Gas Consumption Musings
Image by macbiff via Flickr
Original article written by Alan Sidorov
One of the hardest parts of accepting the need to reduce [gas] consumption is to believe that each individual can make a difference.
How can your fuel-saving driving habits possibly offset the increase in consumption that is expected from China, India and many Third World countries? Well, it can’t, unless enough people worldwide get with the program.
Still, we have to start somewhere. For example, keeping your vehicle well tuned, tires properly inflated, driving more efficiently, and cutting down on unnecessary trips can have a nice effect, which will be immediately noticed in the bank balance.
Some gestures are largely symbolic, though they may carry some weight beyond that. The current Formula 1 regulations are a good example of this. The following comes from the official F1 website:
“Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems, or KERS, are legal from 2009 onwards. KERS recover waste kinetic energy from the car during braking, store that energy and then make it available to propel the car. The driver has access to the additional power for limited periods per lap, via a ‘boost button’ on the steering wheel.”
That sparse description introduces some interesting developments, as well as some difficulties which will challenge some of the best designers and engineers in the world.
At the moment, a variety of choices are being tried by various teams. Seven of the cars at Melbourne for the season opener were fitted with the systems, and Lewis Hamilton finished third in a vehicle equipped with KERS.
On faster tracks the boost buttons might be a bigger advantage. Advanced technology of this sort will be trickling down to roadgoing vehicles in short order. Whether the storage mechanism is compressed air, batteries, a flywheel or something else, the principle is sound.
We’re only beginning to explore the possibilities.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d6de64a8-4410-4d72-82b6-5226c7938e93)
