It appears that the hybrid car is all the rage. News reports crow regarding their many miles per gallon and low emissions. Hybrids are among the best-selling models in America for both American and foreign car makers. And hybrids do not have to be compact - you can even find hybrid model sport utility vehicles (branded as SUVs, in brief).

A few consumers are left scratching their heads about all this hullabaloo. Exactly why should a hybrid car be so appealing to a lot of people? One reason, of course, is soaring gas prices. While the cost of crude oil shoots up, whether because of short-term problems like those in Libya or long-term problems just like depleting global petroleum reserves, the cost of gasoline at the local gas station rises at the same time.

Simply because hybrid cars (so named since they run on two fuel sources: electricity as well as gasoline) utilize much less fuel, they provide savings to the consumer over the life of the car. Yet hybrid cars also are more expensive than 'normal' cars. That cost is driven mainly by the cost of the new, patented technologies distinct to each car producer. However it also owes it to the expensive component parts, just like those utilized to create the large batteries built into the car.

Whether even the best hybrid car truly 'saves' any money will depend on how much fuel prices rise while the car is used. However another reason (and one that makes more mathematical sense than fuel prices) is issue for the environment. Even if, as seems probably, a hybrid car will cost a lot more over its lifetime than an equivalent gas-powered car, it will be better for the environment.

There are two reasons hybrid cars benefit the environment. First of all, hybrids use less gasoline, and thus less crude oil. Mainly because oil is a diminishing resource used for many things besides fueling cars, using less of it benefits everyone as well as moves us closer to a sustainable economy. What is meant by sustainable? Sustainable economies are those that do not deplete their resources to zero.

By utilizing less fuel, hybrid owners move the world (slightly) nearer to a sustainable global economy, whereas in the current economy it is predict that global petroleum reserves will expire at some time this century. This benefits the environment simply because many cheap alternatives to petroleum emit more contaminants when burned: coal, for instance. The 2nd way that hybrids benefit the environment is by emitting less exhaust fumes.

Mainly because hybrid cars do not use their internal combustion engines consistently, but instead are powered sporadically by stored electricity, they burn less fuel. A consequence of burning less fuel is that they also spout lesser exhaust fumes into the air. This benefits the ecosystem in a number of ways. First, of course, it enhances air quality on the ground. Car exhaust fumes are dreadful for people, and reducing the amount in the air makes everyone healthier.

2nd, car exhaust fumes have carbon dioxide, which can erode the world's ozone layer. Which could, in turn, lead to global warming (some scientists say that it already has). So it is easy to see that while hybrid cars might benefit their users if gas prices sky-rocket, they benefit the world a lot more, by reducing dependence on crude oil and reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into our air, both at the ground level and in our atmosphere. Which is a very big deal.

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