Spring Break
Parking spot gives hybrids a boost
CHRISTINA KIRKLAND
Issue date: 11/16/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The future of cars is driving into focus.
NCC is creating a hybrid car-only parking spot in the faculty and staff parking lot.
This occurred after the college's Environmental Task Force petitioned NCC for premium parking for hybrid cars to promote awareness about these environmentally friendly vehicles.
Many colleges and public areas have taken this step toward a more environment conscious society, said Kevin Manna an assistant professor of computer science.
"In my travels with the outdoor clubs I have seen front spots specifically for hybrid cars and other spots for 40-plus mpg cars at lodges we have stayed at and thought it was a good idea," Manna said.
The ETF voted to recommend the college establish a parking space in the faculty and staff lot where most of the hybrid cars on campus are.
Some students object to this move, saying that creating hybrid parking spots is promoting the rich who can afford them, Manna said.
"I don't want it to appear that way," Manna said. "I see students pulling in, in there new BMWs and Mustangs. It wasn't an environmental decision it was an image decision."
Said Donna Acerra, assistant professor of communications and ETF chairperson: "We understand that college students can't buy a new car. We're hoping to open their minds to the future when they can buy a new car."
Hybrid vehicles are a combination of gas and electric energy systems that produce lower emissions and uses less gas, said Richard Noto, a chief engineer on the Staten Island ferry in New York.
Victor Wouk and Charlie Rosen built the first hybrid prototype, the Skylark, in 1974.
Low-emission cars are a step toward a healthier earth, say its proponents, who warn that the fumes released by cars deteriorate the ozone, cause cancer and smell bad.
The fumes are made up of nitrous oxide and a lot of carbon dioxide. Cars that run on high sulfur fuels such as diesel also produce sulfuric acid, Noto said.
The harmful emissions result when an engine's combustion cycle is not complete and leaves a gaseous residue that is released into the atmosphere. The combustion cycle can never be fully completed but the engine can be made efficient enough to produce miniscule amounts of emissions, Noto said.
Hybrid cars and low-sulfur diesel cars are the answer to reducing the harmful gases as well as saving money on gas, Noto said.
All the new hybrid cars have the capacity to get more than 40 mpg, Noto said.
The next step is to use alternative fuels such as converting corn into an ethanol-based fuel.
"That energy is free" -- all you need is the sun, Manna said.
NCC is creating a hybrid car-only parking spot in the faculty and staff parking lot.
This occurred after the college's Environmental Task Force petitioned NCC for premium parking for hybrid cars to promote awareness about these environmentally friendly vehicles.
Many colleges and public areas have taken this step toward a more environment conscious society, said Kevin Manna an assistant professor of computer science.
"In my travels with the outdoor clubs I have seen front spots specifically for hybrid cars and other spots for 40-plus mpg cars at lodges we have stayed at and thought it was a good idea," Manna said.
The ETF voted to recommend the college establish a parking space in the faculty and staff lot where most of the hybrid cars on campus are.
Some students object to this move, saying that creating hybrid parking spots is promoting the rich who can afford them, Manna said.
"I don't want it to appear that way," Manna said. "I see students pulling in, in there new BMWs and Mustangs. It wasn't an environmental decision it was an image decision."
Said Donna Acerra, assistant professor of communications and ETF chairperson: "We understand that college students can't buy a new car. We're hoping to open their minds to the future when they can buy a new car."
Hybrid vehicles are a combination of gas and electric energy systems that produce lower emissions and uses less gas, said Richard Noto, a chief engineer on the Staten Island ferry in New York.
Victor Wouk and Charlie Rosen built the first hybrid prototype, the Skylark, in 1974.
Low-emission cars are a step toward a healthier earth, say its proponents, who warn that the fumes released by cars deteriorate the ozone, cause cancer and smell bad.
The fumes are made up of nitrous oxide and a lot of carbon dioxide. Cars that run on high sulfur fuels such as diesel also produce sulfuric acid, Noto said.
The harmful emissions result when an engine's combustion cycle is not complete and leaves a gaseous residue that is released into the atmosphere. The combustion cycle can never be fully completed but the engine can be made efficient enough to produce miniscule amounts of emissions, Noto said.
Hybrid cars and low-sulfur diesel cars are the answer to reducing the harmful gases as well as saving money on gas, Noto said.
All the new hybrid cars have the capacity to get more than 40 mpg, Noto said.
The next step is to use alternative fuels such as converting corn into an ethanol-based fuel.
"That energy is free" -- all you need is the sun, Manna said.
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