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We've said it before and, because there's a well-written article on the subject in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required), we'll say it again: Tweaking regular gasoline-powered cars is likely to curb oil use more than plug-in-hybrid and electric vehicles for years to come.


Raising the average fuel economy of gasoline cars around the world to 36 miles per gallon from 26 mpg will likely save more than six times as much oil in 2030 as rolling out enough plug-in hybrids to constitute 7 percent of the global auto fleet.


So says BP PLC. It's an oil company with a stake in the success of gasoline-powered cars, but its findings agree with other studies.


For years, the fight to curb fossil-fuel consumption has often involved moon shots. But many of those efforts - such as cars powered by methanol, natural gas or hydrogen - haven't exactly taken off. The smarter strategy for reducing energy consumption and pollution more broadly would be decidedly low-tech solutions, a growing number of experts say.


"Policymakers have to be careful that they don't become so wowed by the sexy new technologies that they lose sight of what's available, known and tested," David Victor, an energy expert at the University of California at San Diego, told the Journal.


Low-tech steps themselves won't suffice, many scientists and policymakers say. They recommend slashing greenhouse-gas emissions 50 percent or more by the middle of the century, and that won't likely happen without sophisticated technologies like burying carbon-dioxide emissions underground, nuclear energy, and wind and solar power.


But big improvements from those costly technologies may be years away. Today, there are measures available for both the industrialized West and the developing world that may seem more evolutionary than revolutionary. But these unglamorous options could add up to major environmental progress - and at a cost more palatable in struggling economies, scientists say.
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Tags: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Electric Vehicle, Hybrids, Plug-in Hybrid, Steven Chu, Wall Street Journal

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Hybrids Are Good, but ICE Car Tweaks, Cooking Stoves Better for Curbing Oil Use was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.