The U.S. could cut its gasoline consumption by up to 50 percent by 2035 if Americans abandon their heavy cars and SUVs and begin driving lightweight hybrid vehicles. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said that U.S. drivers could slash gas consumption by 12 to 20 percent just by driving lighter vehicles like those now on the road in Europe and Japan. Adopting hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology, which emit less than half of the carbon dioxide of conventional engines, would bring even greater efficiencies. The MIT researchers concluded that these improvements, in addition to the possible introduction of fuel cell vehicles in the next 25 years, mean that the U.S. could cut its gasoline consumption by 30 to 50 percent by 2035.
U.S. Gas Consumption Could be Halved With New Vehicles
More From E360
-
Cities
‘Sponge City’: How Copenhagen Is Adapting to a Wetter Future
-
INTERVIEW
On Controlling Fire, New Lessons from a Deep Indigenous Past
-
Solutions
Paying the People: Liberia’s Novel Plan to Save Its Forests
-
OPINION
Forest Service Plan Threatens the Heart of an Alaskan Wilderness
-
INTERVIEW
Pakistan’s Solar Revolution Is Bringing Power to the People
-
Food & Agriculture
In Uganda, Deadly Landslides Force an Agricultural Reckoning
-
Energy
Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds
-
Food & Agriculture
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World
-
Climate
Lightning Strikes the Arctic: What Will It Mean for the Far North?
-
RIVERS
A Win for Farmers and Tribes Brings New Hope to the Klamath
-
Solutions
Deconstructing Buildings: The Quest for New Life for Old Wood
-
NATURAL DEFENSES
How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion