Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
THE GOVERNMENT'S massive advertising campaign promoting diesel fuel has rubbed some environmentalists the wrong way. The environmenta-lists believe that the promotion of diesel could have damaging effects on the environment.
A release from the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) states that while diesel does give more mileage per gallon than petrol, it takes 25 per cent more oil to make that gallon, and contributes 17 per cent more to global warming than petrol. Diesel also produces more soot and oxides of nitrogen, a main contributor to smog.
IMPORTING ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Diana McCaulay, executive director of JET, said the country should be looking towards importing hybrid electric vehicles, which consume far less fuel.
The Gleaner was, however, unable to locate a local automobile dealership which imports hybrid electric vehicles. One of the most popular hybrid electric vehicles on the international market is made by Toyota.
A representative of Toyota Jamaica told The Gleaner that the company does not import hybrid electric vehicles because it does not have the equipment to service them. He added that the company has no immediate plans to import such vehicles.
Ms. McCaulay, however, suggested that concerns pertaining to the servicing of these vehicles could be addressed in many ways. She said Government could implement a policy in which all Government vehicles would be hybrid electric. She said this would help to generate an industry for the servicing of these vehicles.
Pollution and vehicles
Persons who wish to see how much pollution their vehicle emits can log on to the United States Environmental Protection Agency website at www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.
In Jamaica, between 1993 and 1999, the number of vehicles on the country's roads doubled from 171,000 to 348,000.
According to data from the Inland Revenue Department, between 2000 and 2002, the number of new vehicles registered was 67,851.
