Price of emission
Cars can run on just about anything other than gasoline these days. But because of drawbacks both economic and environmental, it's still not easy being green.
George Clooney and Julia Roberts are doing it. So are characters on popular TV shows like "Nip/Tuck." Even games like Monopoly and Gran Turismo have gotten in on the act.
"Green" vehicles like the gas-electric hybrid and alternative fuels have become an attractive option for people -- famous, fictional and otherwise -- looking to save the environment, gas money or both.
Consider: passenger vehicles are the largest single source of the ozone-forming pollutants carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides in the Chicago area, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The way we eat - and what we eat - is taking a turn for the natural as produce and livestock are grown green.
• Natural selection
• Photos: Buy green
• Photos: Eat green
• Blog: How green are you?
• Eco-calculator: Quiz
• Info: Chicago Green Festival
• Family keeps its diet local
• Fighting water bottle waste
• Eco-friendly seafood picks
• Scouting for 'green' coffee
• Easy bein' green for a day
• Grass greener for beef
• Join the farm, get produce
• Don't be confused by labels
• Picking produce
• Eco-conscious restaurants
FRIDAY
Living the green life is much more than recycling cans as homes are built to blend with the environment
• Living the dream
• Photos: Live green
• Photos: Drive green
• PDF: The green home
• Blog: How green are you?
• Green your home
• The eco-friendly dorm
• Hugg-A-Planet helps kids
• Planet party
• Catching that chilly draft
SUNDAY
Consumers find they can get around green with hybrid cars, alternative fuels and even public transit
• Car eats its veggies
• Fuel of the future?
• Accidental environmentalists
• Ridin' green
The most talked-about options: hybrid electric vehicles and clean-burning alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. Each has its selling points, but there's usually a tradeoff.
Hybrids, for instance, get great gas mileage but typically cost thousands more than their gas-only counterparts.
Ethanol, while cheaper than gas, offers lower fuel economy.
Propane and natural gas are two of the cleanest fuels available. But a lack of fueling stations for consumers makes them impractical for day-to-day use.
"We haven't seen a perfect fuel yet," said Nick Wagoner, an alternative-fuels consultant from Central Community College in Nebraska.
Still, the current crop of green fuels and vehicles has won converts like Gary and Therese Davis. The Warrenville couple have had matching his-and-hers Honda Civic hybrids since 2003. The Davises used to have a friendly competition to see who could get better gas mileage, with the winner earning a back rub.
"Both of us go close to two weeks [between] fill-ups," said Gary Davis, who commutes to Schaumburg for work, while his wife drives her hybrid to Oak Park. Two trips to the gas station a week used to be the norm.
Gary Davis said saving money on fuel was the main draw of buying a hybrid. For Therese Davis, it was "not emitting [as much] garbage into the atmosphere."
The higher gas prices go, the more money hybrids save. That's especially true for people who do mostly stop-and-go city driving because the electric motor has more opportunities to kick in at lower speeds.
As for the higher sticker price, some hybrid owners say that, in a way, it's like buying a luxury car.
"I know [hybrids] cost more. It's what I'm getting for that extra money that's worth it," said Steve Carrow of West Chicago, who drives a hybrid 2004 Honda Insight. "The bottom line is: I'm using less gas than any other car on the road."
Carrow admits there's also prestige in driving a hybrid, especially one that has a distinct look like the Insight or the Toyota Prius.
"I kind of get this greener-than-thou smugness, but I try to fight it back," the 50-year-old engineer joked. "In a small way, it's a purchase you want to make sure everybody sees . . . to show people it drives just like any other car."
Though hybrids have grabbed plenty of attention in the short time they've been around -- even the car in the new version of Monopoly is a Toyota Prius -- they haven't captured much of the U.S. car market. Under 2 percent of all vehicles sold last year in the United States were hybrids, according to J.D. Power and Associates. By 2013, that number should grow to 5 percent as more vehicle models become available, the market-research firm estimates.
"That's fairly good growth if you consider where we started in 2000," said Anthony Pratt, J.D. Power's senior manager of global powertrain.
But the premium that consumers have to pay "is still keeping people out," even with federal tax credits for those who buy hybrids, Pratt said.
Another green alternative that Gov. Blagojevich and other politicians have been pushing is E85, a fuel blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Because it's made mostly from corn oil, E85 addresses the need for a domestic alternative to gasoline. It's also sales tax-exempt in Illinois, making it about 30 to 40 cents cheaper a gallon than gasoline. But the 15 to 25 percent dip in fuel economy that comes with using E85 eats into potential savings.
"I'm probably paying an extra 100 bucks per year," said John Kezdy, who's been using E85 in his Ford Taurus since 2002. Kezdy, 47, said he doesn't mind, though, because, "It's made in Illinois, it's cleaner burning, and it's the right thing to do."
Still, there are only about 10 gas stations selling E85 in the Chicago area and roughly 140 statewide.
Making the switch to ethanol also requires driving what is known as a flex-fuel vehicle, which can run on either E85 or regular gasoline. Unlike hybrids, these vehicles usually don't cost extra.
And while the noisy, gas-belching models of the 1980s turned many Americans off to diesel vehicles, there are a couple reasons to give them another look.
For one, diesel is 20 to 30 percent more fuel efficient than gasoline. The recent arrival of ultra low-sulfur diesel at gas stations across the country also addresses one of the main problems with diesel: the sooty, smelly emissions. Ultra low-sulfur diesel releases a fraction of the sulfur contained in regular diesel when it's filtered through new engines that become standard next year.
"It will be the equivalent of when we removed lead from gasoline," said Francisco Acevedo, a specialist with the EPA. "It will get rid of that black puff of smoke that has typically been associated with diesel."
There's also biodiesel. Made from vegetable oil or animal fat, biodiesel reduces some, but not all, of the toxic emissions that come from pure petroleum diesel. Plus, the state knocks off 80 percent of the sales tax on most of the biodiesel blends sold in Illinois.
Problem is, biodiesel is even harder to find at the pump than ethanol. Some people brew their own using vegetable oil from restaurants, but this do-it-yourself approach isn't for everyone.
The same can be said about electric cars. In theory, they sound perfect: almost no emissions, no need for gasoline and very low maintenance. But, so far, electric cars are best suited for short distances, since they can take as long as 12 hours to recharge.
