The relationship of psychology and climate change

The threat posed by climate change is all too real, but some of the solutions are all in the mind. That's the message from work in the field known as conservation psychology, which is beginning to show how people can be encouraged to change their lifestyles to cut greenhouse gas emissions (see "How psychology can curb climate change").

As well as showing what does work, this research also tells us what does not. And in that regard, groups trying to promote action to fight global warming could pay closer attention to what the psychologists are saying. Environmental groups have already learned some obvious lessons: no one likes to be hectored, and preachiness is not a winning tactic. Positive campaigns like "We can solve the climate crisis", run by Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection, are a better idea. Meanwhile, other research suggests that human nature need not be as rapacious and short-sighted as it sometimes appears: we are surprisingly ready to act in the interests of others and the natural world (see "Triumph of the commons").

But other tricks are still being missed. The website of the "We can solve the climate crisis" campaign features a video by Will.i.am of the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas. As a backdrop to his song Take Our Planet Back, it shows images of environmental degradation coupled with statements like "Every American generates 2000 pounds of trash each year".

Approaches like this can be counterproductive, reinforcing the idea that heavy consumption is the societal norm and promoting a sense of helplessness in the face of an apparently insurmountable problem. Like it or not, most of us go with the herd. Show people this video and they will find little motivation not to carry on generating trash and burning oil like there's no tomorrow. But tell them about the steps their peers are taking to make things better, and they may just follow suit.

Over at the Earth Day Network site, it gets worse. There you can find out how many planets it would take to support your lifestyle if everyone on Earth lived the same way. It's hard to find any positive messages: a vegan who doesn't own a car, never flies, takes public transport to work and shares a tiny apartment in a US city would still be told that their lifestyle requires 3.3 Earths. It is hard to see what this is going to achieve, other than disillusioning people who are already doing their bit and telling everyone else that it isn't worth the bother.Psychology, often denigrated as a "soft science", has a vital role to play as humankind grapples with a truly vexing problem. Better to employ its findings now than to turn to psychologists only when we need help in dealing with the distress of occupying a world that has passed some dangerous climate tipping points.

The full report is available from http://www.apa.org/releases/climate-change.pdf

The clear inference is that positive messages tend to work whilst negative ones tend to fail yet most environmental climate change campaigning relies on reinforcing entirely negative messages about forthcoming catastrophe. Therefore, we might want to consider changing our tactic.

Global Warming Has Caused Weather Shifts in Indonesia

The rainfall intensity in Banggai, Central Sulawesi, has changed from its 20 year cycle. This situation has disturbed the activities of farmers, fishermen, and other people whose work depends on the weather.

The shift has started since 2005 and the biggest shift happened in 2008. The local head of meteorological station, Jasirin, informed that for 20 years before 2005, the peak of rainfall always happens between March and May. After 2005, however, the peak happens only in May for 24 days with intensity reaching 188mm.

An extreme condition happened in 2008 where the peak happened in July for 27 days with 466mm rainfall that created floods in many locations. Jasirin said that the shift may be attributed to global warming. Furthermore, he stated that deforestation and air pollution are other factors that create high rainfall intensity.

This news was taken from Kompas.com.

The Achievement of Earth Hour 2009

From Sydney Harbour to the Empire State Building, cities and world landmarks plunged into darkness as a symbolic energy-saving exercise unfolded across the globe. The pyramids at Giza in Egypt, the Acropolis in Athens and the Houses of Parliament in London cut their electricity as part of "Earth Hour," a worldwide call for action to avert potentially devastating climate change. Some 371 landmarks were due to power down worldwide, including the Eiffel Tower, Niagara Falls, the Las Vegas casino strip and Beijing's "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium.

The global grassroots movement began in Sydney two years ago, when 2.2 million people switched off their lights. Earth Hour has since grown to include 3,929 cities, villages and localities across the globe.

The Earth Hour 2009 event began dramatically as Sydney's iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge plunged into darkness on Saturday night, killing their lights for an hour, followed later by the glittering Hong Kong waterfront.

Lights in the "city that never sleeps" began going dark at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT) at some of New York City's most renowned buildings and landmarks, including Broadway theaters, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and the signs of several big firms, including Coca-Cola's in Times Square.

In Washington, campuses of major universities and several embassies flipped the switch. People gathered at Freedom Plaza, which has an unobstructed view of the US Congress, to watch the lights dim on nearby buildings and hotels.

In London, the lights went off at the Houses of Parliament and the famous electronic billboard at Piccadilly Circus.

In Paris, hundreds of monuments and buildings, from the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral to the Arc de Triomphe, all went dark. For safety reasons, the lights on the Eiffel Tower were switched off for only five minutes.

Elsewhere across Europe, St Peter's Basilica in Rome and the Greek parliament in Athens were all plunged into darkness, while entertainers danced in front of the Romanian parliament in Bucharest.

In Egypt, the Giza pyramids, the Cairo Tower and the Alexandria Library on the Mediterranean all went dark.

In the United Arab Emirates, which has the highest per capita energy consumption in the world, Dubai's iconic sail-shaped seven-star Burj al-Arab hotel turned off its nightly multi-colored light show.

Mountaineers planned to raise an Earth Hour flag on the 29,000-foot (8,848-meter) summit of Everest, the planet's highest point.

The lights went dark in downtown Manila, as they did in the world's tallest completed skyscraper, the Taipei 101 building.

In South Africa, Table Mountain was to be seen only by starlight for an hour. And the Weekender newspaper reported that one couple would turn the lights down on their marriage at a vineyard near Cape Town.

This report on Earth Hour 2009 was summarized from Landmarks go dark for world climate campaign.

What’s Wrong with the Unpopularity of Solar Energy?

Our sun produces 350,000,000 terawatts of power. A full exposure to this energy for only 15 minutes is enough to meet the world’s energy requirement. This energy cannot be compared against energy that is generated by fossil fuel and nuclear, which is only amounted to mere 10,800,000 terawatts. Of course, energy from fossil fuel is also non renewable.

In general, utility companies contribute 1.3 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the environment for every 1 kw of electrical power generated from burning fossil fuels. This CO2 is dumped to the atmosphere everyday. In fact, a typical home is accountable for approximately 22,000 pounds of CO2 annually.

On the other hand, harnessing the energy from sun’s rays is clean and safe. There is no emission and it can be extremely economical in the future. Unfortunately, right now only 0.1% of power in United States is generated by using solar energy. If solar energy is that good, why do only few people use it?

Article in Wall Street Journal dated August 2008 mentioned that several groups backed by certain political groups are against the installation of transmission lines for solar power. Furthermore, the power grid in the United States was designed more than 100 years ago. It is now badly congested in many regions. Therefore, it is not easy to deliver solar power to customers. A cost efficient plan needs to be developed to transfer energy from one location to another.

Another problem is the cost. Right now solar power requires a lot of initial investments. A home value normally will increase when it uses solar power, but the initial cost deters many people to install solar panels.

The government should encourage its citizens by placing rewards to avoid using fossil fuel. For instance, a 30% tax cut to projected cost previously awarded will be attractive for many if other federal credits are included to promote more investments. Global warming issues are everywhere and become a recurrent subject in different talk shows. This is good to keep reminding people on the importance of solar energy and other renewable energy sources. The unstable fuel prices can be another good reason to encourage the use of alternative energy sources.

Unfortunately, transmitting solar energy effectively to homes is still very difficult to achieve unless the obstacles are solved. Even if the obstacles can be removed today, it is estimated that 10 years are still needed to convert 20% of homes into solar energy users. In this case, individual homes with solar panels is still considered as the most feasible alternative.
The good news is that technology develops rapidly these days. Solar power with nano technology is currently being developed and should be available in the next five years. Solar cell design is also developed continuously and a cost effective method to harness solar energy is getting closer to become a reality.

Kenya Will Have a Wind Farm in 2012

A Kenyan firm plans to produce 300 MW of electricity by 2012 by harnessing renewable wind power in the north of the country, its director told Reuters. Once completed, the project could meet about a quarter of Kenya's total energy demand, which stands at some 1,200 MW, just slightly below the installed capacity.

The government is looking at developing "green" energy sources, such as wind and geothermal, to meet demand that is growing at around 8 percent a year. The total project cost would be about $760 million and that the African Development Bank (AfDB) had indicated it would finance 30 percent of that.

The rest of the financing would come from locally syndicated bank loans and international investment banks in South Africa, the Middle East and possibly the United States. The company plans to put up 360 wind turbines that will each generate 850 kw, to be constructed by Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems A/S. Each turbine that is set up will come online immediately.

This is a great initiave by a developing country like Kenya. In spite of their limitation, they are still willing to build something advance like this that will contribute positively to the environment. Other countries should follow this excellent example. Complete news can be read from Environmental News Network.

2008 Was A Huge Year for Natural Disasters

This news was taken from BBC News.

The past year (2008) has been one of the most devastating ever in terms of natural disasters, one of the world's biggest re-insurance companies has said. Munich Re said the impact of the disasters was greater than in 2007 in both human and economic terms.

The company suggested climate change was boosting the destructive power of disasters like hurricanes and flooding. It has called for stricter curbs on emissions to prevent further uncontrollable weather scenarios.

More than 220,000 people died in events like cyclones, earthquakes and flooding, the most since 2004, the year of the Asian tsunami. Meanwhile, overall global losses totalled about $200bn (£137bn), with uninsured losses totalling $45bn, about 50% more than in 2007.

Therefore, I encourage everyone to include green living habits into your new year resolution. Start with something small. Small things done collectively will have a great impact. Have a great year ahead.

The most expensive single event in 2008 was Hurricane Ike, which brought $30bn in losses. It was one of five major hurricanes in the North Atlantic over the year, which saw a total of 16 tropical storms. In addition, roughly 1,700 tornadoes across the US caused several billion dollars of damage, as did periods of low pressure weather activity in Europe.

Munich Re quoted World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) figures showing that 2008 was the 10th warmest year since reliable records began, meaning that the 10 warmest years on record all occurred in the past 12 years.

"It is now very probable that the progressive warming of the atmosphere is due to the greenhouse gases emitted by human activity," said Prof Peter Hoppe, head of Munich Re's Geo Risks Research.

"The logic is clear: when temperatures increase there is more evaporation and the atmosphere has a greater capacity to absorb water vapour, with the result that its energy content is higher.
"The weather machine runs into top gear, bringing more intense severe weather events with corresponding effects in terms of losses."

The company said world leaders must put in place "effective and binding rules on CO2 emissions" to curb climate change and ensure that "future generations do not have to live with weather scenarios that are difficult to control".

Obama Will Urge Energy Efficiency

President-Elect Obama has explained his plans to recover the economy and one of those plans is by increasing efficiency. This is what he said on his speech:

"We will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bills in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs."

This is an excellent approach as saving electricity is perhaps the most realistic way to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Surely renewable energies are great and interesting, but energy efficiency is the key thing that can be done quickly and ... cheaply.

The U.S. government has to set themselves as an example to the rest of the world. It is surprising to see that government buildings do not use an efficient option for lighting. This simple approach can save the government a considerable amount of money.

This news was taken from Ecogeek.org.

Rent Solar Panels for Your Home

Even for the greenest of homeowners, powering their homes with solar energy has long been an idea more attractive in theory than in practice. The problem? The cost of buying and installing new solar panels runs $30,000 to $40,000 for a typical-size home. Even if solar panels reduce a homeowner's electric bills by $200 a month, it will still be 10 to 15 years before he or she sees any return - any economic return, that is - on the investment.

"The biggest barrier for solar is the upfront cost," said Lyndon Rive, CEO of Foster City, Calif.-based SolarCity.

Rive's company may have hit on a solution. Instead of selling solar panels to homeowners, SolarCity's main business is leasing the panels. The consumer pays SolarCity a monthly lease payment - about $75 for a 2.8 kilowatt system - which, when combined with his newly-lowered electric bill, typically adds up to a savings of 10% to 15%.

SolarCity does all the installation work, and there's little risk for the consumer since SolarCity guarantees a minimum level of power production. (Of course, the house needs to be well-suited for solar, preferably with a large south-facing roof that receives sunlight unblocked by trees or chimneys.)

For SolarCity, the leasing model works because of the various solar-power subsidies. Because it owns the solar panels it installs - SolarCity has a financing deal with Morgan Stanley that, so far, has withstood the current credit crisis - SolarCity pockets the federal solar-power tax credit, any state rebates or tax credits, as well as any "renewable energy credits" which can be resold to utilities.

And that federal tax credit just became much more valuable. Under the 2005 Energy Act, purchasers of solar panels received a tax credit equivalent to 30% of the panels' purchase price up to $2,000. The bank bailout bill just passed by Congress renews the credit while also removing the $2,000 cap. In other words, starting next year, SolarCity will get a $12,000 federal tax credit for every $40,000 solar system it installs.

The biggest residential solar company in California, SolarCity expects to install 2,000 systems this year, up from 1,000 last year. A two-year-old, venture capital-financed company - backers include Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla Motors and co-founder of PayPal - SolarCity now operates in California, Arizona and Oregon. However, Rive says he's scouting the East Coast for SolarCity's next market.

A good bet is New York State, which has particularly generous solar subsidies. New York offers a tax credit of 25% of the purchase and installation cost, up to a maximum credit of $5,000. On top of that, it also offers homeowners a rebate of $4 per watt on the installation of 5 kilowatt (or less) solar systems; on a 5 kilowatt solar system, that's a $20,000 rebate.

This is an innovative solution to the biggest problem that hinders the implementation of solar panels. This article was taken from Alternative and Saving Energy.

Five Everyday Items that Can't be Recycled

Recycle is a good thing to do to conserve our environment. Some of us try to recycle, but what you do may do more harm than good because if you include items that are not recyclable, then it is likely that the entire batch will be sent to the landfill. Surprisingly, some of our everyday items cannot be recycled and these are the top 5:

1. Pizza boxes. The oil from pizza contaminates the cardboard and it is impossible to process these boxes into clean paper.
2. Napkin and paper towels. Most of the time they are used to wipe up food, cleaning products, and other hazardous waste.
3. Sticky notes. The size, color, and especially the adhesive strip make them more suitable for trash bin.
4. Plastic caps. Some recycle programs do not accept them.
5. Wet paper. Paper fibers that have been exposed to water are shorter, which make them less valuable to paper mills.

You may want to check with your local waste or sanitation department to find out more information about their recycling program. You also can http://www.earth911.org/ to find useful information on recycling.

This article was taken from Surprise! Five things you can’t recycle.

Should an Enviromentalist Vote?

Since U.S. election is looming, I decide to post this interesting article. There is a person who takes environmental study major. He decides not to vote because he doesn't agree with the system. So now the question is: should an environmentalist vote? The answer is yes. Even if the system still has many flaws, ignoring the system completely is not the wise thing to do. As an adult, one of our responsibilities is to vote, whatever our career is. The article below was taken from Ask Umbra and I think it is a good argument for our reflection.

Day-to-day work in towns and counties is carried out by hired staffers, but the agenda for their work is heavily (and sometimes completely) influenced by elected officials and political appointees. You can see this dynamic at work on the federal level as well -- in the Environmental Protection Agency, for example. With President Clinton at the helm, the EPA had one agenda; with George W. in the White House it's had quite another. Imagine a vote for or against a candidate who supports unfettered land development, or one who believes industry should police itself!

In Seattle, for another example, we are often called upon to vote for or against major transportation projects. The last time this happened, many of us voted against a proposition that would have authorized a giant highway expansion and some (but not enough) mass transit. The measure failed, thus sending legislators a message that citizens placed a high value on mass transit options. The non-voters (like your friend) might have had a message too, but no one could possibly get it. What are non-voters saying? "Whatever," basically.

State-level voting also makes an impact. As I'm sure you've seen, candidates often have major differences on environmental issues related to agriculture, watersheds, energy, transportation, and business vs. the environment. A state government not only makes policy within its boundaries, but can also choose (or refuse) to join with other states in environmental actions. You've read in Grist about states adopting California's auto standards, or about multi-state carbon cap-and-trade projects, or about Midwestern governors signing a greenhouse-gas reduction accord. City leaders can join hands, too, as we're seeing with the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement, signed by 884 mayors to date. This happens because environmentally conscious elected officials have the say-so. The local and state actions push the federal government to respond (no matter how much it wishes to ignore things). The trickle-up-and-push effect of our vote has been our main influence on national environmental policy for many years.

What Plastic Has Given to Us

Recently, there are a lot of bad press about how plastic can damage our environment. It is true, but we should also see what plastic has given to us over the years. Nowadays, it has become a part of our lives and we even do not realize if we use it everywhere.

In the early 1950s when plastic has not been invented, we only had paper bags that are dissolved in the rain. Without the invention, we only will wear natural fabrics entirely. Natural fabrics are good, but are not suitable in all situations, for instance swimming suit.

Laminated plastic was popular among housewives in the 1940s and 1950s because it is easy to clean and colorful. The kitchen has become a light, attractive, and hygienic area. The Tupperware was invented shortly after as a reusable and resealable container. There were a lot of thermoplastic materials around this period including polythene, nylon, PVC, and polystyrene.

In the 1960s, plastic was used in design icons, such as Eero Saarinen's Tulip chair. There was an interesting comment from French designer Philippe Starck saying that "the more you use plastic in an intelligent and ethical way, the less often you kill animals to have the leather, the less often you kill trees to have wood".

Plastic is also important in medical applications. It replaced glass vessels used for blood transfusions. In addition, plastic also opened the possibility of mass production of cheap and attractive goods.

Nowadays plastic is not only used in cheap items as expensive gadgets like laptops, mobile phones, and iPods use plastic casings. Hi-tech plastic is developed continuously even today. Some plastics can alter in shape and used in shape-changing planes, while others can change color when the temperature is changing. A new invention uses plastic as protective clothing because it can change from liquid to solid on impact.

As you can see, plastic can be valuable in our lives. What we need to do right now is not shoving plastic away, but study how the concept of green design and green living can be applied to all plastic products. We should find a way to prevent plastic to fill our landfill and litter our landscape or seas.

This news was summarized from In defence of plastic.

All New Cars Will Be Hybrids in 2020

A study has interviewed 125 car industry executives from 15 countries. One of conclusions from the study is that by 2020, all new cars will be hybrids. The study indicates that auto industry is undergoing significant changes and hybrid is among those changes.

It may seem difficult to believe that we can achieve this thing in 12 years. However, if we see current trend, the growth of hybrid cars, and increasing awareness of climate change, this is not an impossible thing to achieve.

You can get the full report of the study from Automotive 2020: Clarity Beyond the Chaos.

The source of this news is New Report: All New Cars Will Be Hybrids By 2020.

Yao Ming Becomes an Environmental Champion

Yao Ming, Houston Rockets NBA star from China, became the first Environment Champion for the UN Environment Program (UNEP) on last Saturday. His task is to raise awareness of climate change and energy efficiency.

Yao believes that sport has a major role to promote environmental issues and he wants to do his part to protect the world. He plans to work with young people and inspires them to plant trees, use energy efficient light bulbs, harvest rainwater, and become environmental champions in their communities.

Achim Steiner, UNEP executive director, states that Yao is the best choice for this role because of his immense popularity.

In my opinion, this is a good approach by UNEP. Currently China is the biggest greenhouse gas emissions in the world and a respected and beloved figure like Yao is good to encourage Chinese people to be more concern towards our world. I do hope that he can do his role successfully.

This news was taken from Yao becomes UN environment campaigner.

English Government Will Invest £2bn to Make Zero-Carbon Colleges

The English government plans to invest more than £2 billion to create zero-carbon further education (FE) colleges. It was stated that 150 colleges will use the funding and it will be invested over the next three years. The target of the funding is to make sure that all new college facilities are zero-carbon by 2016, which is in line with the government target.

In the next six months, a group of experts will work with FE sector to develop practical schemes to achieve this target. FE minister, Bill Rammell, explained that the government has made huge progress. In 1997, there was no budget for the mainstream FE capital.

This is another excellent commitment toward sustainable development by the English government. A proactive approach like this is needed to ensure that we do not cross the threshold where we cannot reverse the effects of global warming.

This story was taken from Channel 4.

Rumor Debunked: Global Warming is True

There are claims saying that American Physical Society, the leading professional organization for physicists, has reversed its position on global warming. The society stated in November 2007 that greenhouse gases from human activities affect the Earth's climate.

Recently, an article was submitted to an online newslatter of the APS forum on Physics and Society. It claimed that Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) overestimated the Earth's climate sensitivity to carbon dioxide. The article also claimed that changes in solar activity are the reason behind the warming trend.

A note in red lettering above the article states and it has not been peer-reviewed. The Council of the American Physical Society disagrees with the conclusion of the article. In fact, APS reaffirms its previous statement by saying that, "The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring."

This news was summarized from Rumor Debunked: No Flip-Flop on Global Warming.

A U.S. Town Use Wind to Power All Its Electricity Demand

Rock Port, Mo., has four wind turbines to supply electricity to its 1300 residents. This is the first community in the United States that operates completely on wind power. Northwest Missouri has the state's highest concentration of wind resources and there are some locations that are really suitable for utility-scale wind development.

The four turbines actually are part of 75 turbines located in three counties used to harvest the power of the wind. The turbines also offer another benefit as they bring more than $1.1 million every year in the form of real estate taxes, paid by Wind Capital Group, a wind energy developer based in St. Louis. Landowners also get benefit from leasing part of their property for the turbines.

The turbines can provide service for at least 20 years so it can be expected that there will be no increase in rates for the next 15 to 20 years. The turbines also could attract tourists to the area.

This is definitely good news and it is great to see that people have an initiative to harvest this renewable power. The source of the news is First U.S. Town Powered Completely By Wind.

Toyota Will Add Solar Panels on Some of Its Prius

Toyota plans another breakthrough by installing solar panels on its Prius hybrids. The panels will be use to power the air-conditioning on the high-end versions of the gasoline-electric Prius.

Big automakers are competing to come up with alternative solutions to using fossil fuels to appear ecologically conscious and to lure consumers to reduce expense due to the skyrocketing oil price. However, solar power is not considered as a feasible solution to power cars because the panels are very expensive. It is still unknown how much the new Prius with solar panels will cost.

The demand for Prius is very high right now and Toyota has struggled to keep up with it. The Prius is actually the first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car. It was on sale in Japan in late 1997 and entered other markets in 2000. The company has sold more than 1 million units worldwide and it targets to sell 1 million hybrid cars every year in the early part of the next decade.

This story was taken from Toyota to add solar panels to some Prius hybrids.

Mercedes Will Not Use Petroleum By 2015

This is a brave commitment announced by Mercedes-Benz. In less than 7 years, the company plans to ditch petroleum-powered vehicles from its lineup. Instead, they will focus on electric, fuel cell, and biofuels.

One of the latest inventions is the F700, which is powered by DiesOtto engine that combines Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) and spark ignition to get nearly the same efficiency as diesel without the expensive after-treatment systems. The engine can use biofuels as well and might be purchasable by 2010.

Mercedes is also paying attention to electric vehicles, both battery powered and fuel cell powered. The company has made considerable steps to reach their zero petroleum goal. They have invested $4 million into their long-term Sustainability Mobility plan and over $14 billion will follow before 2014.

This story was taken from Mercedes to Cut Petroleum Out of Lineup by 2015.

Fighting Global Warming Now

Twenty years ago, a scientist has warned America about the danger of global warming. Today, the greenhouse gas concentration has passed the dangerous level and it is important for us to do drastic actions to get back to 1988 levels.

Director of the Goddard Institute of Space Sciences, Jim Hansen, said that "we're toast" if we do not change. He said that coal-fired power plants that do not capture carbon dioxide emissions should not be used in the US after 2025 and be eliminated from the world by 2030 to cut emissions.

He stated that the Arctic is the first sign of global warming and it happens as what has been predicted. It is said that within 5 or 10 years, the Arctic will be free of ice in the summer.

This news was taken from NASA warming scientist: 'This is the last chance'.

Zero-emission Car by Honda

Honda FCX Clarity runs on hydrogen and electricity. It only emits water and none of the fumes that are considered to cause global warming. Honda says that it is two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a typical gasoline car.

This new FCX Clarity is a new improvement from the previous edition introduced in 2005. With a new design of the fuel cell stack, which is the source of power in the car, engineers have managed to lighten the body, expand the interior, and improve efficiency.

The fuel cell draws energy that is synthesized through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air. In addition, a lithium-ion battery pack provides supplemental power. The vehicle can run up to 100 miles per hour. The biggest problems to adopt fuel cell vehicles are cost and the minimum numbers of hydrogen fuel stations.

Recently, major automakers have made heavy investments in fuel cells and other alternative energy vehicles due to skyrocketing oil prices and concerns on climate change.

Currently a few dozen of this car are available for leasing. In California, a three-year lease costs $600 a month including maintenance and collision coverage. Honda has not revealed the cost to make each car and it is still unclear when it will be available for public.

Complete coverage is available from Honda Rolls Out New Zero-emission Car.