President-elect Barack Obama recognizes the need to address the most common problems of the environment, including America’s dependence on oil. He has identified hybrid cars as the way of the future, the development of which will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and revitalize the American auto manufacturing industry.

How exactly can change be brought about? Isn’t the problem too bigger than just driving hybrid cars? Probably. But, no change can be instilled overnight. While there are never any guarantees on what propositions will or will not work, Obama has suggested a few changes that may help wean America from its gas guzzling ways.

1 Million Plug-In Hybrids by 2015
While this is a lofty number to reach within just a few years, it shows Obama’s dedication to making serious changes within the auto industry, for our sake and the environment’s sake. Taking the idea of hybrids a step further, there have been new car models made that will charge by plugging them in. These plug-in hybrids do what you might expect. They run on gasoline and rechargeable batteries. At the end of the day, when you get home, you simply “plug-in” your car to an electrical source so it can charge while you sleep. No more stopping at the gas station to get your fuel needle off of E in order for you to make it home. You simply plug your car in from the convenience of your own home. These cars could potentially get 150 mpg, saving the driver enormous amounts of money on gasoline and saving the ecosystem from damages of harmful emissions.

2. Tax Credit for Plug-in Vehicle Consumers
Plug-in vehicles are still in the developmental stages but show promise for enabling cars to run on electricity rather than expensive and environmentally harmful gasoline. Obama has suggested tax credits for consumers who take advantage of the opportunity to drive these cars while they are still new to the market. With initial this buy in, the future of plug-in cars may be closer than some people think.

3. A Law Requiring All Vehicles Made Flex-Fuel Capable
Flexible-fuel vehicles, or sometimes called dual-fuel vehicles, are cars that run on a mixture of energy fuels. Most flex-fuel vehicles use some gasoline to run in addition to either ethanol or methanol, both fuels are found to be more environmentally friendly than gasoline. The idea of dual-fuel vehicles is not a new idea. The Ford Model T that was produced from 1908 to 1927 ran on both gasoline and ethanol. Because ethanol was prohibited for much of the 20th century, ethanol fueled vehicles are still being developed. With the proper safety precautions, ethanol may be proven to be a great alternative to gasoline in time.

4. Tax Cuts for Auto Manufacturing Plants
Obama has proposed to offer tax cuts to automakers in order to stimulate the auto manufacturing industry. He hopes that by doing this, plants will be able to reach better fuel efficiency standards in the future.

Green transportation is a challenging front to tackle, but something that must be done in order to stall or perhaps one day reverse the damage caused by the irresponsible fueling practices of the last hundred years. If we start by instituting these relatively small changes, there may be hope for change.

Obama has done some work in this area over the last few years already. He issued The Health Care for Hybrids Act in 2006, which was used in Illinois and Washington state. With the further weakening of the economy since 2006, Obama may need to reevaluate his former laws. It’s possible that even more drastic measures need to be taken in order to salvage the auto industry across the US. If gas prices continue to fall as they have over the last few months, people may ignore the fact that hybrid and fuel-efficient cars are extremely necessary for saving the environment. We must encourage people to look beyond themselves and see how they impact their surrounding environment.

The American citizens elected Barack Obama the next president of the United States because they are eager for change to take place across the country. Our perspectives on cars and fuel efficiency are one of the foundational principles that need reexamined and Obama appears to be considering this already. By simply taking a closer look at purchasing a hybrid for your next car, you could be helping the country move a step closer to reducing our dependence on oil.

Toyota Greensburg provides new and used cars that are recognized as environment friendly and fuel efficient. The EPA and the US Department of Energy recognizes the Toyota Prius as having the best gas mileage of any car on the market in the 2009 Fuel Economy Guide.

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