Alternate Thursdays when I work until closing (9:15 pm) and have to be back at work to open on Friday (8 am) are always a stressful day for me. Last week my partner Ron was a great help in getting the review of Armed America posted and today, Ron is once again contributing his take on my chosen book to supplement my own hurried post.

I confess to be a bit more of an idealist than Ron and I wanted to believe in the promise of plug-in hybrid cars to more than double the fuel economy of current hybrid cars, which in turn would make bio-fuels a more practicable alternative to oil given the drastically lower total need for fuel. Ron, however sees pie-in-the sky in Sherry Boshert’s paean to Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars That Will Recharge America.

The problem with this book is one I find in a lot of “Green” books: over reaching optimism. While Plug in Hybrid cars could be an important part of saving fuel and cleaning up the environment. They are not the be all, end all.

While the author is realistic about Fuel Cell Technology not being “around the corner”, she’s not as realistic about Plug in hybrid technology. The major problem is where the electricity for the recharge comes from. In most places other than the US Pacific Northwest , electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. Such plants put way more emissions into the air than the most clogged freeway full of cars could ever put out. Plus you’re still using up a non-renewable resource.

It’s also stated that the electricity draw would mostly be at night when traditionally home usage of electricity is less. But we are a 24/7 country. What about those who work nights or evenings? They’ll be recharging during the day, which will increase the draw and could lead to brown outs during heavy demand periods.

People could make similar drops in emissions and fuel usage by the simple act of keeping their cars tuned up, their oil changed and their tires properly inflated. And there’s also using one’s discretion when choosing a vehicle to drive. So many times I see big-assed SUVs running around with only one person inside. Or one adult and one or two children. For those who say they need storage and hauling space, well, there are a lot of good station wagons and hatchbacks out there. That would fill the need and not use up so much fuel. Individual choice is one thing, but it does effect all of us in ways people rarely think of when they purchase a car.

The book’s discussion of GM’s failure with the EV 1 is not as big of a conspiracy as some people think. GM has been making serious mistakes concerning product for a long time now. They won’t put the money into smaller more efficient cars , when people keep buying those big-assed SUVs. It’s not financially feasable for them to build cars that people aren’t buying in sufficient numbers. People say they want efficiency, but they buy large less efficient and actually less safe vehicles.

Again the human race is its own worst enemy. If we didn’t insist on driving large trucks and SUVs and all used the smallest vehicle that would suit our needs, then we would not be having $3/gallon gas again. The air would be cleaner and we’d all not have to deal with people driving big SUVs who have a “tank” mentality. As in “get out of my way or I’ll run right over the top of you”.