The harmful effects of biofuels have been known for years. However, as with most addictive behaviors, people may be apathetic to do anything – until, that is, one’s own family is affected by the destructive behavior patterns. Such has been the plight of the American family, whose remarkable environmental consciousness has been jump-started, not so much by the declining condition of the environment, but rather by the sky rocketing fuel prices. Everyone is now disturbingly aware of the high cost of biofuel dependency, and, oh yeah, that includes thoughts of the environment, too. This painful realization has served us well. The purpose of pain, after all, is to bring to the forefront of consciousness a problem that requires immediate attention. So, now that our fuel problem has affected the entire nation, we take sola­ce in the fact that we are not alone in our struggle to find a better, less painful fuel solutions. First on everyone’s mind these days is transportation. It is not going to be an easy recovery, especially since so much of our livelihood has for so long hinged on our ability to be able to get around by automobile. We simply cannot quit cold turkey. Just try going through an entire day without thinking about how much a given commute will cost. When it comes to what people are looking for when buying a car, fuel efficiency now rivals safety. In the race to use less and/or find alternatives, hybrids generally have taken the lead here in America. This is not so in Europe, however. This might cause some to wonder, since diesel engines account for over half of all automobiles in Europe. Though Europe certainly is ahead of the U.S. as far as environmental standards, their preferred mode of transportation may raise some eyebrows as to whether or not they have dropped the ball when it comes to the environment and fuel efficiency. Surprisingly though, when it comes to diesel/hybrid comparisons, the similarity in numbers is much closer than you might imagine. The favorable attraction to diesel is, of course, the engine. In general, diesel engines are more fuel-efficient than their gasoline counterparts. Diesel vehicles offer up to 30-percent better fuel economy than a comparable gasoline engine. That makes diesel-powered vehicles very comparable to hybrid technology when comes to fuel efficiency and environmental impact. Building on a solid history and incorporating the best of modern technologies, diesel engines wear like iron and run much quieter than they used to. In stark comparison to many gasoline-powered cars, when properly maintained, diesel engines are legendary for their longevity. For those who are willing to keep their vehicle rather than buy new every two or three years, this means less impact on landfills, which in turn addresses other environmental concerns.

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