Energy concerns are increasing and with the rise in heating oil everyone is starting to get just a little more concerned with how much their lifestyle is going to cost them this winter. Already increasing percentages of people are re-mapping their routes to work, and organizing tasks to use the least amount of gas. Though we have a brief respite with gas prices dipping down below $4 a gallon again, it is certain that they will continue to rise over time.

Some people take the position that if it isn’t critical right now, then why worry about it? If gas prices have dipped down then all is well. Consider the home heating oil and natural gas price increases as well as the airline’s new fuel charges. We’re feeling the pinch in other areas and you can bet that the airlines will simply make this a fact of life and when was the last time that the cost of heating your home went down over time without you shelling out money for home improvements?

I’ve been concerned for some time with the various increases in my cost of living, increases that were not matched by higher income, or lower costs elsewhere. No, as we slog through a recession (or at least a period of slow or no growth) and our incomes remain stagnant, corporations want to see continued growth and draw that from us with increased rates.

It’s up to us to create our own money saving methods, and that’s where turning your car into a hybrid comes in.

We’ve all see the news clips about a guy that runs his car on French fry grease, or other crazy things like animal dung, or even water. Even if half of them are bunk, a few have to be for real. But if they are, why aren’t they hitting the mainstream?

Hydrogen is.

Mercedes-Benz and Honda already have fully hydrogen cars, and Chrysler has been producing hydrogen busses for some time. There are even several hundred hydrogen fuel stations around the world. 15 in California alone!

OK, so even if hydrogen is shaping up as an alternative fuel, how does that help us out? Most of us don’t have the dough to get a brand new hydrogen car, or even a decent gas/electric hybrid to bump up our mileage.

As it turns out, a method for extracting Hydrogen from water (known as water electrolysis) has existed for some time and systems for extracting it and delivering it to your car’s engine are becoming increasingly available!

Wait! Add Hydrogen to my existing car’s engine? Isn’t that stuff pretty explosive?

It is, but so is the gas you already burn. Hydrogen helps it burn better by increasing the speed and completeness with which your car burns its fuel. It also makes your car have lower emissions and up to 40% increase in gas mileage.

Over 95% of existing cars can burn added hydrogen with no modification to the engine and little more than a simple kit to create the hydrogen and add it to the air flowing into your car’s engine will turn your car into a hybrid.

By: Michael D Cooper

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