Unless you believe the propaganda of auto and petroleum lobbyists, it should be apparent that climate change is a real and looming problem. According to a 2010 study by the DOT, approximately 250 million passenger vehicles are on the road expelling copious amounts of carbon dioxide—and current electric cars are simply not yet a viable option for most people.
Electric cars require expensive, low-density, lithium-ion batteries and an expansive service station system to recharge these batteries. What if there existed a way to bypass these hindrances and solve global warming to boot?
Researchers are searching for a viable method of doing just that. As stated by Yale Environment 360, “[Princeton University has] taken the byproduct of burning fossil fuels—CO2, the greenhouse gas most responsible for climate change—and transformed it back into a fuel suitable for burning.” This is accomplished through use of an electrochemical cell that can transform electricity into chemical reactions or vice versa, though this method is currently too expensive and inefficient for widespread use.
According to ScienceDaily, UCLA’s James Liao and his research team have also made news with similar research, using genetically engineered microorganisms to convert carbon dioxide and electricity into isobutanol and higher alcohols through photosynthesis.
So can we keep our Honda Civics and Ford Explorers without spelling doom for our planet? We’ll see.
by Joel Southall
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