A Critique of “Why the Gasoline Engine Isn’t Going Away Any Time Soon” by Joseph B. White

The dependency on transportation in today’s society is quite remarkable. There are many forms that people take advantage of everyday including: planes, trains, and automobiles. Unfortunately, these diverse varieties of transportation do not run on imagination. For automotive vehicles, the most prevalent material used to operate are fossil fuels. There is a popular concern with the abundant reliance on these fossil fuels, which are a nonrenewable resource. The controversial usage has opened the discussion to alternative opportunities for fuel sources that, potentially, can replace the current fossil fuel being used in automotive vehicles. When considering the current market of cars, many have complaints in gas powered automobiles. There are many problems, commonly discussed, with emissions. Cars have a tendency to be harmful to the environment, and expensive to use frequently. This is where the alternatively powered cars are introduced into the conversation. There are multiple vehicles that can replace the prevalently operated, gas powered cars. However, alternatively powered vehicles must be considered in the same aspects a consumer would think about when buying a normal car. The buyer of automobiles, in the current market, look at the necessities that come with the maintenance and upkeep the car requires. Price, maintenance costs, insurance, incentives, and quality of life are

The issue to be discussed in this paper is the moral rightness associated with utilizing gasoline and oil in the vehicles of tomorrow. Since the release of the Ford Model T in 1908, gasoline has been the primary source of fuel by which vehicles rely on to run. In 1908, the price of oil was about $18 per barrel2. The mode

Cars, just about every household in America has probably at least two parked in their driveway at any given time. The dependency on the gas powered car has substantially increased since it’s invention and production back in 1908 by the Ford Motor Company. As of 2014, it was estimated that there were over 88 million cars produced world-wide and growing every day. (Fig. 1) Even though a lot of these vehicles might be the new Hybrid edition, the majority of them have a dependency on oil and gasoline products for their survival and existence. Petroleum products, such as oil and gasoline do not come cheap or even free to the consumer, even the

As stated in his article “Why the Gasoline Engine Isn’t Going Away Any Time Soon,” Joseph B. White believes that “an automotive revolution is coming -- but it’s traveling in the slow lane” (White 260). He goes on to state throughout his article that today’s reality is one that prevents this “revolution” from taking place in the way that Americans all hope for. He sites the current inability to design an engine that would run on an energy source other than gasoline or diesel but still have the same power that traditional engines have, as well as the cost of gasoline versus the cost of electricity, as some of the sources of our woes. Some companies do not want to move away from their old factories and workers whose union agreements make dismissing

Is it possible to visualize not having to stop to refuel cars with gas? Is preserving the environment for future generations important? Is safety a factor when choosing a car? It is the year 2017 yet, abundant products like gas powered cars are generating toxic pollutants that are detrimental to our habitat. Not to mention, the tremendous price tag and safety, uncertainties we experience pertaining to these types of vehicles. To illustrate this dilemma, approximately each home in the United States occupies one car fueled by gas. Flying cars like in the cartoon show The Jetsons do not exist; nonetheless, there is a superior solution. People should switch to Electric transportation because they provide ample benefits to our society such as

This critical review will first provide a summary of the arguments put forth by the author, and then provide a critical analysis of the same in context of the article’s persuasiveness.

Bush introduced funding and advocated for hydrogen vehicles in America. The administration recognized that its pollution-free effects on the environment was what the world needed in order to achieve a safer environment. However, months following the introduction of hydrogen fuel the research of hydrogen vehicles was cut due to its relation to the electric car. The hydrogen vehicle and electric car have been in continuous contention as to which is the more positive technological solution to the environmental problem. The electric car triumphed over the hydrogen car, which abolished hydrogen

Imagine never being locked out of your disgusting gas-guzzling vehicle in sub-zero temperatures pumping your car full of toxic chemicals and then later emptying your bank account to pay for the environment killer ever again. This reality is near and approaching faster than ever before. Although, it is not completely beneficial. It is evident that at an international level, electric cars are needed. But, this is only one side of the story, despite common belief, electric vehicles are not always good for the environment. It is true that they will benefit bank accounts, however, the only way for electric cars to improve the environment is if they are powered by clean renewable energy.

Technological advances that are needed to justify the use of Ethanol include the ability to provide higher yields of corn per acre, the reduction of resources and energy needed to mill ethanol and an improvement in the mileage efficiency for vehicles using ethanol. We are working towards reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and our development of alternative energy sources, but we are not there yet. More research and development in the lab, along with rational reviews of the resources that will be needed and used during production which consequently impacts consumers’ needs to occur more thoroughly before we initiate action. However, even if we do create a sustainable fuel source, I don’t think we are addressing the larger picture. According

“According to the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production in 2013 added more than 87,000 direct jobs across the country, $44 billion to the gross domestic product, and $30.7 billion in household income” ("Ethanol Benefits and Considerations"). A nonrenewable resource, gasoline, currently occupies the United States’s spot as the main fuel source. This not only means our fuel supply will eventually be depleted, but the country’s main fuel supply is harming the environment. Throughout the last decade, the idea of ethanol, a renewable resource, starting to replace gasoline has been debated, but until the last few years, remained implausible. Recent technology innovations, enhancing the performance of ethanol fuel, transformed this idea into a reality. The adoption of ethanol as the main source of our country’s fuel not only benefits the country as a whole but individuals’ vehicles .

When it comes to the electric vehicle its true potential lies in its power grid. For example, in a country whose power mostly comes from nuclear energy, the electric vehicle is truly green however in a country like the united states who derives most of its energy from coal and other fossil fuels, the electric car no longer serves its purpose. Not only is the power used to drive the car toxic but also the energy used to build it is made out of fossil fuels. Even though the electric vehicle is not truly green does not mean that it is a lost cause; there is plenty of room for improvement and time for the electric car to match its green

Given the current price of Brent Crude at $49.31 per barrel, down more than $50 in less than two years, demand for fuel-efficient cars has seen a precipitous decline. Through June 2015, the market share for hybrid electric cars and electric vehicles accounted for 2.8% of automobile market share, down from 3.6% through the same period in 2014. Correspondingly, GM’s plug-in hybrid Volt fell 35% in July. To make the outlook more dismal for electric cars, a global glut in oil and weakening world demand both point to sustained low prices for oil over the medium term.

Imagine a world where money no longer had value and the only thing of worth was oil. This very well could be the foreseeable future as our dependence upon fossil fuels grows and the supply dwindles. We need to see a change in the way we use these irreplaceable fuels by attacking the source of consumption. Our cars. By sharing technology that was developed centuries ago, our current automobiles are a thing of the past. Technology is always advancing, but for some reason all this technology can only make it possible for me to send Tweets while I am sitting in rush hour traffic. Instead, there needs to be a change in power plant of these automobiles, we need renewable energy and fast. A world without oil is inevitably coming and it seems we are ill prepared. Current combustion engine powered vehicles must become extinct or else we will, due to the crumbling amount of oil left, the horrible pollution burning these fuels cause, and the fact that buying a hybrid will not make this problem go away; it could actually intensify it.

The invention of the internal combustion engine in vehicles signalled the reign of dominance of petroleum as the premium source of transport fuel. Fast forward a few decades and our present world is facing a spectrum of issues that questions

The critique of the article has been done to identify some assumptions that are being made by the authors, further challenging them and proving the point to be valid or not.