)The reason one can save on gas is because the hybrid vehicle relies on both gasoline and electric motors for power needs. The hybrid vehicles also save on gas by shutting down the gasoline or diesel engine while coasting, idle periods, or during traffic stops. Low rolling resistance tires are used on hybrid vehicles; these tires are more inflated and stiffer than regular tires so they improve fuel economy. There are many different type of hybrid vehicles. There are two wheeled and cycles type vehicles such as electric bicycles and mopeds that are hybrid vehicles. (Wikipedia, 2007)Mopeds and bicycles are
References: http://www.enwikipedia.org/wiki/hybrid_vehicle.com Haxel, G;J. Hendrick;J. Orris (2002)."Rare earth element critical resources for high technology”. USGS Fact Sheet: 087-02(Reston, VA, USA: United States Geological Survey. Shabna, John (2007/10/25) “GE’s Hybrid Locomotive: Around the World on Brakes”. Ecotality Life.