Alternative fuel sources for automobiles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Alternative fuel sources for automobiles - Essay Example The increased use of CNG vehicles would make the United States less dependent on foreign sources of oil. The current supply of natural gas will last for generations and new drilling techniques are reaching natural gas locked in shale deposits. The process of fracturing the shale using high-pressure liquids is referred to as fracking. This new technique promises to provide cheap natural gas for well over a hundred years (Efstathiou and Chipman, 2011). Aside from the political benefits, CNG cars have very low emissions (Alternative, 2011). The greenhouse gas spewing combustion of current gasoline powered vehicles would be a thing of the past. While it is true that natural gas is a fossil fuel, and it is not a renewable fuel, burning it in vehicles will go a long way towards reducing our nation’s carbon footprint. Some vehicles that use CNG are Dedicated CNG vehicles, meaning they can only burn compressed natural gas. Other vehicles are Bi-Fuel vehicles, meaning they have small t anks that use gasoline as well as CNG tanks. The Bi-Fuel cars are popular because they have a greater range than Dedicated vehicles (Natural, 2011). There are drawbacks to CNG cars.