Long-Term Benefits of Green Driving

In past articles, we’ve reported on the many advantages of hybrids as well as the disadvantages of buying a hybrid SUV or car. But, what are the long-term effects of the growing hybrid car movement and what does it mean for all of us? Basically, there are three major benefits to having more and more hybrid vehicles on the road: less pollution, slowed global warming, and less reliance on non-sustainable energy.

Less pollution
This page from the Union of Concerned Scientists, details the nasty ingredients of air pollution from standard vehicles and SUVs. Transportation is the greatest single source of air pollution in the U.S. In fact, pollution from personal transportation in America is responsible for more environmental damage than the pollution the entire country of Germany put out in one year, according to Sierra Club. Hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and sulfer dioxide are all part of auto related pollution. And what is all this pollution doing? Read this article for some information on some of the health effects of air pollution caused by standard vehicles; ailments such as asthma and bronchitis are found more commonly in places with higher levels of air pollution.

By adding more hybrid cars to the road, SUVs and other vehicles will use less gasoline and in turn, put less harmful chemicals back into the air we breathe. Hybrids are an improvement, and the hope is that we can evenually move from hybrid vehicles to those that are even less polluting.

Slowed global warming
This calculator on Hybrid-Cars.com shows how your current, non-hybrid car or sport utility vehicle stacks up to a hybrid car in terms of the CO2 it puts back into the environment. Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is made when gasoline is burned. When that goes into the atmosphere, it stays trapped and is the leading cause of greenhouse gas and global warming. Global warming’s effects are not yet fully understood, but it is believed to cause disruptions to our climate and therefore, ecosystems. By driving a hybrid SUV, you can significantly reduce the total CO2 you are responsible for releasing as you drive. The more hybrid automobiles on the road, the less CO2 we release and the less greenhouse gases we put into the atmosphere. (Here is a hybrid vehicle gas savings calculator as well.)

Less reliance on non-sustainable energy
I saw a political ad for John McCain the other day saying that gas prices have risen because we don’t drill for oil here in America. The answer is not hurting our environment and continuing to depend on a non-sustainable or renewable resource – the answer is to invest in hybrid and other technology that uses less oil and more sustainable, planet-friendly fuels. By purchasing hybrid SUVs and cars en masse, consumers can send the message to politicians and businesses that this should be our priority.