With the average oil bill for Caribbean countries being over 50% of each country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles, which can drastically reduce each country's gas-oil bill to less than 20% of GDP, need to be seriously considered as a substitute for gas-powered vehicles, by these governments.
MIT technology Review's article "Potential Market for Plug-In Hybrids - Consumers want them, once they know what they are", by Kevin Bullis, sheds light on Plug-In Hybrids [also called Grid-connected Hybrids or Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)] - cars that can run on both electricity and gas oil, with the following differences from normal hybrids:
1) These cars can be plugged into an electric circuit and be powered overnight
2) These cars can run on electricity or gas
3) Each car's battery stores the power for the next day, allowing the car to be used for it's normal, every-day runs, on the stored electrical power.
4) Once longer distances are required, however, then and only then, will the car draw on its gas resources.
(Current hybrids like the Toyota Prius only give 2-3 hours driving time per day on electrical power, thus resorting to gas, much faster, than would Plug-in Hybrids, if in rush-hour traffic.)
Although these cars would cost 10-20% more than current hybrids - the cost-savings to each consumer for gas oil (60-70% reduction in gas-oil spend), would be enormous and would more than pay back for the car within one year.
Knowing how smart you, our MOU Blog readers are, you're probably asking yourselves:-
"Hmmh...but wouldn't the electricity bill be high, if using a Plug-In Hybrid?...thus still increasing each country's oil bill, since most Caribbean countries' electricity is powered by oil?"
Well, not necessarily.
The electricity needed to power up these car batteries would be minimal, although the time required to power them is over 6 hours.
Additionally, if the power supply to the home was driven by wind, solar or geothermal energy, each nation's oil bill would be drastically reduced to about 10% of GDP.
So why, you may ask, aren't Caribbean countries getting serious about importing these cars?
Well,
1) These cars are relatively new, and their availability has not been touted by car manufacturers.
These manufacturers are instead touting flex-fuel cars, which run on either gas or 85% ethanol mixture.
(Currently 60% of the cars in Brazil are flex-fuel cars.)
The only problem is that flex-fuel cars, due to their use of the ethanol mixture, give less miles to the gallon.
2) Caribbean countries like Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados have locked themselves into 10-year deals with the Venezuelan Government for "cheap" oil...thus negating their ability to drastically reduce their oil bill for the next 10 years.
(It is even alleged by the Opposition, Jamaica Labour Party, that the Jamaican Government has gone as far as to sell out 49% ownership of Petrojam (Jamaica's sole oil refinery) to the Venezuelans, in exchange for "cheap" oil.)
3) Caribbean Governments, with very few exceptions, are very short-sighted and only think in 5-year sprouts (their usual term in office).
Hence long-term initiatives (10-30 years) that would auger economic prosperity, are often ignored for shorter-term initiatives, that can be boasted about near election time, in order to prolong the incumbent government's term in office.
Hmhh!
Well, since the initiative to drastically reduce our oil bill, will not come from our governments... businesses, companies, community based organizations and individuals, need to pressure our governments to import these vehicles, when they become more widely available (in 2008).
But they won't become widely available, unless we demand that they do and are actually willing to pay for them [bearing in mind the cost-savings that will be accrued to us as consumers over a 6 month - 5 year time span (the average time we keep our cars.)]
We must not allow our governments to continue being myopic in their oil-spend - they need to keep abreast of technologies (like Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles) that will enable us to spend more of our countries' budgets on the things that do matter, like building healthy and well-adjusted families, innovation and its commercialization, education, national security and health.
In this vein...would you be willing to get a Plug-In Hybrid vehicle? (Please respond to this question, below, using the Comment Link. You can also respond in our survey that is to the right-hand-side of our posts, under the section entitled, "Categories" and just above the Calendar.)
Thanks in advance.
These Sites Shed More Light on Plug-In Hybrids and Their Benefits:
1) Article "Potential Market for Plug-In Hybrids - Consumers want them, once they know what they are", by Kevin Bullis, MIT Technology Review, May 17, 2007
2) Article, "All About Plug-in Hybrids PHEVs", on Cal Cars - The California Cars Initiative 100+ MPG Hybrids website
3) Plug-In America.com
4) Article, Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles, from website, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.
5) Article, "GM's Plug-In Hybrid - How super-hybrids could slash gas consumption and usher in a new era of transportation",by Kevin Bullis, MIT Technology Review, December 5, 2006
6) Article, "Brazil buys into flex-fuel cars - They run on gas, ethanol or any combination", Associated Press c/o MSNBC News, August 30, 2004.
Gillian
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