Driving seems to be a necessity for so many of us, which only helps to fuel the growing volume carbon emissions in the atmosphere, pun intended. How do we tackle this ever-growing industry? Do we only use public transport; electric vehicles; hybrids or energy efficient cars? Or stop driving all together? Maybe get a bicycle? All good ideas but let’s be realistic – it’s our psychological habits that we must alter to tip the scale of climate change. In addition we can also change some of our everyday needs to have more eco-friendly outputs.

Transportation has grown a thousand-fold over the last century: from travelling by horse and cart, to flying and launching into space and beyond. No doubt our need to get from A to B everyday is likely to be a significant factor in why our earth is experiencing the damaging effects such as global warming, climate change, and everyday pollution. If we are to continue using our everyday vehicles to get around, why don’t we all use vehicles that don’t harm the earth? If you have ever seen the film ‘Who killed the electric car’ you would have been stunned as I was to see what happened to this inspiring concept. Just imagine if, back in the early 90s, an electric car system was actually allowed be put in place instead of being shutting down. Why we didn’t go electric from the beginning is a matter for conjecture, and has left us using petrol-fuelled vehicles, driving our rampant and ever growing need for oil. So much so that now we just can’t seem to kick the habit, even though there are so many fantastic alternatives that have spurred global interest and controversy in recent years.

One of the more recent developments is transforming petrol-fuelled vehicles into environmentally friendly vehicles using fuels such as 85 Ethanol, which can reduce CO2 and toxic emissions by up to 90%. On the other hand, in Israel, we are about to witness the first electric car grid system backed by Better Place, a venture-backed firm.

Better Place hopes to set up similar networks around the world in Denmark, Australia, San Francisco, Hawaii, and the west coast of Canada, as well as a small taxi network in Japan. Renault and Nissan have come together for this venture providing the electric cars that will be used and Better Place is building the energy-charging infrastructure. Shai Agassi, founder of Better Place, says that one of the main reasons why this is possible is due to enormous government support from Israel with a desire to “detach themselves from oil”.

Video: Better Place Intro

Better Place should be an inspiration to the auto industry and will hopefully receive “buy in” from other governments and car manufacturers. In the meantime we are all waiting to see how Israel’s pilot will perform and whether that can be replicated in other regions of our earth.

Back in Australia, what have we got in the way of energy-efficient vehicles? There are a few Toyota vehicles that are hybrids, and Honda has a hybrid as well. Saab on the other hand advertised “Grrrreen” but as we know now, only promised to plant 17 native trees through Greenfleet. They were effectively taken to court by the ACCC for misleading and deceptive conduct. And now, Saab BioPower has been introduced as Australia's first ethanol production car, which can run on the renewable E85 fuel. However, in the US, almost every car manufacturer has some form of hybrid electric vehicle available right now. It’s baffling as to why these are not on offer in Australia yet.

Spotlight: Volvo C30 DRIVe*

Green Times recently had the opportunity to test drive one of Australia’s newest energy efficient vehicles, the Volvo C30 DRIVe:

One of Australia’s newest energy efficient vehicles comes from Volvo, the C30 DRIVe. This vehicle is a remarkable example of what all vehicles could be like today without losing any of the usual bells and whistles. With its 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine developing 80kW/240Nm, it has the best-in-class fuel economy and CO2 emissions. This vehicle delivers a combined cycle fuel consumption of just 3.8L/100km while only emitting 99 grams of CO2 per km. Volvo says that with a single 52-litre tank of diesel fuel the car can get 1300km.

If that’s not impressive enough, this vehicle also includes ‘Stop/Start’ technology that switches the engine off when the car is at standstill. At first this seems a bit strange – at a red light the car just turns itself off – but as soon as you slightly touch the clutch the engine restarts by itself. After experiencing this car, I am left wondering why all cars don’t use this technology – right now. We waste so much fuel when the car is not driving and of course this also contributes to our emissions and pollution.

The C30’s aerodynamic alloy wheels have low rolling resistance tyres – saving even more fuel. When driving you can really feel that this car was made with efficiency in mind. On top of the efficiency features, the Volvo C30 DRIVe also includes all the safety features you expect these days. It’s a sporty Volvo that doesn’t hurt your conscience, even when driving in the city. Thumbs up to Volvo for introducing this vehicle - it provides high-level performance, value, and environmental peace of mind. Volvo also says that all of its vehicles are designed to be 85% recyclable after their useful life.

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