August 3, 2005
Rally touts alternative fuel sources
TC Greens sponsor Alternative Energy Car Fair Picnic featuring hybrid car, bio-diesel vehicles
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Driving 1,000 miles a week for his job, servicing restaurants where he sees an abundance of leftover cooking oil businesses pay to haul away, Glen Holman believes there is a better - and cheaper - way to drive.
Determined to learn more about alternative fuels, Holman attended the Alternative Energy Car Fair Picnic Monday at Sunset Park. Talking with the two dozen other attendees and checking out a hybrid car, bicycles and some bio-diesel cars, Holman was in the right place at the right time.
"I see all sorts of substances that would fit into this scheme of things in an amazingly wonderful way," said the Lake Ann resident. "I'm not a doctor, I'm not an attorney, I'm not a businessman - I'm just a working man. But there's gotta be a Henry Ford in this that can make it affordable to the common guy."
Bringing together enthusiasm and energy like Holman's was the point of the picnic, a second annual event sponsored by the Traverse Bay Watershed Greens. Organizers also hoped for a visit from the University of Michigan Solar Car Team and their cutting edge car, in town for an automotive conference, but they did not make it to the park.
With gas prices at painful highs and some projecting shortages of oil in a generation, the Greens think consumers are ready to transcend SUVs and gasoline.
"I think that with all the growth that's going in on Traverse City, what some people would call urban sprawl, it's getting harder and harder to walk places," said Jason Glover, member of the Green Party and former candidate for Northwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees. "And there's a lot going on about peak oil, where demand outstrips supply where prices continually increase until there's no more oil left."
Barry Lishawa took delivery of a hybrid Honda Friday after being excited about the technology for some time. Combining a gasoline engine with electric power and a battery, his car will get at least 48 miles per gallon, with the potential of reaching 60 mpg. In addition, the car is quiet, clean and low maintenance.
"When you stop, the engine totally shuts off and every time you brake or de-accelerate, the electric motor turns into a charger and charges the battery," he said of the mobile power plant. "There is not hesitation, driving it doesn't feel any different than any other small car."
Although the purchase price was approximately $2,000 more than a comparable car, the savings in gasoline costs will accrue quickly. In addition, he can take a $2,000 federal tax credit next year to compensate.
Lishawa said his investment in a new hybrid car is a long-term one. He plans to give his old diesel Volkswagon to his son who wants to convert it to use bio-diesel fuel. A kit to make this conversion costs about $800 and has an estimated return on investment of two years.
"I'm buying this forever," he said of the hybrid car. "According to what I've heard, we've only got 30 more years of oil left on this planet."
Susan Odgers and her husband, Tom Maier, purchased their hybrid car in April of 2003, bringing one of the first ones in the region. She termed it a feel good purchase that aligned with their personal convictions. From last year's rally, she notices that women were very interested in hybrid technology for cars, drawn by environmental concerns as well as the car's affordability and low maintenance.
"Not that men don't care about the environment, but women seem to be drawn to these cars, especially because of the low maintenance," she noted.
One small benefit out of many is that the hybrid car's battery allows Odgers to leave her mobility dog in the car on occasion. She simply leaves the air conditioner running on the battery, without generating noise or pollution, so the dog stays cool and safe.
However, she has had to educate concerned passerby that her dog was OK.
"We've had to put a sign in the window, 'Do not break window, the a/c is running,'" Odgers said.