Alternative Fuels Called a Global Warming Risk

Using fuels such as methanol instead of gasoline to power cars could boost the risk of global warming, according to a study given to automotive engineers Wednesday.

However, the study said, stringent government controls on emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to the warming of the Earth, combined with policies discouraging travel by car, could lessen the impact of alternative fuels on the climate.

The study by independent consultant Michael Walsh was presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers.

Alternative fuels such as methanol are derived from coal, natural gas and plants and are used instead of gasoline to fuel cars. Vehicles able to burn such fuels have been built as prototypes by major U.S. auto makers.

More Carbon Dioxide

However, some alternatives to gasoline create high levels of carbon dioxide when burned. That gas, along with others, can inhibit the movement of the sun’s heat from the atmosphere back into space.

Some scientists have predicted that if present trends continue, the Earth’s atmosphere will have warmed, on average, by several degrees by the middle of the next century, with possibly devastating effects on agriculture and the environment.

Alternative fuels “could increase carbon dioxide emissions substantially,” the study said. “The reason is that coal could be used as a feed stock to manufacture methanol, and if it were to do so, overall carbon dioxide emissions would approximately double per mile driven, assuming that vehicles achieved the same energy efficiency as with conventional fuels.”