Plug-in Hybrids Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation

Zack Subin spoke yesterday at the Air Resources Board’s seminar series of his efforts to catalogue and analyze the various opportunities to reduce air pollution in California transportation. A Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley, Subin’s main work involved the collection and categorization of dozens of studies and their data sets. Subin presented his many conclusions about possible ways to reduce emissions from personal and commercial road travel.

Always keeping in mind the marketability of each technology, Subin thinks that Plug-in Hybrid Energy Vehicles offer the best available route to reduce our carbon emissions, eliminate our need for foreign oil, and save consumers money. What plug-ins offer now is the ability to drive an average sedan or SUV 15 to 40 miles on a single charge. After commuting to and from work the consumer would plug a hybrid into a normal electric socket and by the next morning have the vehicle fully charged and ready to drive. Even if you exhaust the battery there is still the gasoline available to power the engine and recharge the battery. This is what he thinks is applicable in the short-term only. After the year 2020 we will have even more technologies available to further reduce greenhouse gases and help alleviate global climate change.