Your carbon footprint is the amount of deadly greenhouse gases which are measured in units of carbon dioxide. The Duke University conducted a study and over 97 million billion pounds of carbon dioxide was released into the air from fossil fuels in just one year.

A green vehicle will cut down on this problem and minimize your carbon footprint. When someone refers to a green car they are talking about a car that uses alternative fuel sources. A regular car uses petroleum fuel to run this is also known as fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are what is known as non renewable energy and releases harmful gases into the air. A green car uses other fuel sources which include bio-diesel, solar energy or electricity to run the car.

There are other benefits to driving a green vehicle besides helping to decrease greenhouse gases. They are cheaper to run and maintain. They do not contribute to acid rain and create less smog in the air. A green car is better for our environment and reduces global warming.

Others ways to decrease the greenhouse gases that are cause by driving vehicles that are not eco-friendly is to not drive at all whenever possible. You can walk whenever it is feasible and get exercise and help the earth at the same time. Sharing a ride is another way to help cut down on our carbon footprint.

Green cars are considered the “wave of the future” because of the way they are changing our thinking about what we drive. The green car concept makes everyone more aware of the environment and what we can do to help erase our carbon footprint.

A Green Car is a vehicle that is more environmentally friendly than a conventional car. A green car consumes less fuel or they use renewable energy sources to fuel the vehicle. There are several types of green cars available today. There are electric, hybrid, hydrogen and bio-diesel cars.

An electric car is a zero emissions type of vehicle because it produces no harmful fuel emissions. It relies solely on electricity from batteries to run. This type of car has fewer moving parts so it is cheaper to maintain. They can go for short distances without having to recharge the battery.

A Hybrid car combines a gas motor with an electric engine that can recharge on its own. This is a great way to extend the miles per gallon of fuel your car uses. It will save you money at the gas pumps. These cars are the same as regular cars as far as having to change your everyday driving habits or activities.

A hydrogen fuel car converts the chemical energy of hydrogen into mechanical energy that can be used to power a motor or engine. Hydrogen is the most abundant elements so by using it to run a vehicle it is an efficient way to save money and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Bio-diesel cars run on fuel that is made from vegetables such as corn or soybeans, or from animal fat. These types of fuels are renewable and reduce CO2 emissions. Biodiesel cars are becoming more popular because biodiesel is becoming available at more gas stations.

Green cars are the “wave of the future” and will save money in fuel costs and maintaining a vehicle. They will also help reduce CO2 emissions and make the world cleaner and healthier.

This car is shaped somewhat like a plane for a reason. It is aerodynamically designed like a tear drop to reduce drag as much as possibly therefore increasing fuel economy. While the body alone may not justify the unreleased-but-surely-enormous price tag, the equivalent 300 mpg fuel economy may ease the blow.

2. Zap Alias

If this car doesn’t scream “Mach 5” to you, then you’re not looking at it from the right angle, especially with the three blades in the front. Another three-wheeler, the Alias gets over 100 miles per charge, but it’s hard to care about such petty things when you’ve got a set of wheels like this!

3. Nissan Electric Car

Nameless as of the moment, the car speaks for itself. A different style of style from the previous two, it looks like one bubble sitting on four smaller bubbles. I can’t imagine there being many blind spots in this car, but that doesn’t make a difference when there aren’t any side or rearview mirrors.

4. Mazda Kaan

I will admit this is probably my favorite although I can imagine a lot of rocks and debris getting up in the front “bumper” if in can even be called that being that the wheels are in front of it. I can’t imagine what a fender bender would be like in this car, but it better not mess up the pretty orange wheels.

5. Peugeot Leonin

Ok, this one is my second favorite, but only because of the wheel covers and the doors which I had to show. The headlights exude an aggressive elegance if such a thing existed. With a projected price tag somewhere between $22,000 and $32,000, it may even be possible for regular people to afford.

6. Courreges Zooop

I can’t help thinking this car was designed based on a turtle, but only in terms of its chassis. This is surprising since it was designed by two French fashion designers of all people. This may be fashionable in France, but here in America, we prefer smooth lines and the guts of the car being concealed. That doesn’t stop me from appreciating this marvel.

7. Pininfarina Sintesi

The obvious thing that jumps out at me about this car is that the whole dashboard lights up and looks something like honeycombs. While the interiors of the other cars are by no stretch of the imagination boring, this one really caught my eye. The outside isn’t too shabby either, I guess.

8. Phoenix Concept Car – Regeneration Passion

Just when you thought you had seen it all, someone builds a pod racer. This car actually uses wind turbines in the front to provide energy. It turns using a central axis which basically lets the two “pods” lean like motorcycles to turn. How safe this car is can be debated but it’s the closest thing right now for Star Wars geeks to get a real life fix before light sabers are invented.

9. Pueugeot Moovie

One thing really stands out about this vehicle to me; it’s basically a glass ball. In its simplicity, it seems that the maker left out air bags, bumpers, and even windows. A crash in this car would certainly mean instantaneous death. Let’s hope that gets remedied.

10. Unknown

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to track down the model or maker of this car, but I’m sure its design will make itself well known soon enough. At least the door does not seem impossibly awkward to open unlike many of the other cars.

11. GYM, a concept designed by Da Feng, a design student at Coventry University

The GYM is can be powered by two things: electricity or more interestingly, human power. There is a rowing machine, pull simulator, stepping machine and other various exercise machines built into the car which produce energy for the car when parked. Oh yeah, the car looks sweet, too.

12. The Kite, a collaboration among Tsun-Ho Wang, Min-Gyu Jung and Sung-Je Do

This one was definitely worth two pictures as it can be powered three different ways. It can be simply run on electricity with the top down. It can also be used to windsurf with the top rotated upward at a 90 degree angle. The most fun way is to allow the top to fly up in the air and let the wind power you the most direct way possible, pushing the top as a kite.

13. Solas Concept Car

The neatest part of this car is not only its Euro racer design, but also its hex shaped solar cells. The only problem I foresee here is the lack of windshield which might become an annoyance with bugs or other things like flying car parts. The transparent outer materials allow sunlight to enter the cells and power the entire car while the cells inside also provide protection in crashes.

14. Venturi Volage Concept

While the Tesla is a supercar to be sure, and not quite unique enough to make this list, the Volage is set to overtake the electric supercar crown in 2012 with 295 horses backing it. In my opinion it not only beats the Tesla in power, but also in design. As you can see, blending design themes from Audi and Porsche is never a bad idea.

15. Audi R-Zero Concept

Now what kind of list would this be without an Audi? Always the masters of elegant simplicity, this electric concept is no different. Need anymore be said about this car?

Back in December 2008 with the parties still celebrating Obama’s election success, a deal was struck with China on the development of electric batteries for car power.

Now we have touched on battery development previously and it is right we do so again because battery-powered vehicles are a prime player in the future of green cares while development and progress within this field will be a fair weather vane of progress in delivering green initiatives across the board.

China is in an even worse position than the US when it comes to the need to develop green power sources – over half of the oil it uses comes from imports leaving it highly susceptible to the global oil markets (remember when $5 a gallon was a reality for us – now imagine that multiplied several times).

The deal involving the US Department of Energy, involves BYD Autos, a Chinese company which is heavily involved in green car development and with a market such as China which is beginning to open and has billions of consumers in it, there is a huge profit potential.

What’s in it for the US?

Green car developments are not going to be 100% American researched and developed – the technologies involved are diverse and many are leading edge; no one country will have a monopoly on the technology or the cars. The US in this instance gains direct access to battery testing and benchmarking standards that are essential to measuring true battery performance and in turn this has a direct impact on the actual battery development for use by consumers.

The battery market alone is thought to be worth some USD $40 billion by 2020 based on one million electric cars on US roads – this is the target now set by President Obama for the country.

The concept was that the Oil giants, Shell, would pit the students against each-other in an opportunity for them to showcase their talents on the tracks. The aim of the task was to achieve most distance on lowest fuel level, with cars being registered into two categories. Prototype or Urban Concept.

The Cars then raced with either hydrogen fuel cells, solar power and plug-in batteries or internal combustion as the main energy source. Over the 10 mile course, drivers were forced to remain at 15mph for the duration. A vast range of different styles ad colours painted the grey tracks of Sepang, making a montage of space-age creation.

Though these cars may not necessarily be adequatley road-worthy, the ability that these students have shown may change the way in which we design and invisage our future vehicles.

The winners of the events were Team Luk Jao Mae Khlong Prapa from Thailand’s Dhurakil Pundit University.

These cars have come a long way since the first electric car race, which was held in Pau in 2005 and saw 12 state-of-the-art race one another in a Grand Prix style race. Luckily, though these newer and trendier Asian designs look more fun and space age, it is unlikely we will be driving something like this on our roads before 2015.

The New Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-Miev looks far more likely to be hitting our roads than these other electric vehicles.

Currently in this country, we have a scheme set up whereby you receive £5000 back from the Government for buying an Electric Car, which is apparently soon to be scrapped. Unfortunately this is a bit of a step backwards in terms of electrical progression, but with Councils planning on putting more power points in local areas and more big Car companies taking the initiative to invent cheaper ways of fuelling cars, perhaps the Government will re-assess where they stand with this newer policy.

Johnson-Saft are probably ahead of many other rivals globally with Johnson enjoying the design and management relationships with major car makers as well as understanding better the integration of the power management system with the rest of the car.  Saft on the other hand is a French company which has world leading expertise in lithium ion battery design and manufacture for aeronautical applications.

This all sounds good stuff but there is one major aspect of putting all of this together that has to be addressed or this is all pie in the sky.

How are you going to recharge/refuel your lithium ion battery on the road?

This is the really big issue because if batteries are a $40 billion market what is the value of the grid that will recharge the vehicle while you are on the road – the honest answer is we don’t know yet but it’s a very big number.

Ford and GM both believe that this part of the puzzle is crucial to unlocking who will win out in the lithium ion war and there are some vicious debates taking place in DC right now on whether the US should encourage and foster a domestic lithium ion battery manufacturing base (which will also take on developing the national grid) or whether America should simply import the batteries and expertise from low-cost Asian importers.

To me the answer is simple – we have had several decades of reliance upon foreign oil so why should we swap foreign oil for foreign batteries?

This is a no-brainer for the folks on the hill.

President Obama has set a target of 1 million electric cars on America’s roads by 2012 and the battery market ALONE is worth some $40 billion.

$40 billion just for car batteries by 2012 and that’s just the electric car market!

The competition is fierce and it is a global competition and here and now, Americans are making a decision with the federal monies being put up on a large slice of the battery market being American manufacturers turf and not Asian overseas manufacturers.

Ener1 is the leading US competitor with a lithium ion battery but there are others including A123 Systems of Massachusetts and Johnson Controls-Saft who have already contracted with Ford, Mercedes and BMW.  All sounds good and healthy but there is a major fly in the ointment – Asia.

Asian manufacturers have been pumping billions into R&D and manufacture of lithium ion batteries for years – if you want to place a lithium ion battery practically just take a look at your laptop battery because that is what this fight is all about.  Now consider how long Honda and Toyota have been working on integrating new battery technology into their cars and especially the car power management system which is also a key piece of technology.

Bluntly, the Asian manufacturers have had a jump start on the US for years and it is going to take a great deal of work and funds to get the US back into this particular $40 billion race and all the jobs that is going to create for mainstreet America.

We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.

There are quite a few others packed in there as well including reference to reducing energy dependence which strengthens enemies abroad and so on.

What this means is simple – a kickstart to the further development and adoption of green technology and applying eco-friendly machines in our daily lives and the biggest one is the car.

In very recent years the popular interest in green cars has grown in a major way, fuelled (!) by the realization that we are killing the planet with our pollution, and the cost of oil, not to mention the fact that oil is a finite resource and supplies will fail at some date in the not so distant future.

The debate will continue as to what constitutes green transport and it is not just low or zero emissions.  For example, the environmental cost of a petrol/electric hybrid vehicle should take in to account the cost of production and disposal of the (large) battery, and in the case of an electric car not only the battery but also the electricity which must be generated to charge the batteries.

Pressure has been taken off green car development recently as fuel prices have dropped but if you had the choice of two cars, one of which did more miles to the gallon, was cheaper to service and was more environmentally friendly, which would you choose?

With federal government and a popular incoming President adding his weight to the argument, it is in the manufacturers interests to hasten the development of green technology.

A new era is starting with a very green conscious government taking over and incentives being offered to the motor manufacturers to develop green technologies – this goes way beyond the much criticized and talked about bail out of Detroit.

Practical alternatives at the moment are the petrol/electric hybrid and the economical versions of mainstream cars which manufacturers seem to be bringing out every day, the best example being the Green Car of the Year which is the VW Jetta TDI. The VW is a good example of making use of modern techniques to reduce emissions and produce over 50 MPG while retaining reasonable performance in a 5 seat sedan body.  Hybrid technology is used in differing ways in the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic, but both generate their own electric power using energy that would otherwise be wasted.

All these cars however, still use fossil fuel in whatever quantity and still produce harmful emissions albeit in smaller doses. The goal has to be to stop our reliance on, and production of, these substances.  The electric car has been variously touted as the answer but it is seriously restricted by the available battery technology which requires a recharge time of several hours and a fairly short range between top ups, making this technology viable only for relatively short journeys.

Honda’s FCX Clarity, which is on sale in California at the moment (sorry Kansas Honda lovers….no fuel cell cars yet), is really where its at – its hydrogen fuel cell produces only water as a by product and no harmful pollutants but where is the refuelling network that is going to be needed?

That too is a question for government is it not?

That may be a cynical way of viewing this important subject but it has taken a long time to become top of the major manufacturers agenda. Obviously some are further advanced than others but they are getting their acts together starting with revamps of existing models to lower emissions and extract more miles per gallon.

I must say I am mystified as to why economy has not been a priority before now but with low gas prices until recently being the norm it has taken the hikes in gas prices to the $4 level and beyond to really shake the whole industry up including the people who drive cars and use gas everyday.

Economy and emissions are now at the forefront of thinking with government initiatives to incentivize the manufacturers having a beneficial effect and new greener cars are being announced on a regular basis which is set to accelerate.

Some technologies are easier to introduce than others and the ultimate goal of insignificant fuel costs and zero emissions is still a long way off.  The technology is here with Hondas FCX Clarity fuel cell car which runs on hydrogen and produces water as a by product, however, its use requires the ability to refuel with hydrogen and a network of refueling stations but this is some way off yet.  Electricity is here now and there are a range of electric cars available, the problem being battery technology which precludes their use for long journeys with recharging taking several hours.

Which all leaves the current option for general use, that of the existing fossil fuels and their development to wring out the last drop of fuel and save the last gram of CO2.