Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and use science to find everyday solutions.

I’m Megan Hall. Today we have a question from a listener named Monica. She wants to know if it’s possible to put an electric or hybrid motor into the car she already has. 

We had Dana K and Max Kozlov from our Possibly team look into this question. Welcome, Dana and Max!

Max: Hi Megan!

Dana: Hello!

Megan: So, is it even possible to turn a gas vehicle into an electric vehicle?

Max: Well, to answer the question, we started by talking to Monica. She says,

Monica: I really really don’t want to have to keep using gas. I’ll do whatever I have to get around that.

Dana: The problem is, she has a 2010 Camry that works fine, and she says it feels wasteful to get rid of it. 

Max: So, Monica thought swapping out her gas engine for an electric one might be cheaper and less wasteful.

Monica: I wanted Elon Musk or Henry Ford to show up and say, “here’s a motor you could all put in your car. You don’t have to buy a new car.”

Megan: Okay, so has this been done before?

Dana: Yes, but not in any sort of streamlined way. Many of these conversions are done by car hobbyists who do a lot of tinkering to make this work. 

Megan: But if you wanted to try converting a gas vehicle, how would you do it?

Dana: To find out, we talked to Brian Hohmann, who’s owned Accurate Automotive in Burlington, Massachusetts since 1994. He says the process sounds simple…

Brian: You’re talking about an energy source which is the battery, and then you’re talking about connecting that battery to the wheels.

Max:  …But it’s actually more complicated than that. Once you swap out the engine and transmission, you’d have to switch other car functions like the heating, cooling, and power steering over to battery power. 

Dana: All of these functions would use up some of your converted car’s battery power. 

Max: Plus, in that converted car, the heavier it is, the more electricity you’d need to drive it.

Dana: So, all of these issues might affect the performance of the car. 

Megan: So, all of these factors considered, how easy would it be to convert your gas vehicle?

Max: We asked Brian that question…

Brian: Would I think it’s an easy thing to do? Probably not. 

Dana: He says he probably wouldn’t try a project like this.

Brian: I mean the one thing about electricity when you’re dealing with these high voltages, it’s very dangerous.

Max: He says it would also be very expensive. You’d have to purchase all sorts of specialized parts to hook your car up to its new electrical system.

Megan: How expensive?

Dana: Based on the examples we saw, the parts alone for a project like this would cost around eight to 12 thousand dollars, depending on the kind of car you drive.  

Max: And that’s not counting the cost of hiring a mechanic.

Megan: Okay, so what’s your answer for Monica? Should she try swapping out her engine for one that runs on electricity?

Dana: Probably not. The process is complicated, expensive and maybe even dangerous.

Megan: What should Monica do instead?

Dana: We’d recommend buying a hybrid or electric car when Monica needs a new one. 

Max: Costs are dropping fast, and with federal rebates, the price difference is WAY smaller than it was the last time she shopped for a car.  

Dana: Plus, a new plug-in hybrid or fully electric vehicle would be so efficient it would make up for the emissions used to make it in just a year or two.

Max: And in the meantime, Monica can focus on increasing her gas mileage. Brian Hohmann from Accurate Automotive says filling up her tires is a good place to start.

Brian: Under-inflated tires: that chews up gas mileage. 

Dana: Driving the speed limit also saves gas. We have an entire episode about that topic!

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks Dana and Max! 

That’s it for today. For more information or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to our question page. Or, subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts. 

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio. 

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So, If you’re going on a business trip by yourself, then take a flight, since emissions from driving alone will be greater than flying. But, if you’re traveling with your family, or a bunch of co-workers, think about making it a road trip.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and use science to find everyday solutions.

I’m Megan Hall. Today we have a question from listener Christina Marvin. She wants to know what would happen if everyone who flies on an airplane drove a car instead? 

We had Dana K and Max Kozlov from our Possibly team look into this question. Welcome, Dana and Max!

Dana K: Hi Megan!

Max Kozlov: Hello!

Megan Hall: So, what’s better- flying to your destination or taking a road trip? 

Dana K: Well, to find the answer we started by asking Christina why she was interested in this question:

Christina: So I’m from northeastern Pennsylvania and my fiance is from southern California. And we make a really long trip if we’re trying to visit both families. 

Max Kozlov: Christina and her fiance live in Wisconsin. She felt so guilty about the flight she usually takes to visit her parents that she drove the 14-hour trip.

Dana K: Then, she flew to visit her fiance’s family in California. 

Megan Hall: Ok, so let’s start with her trip to Pennsylvania– what are the emissions from that flight?

Max Kozlov: So, flying first, as you might expect, when the plane burns jet fuel, it creates carbon dioxide emissions.

Dana K: But, you know those thin clouds you see coming out of an airplane when it flies across the sky? That also warms up the atmosphere.  

Megan Hall: How? 

Max Kozlov: Well, those long, thin clouds are caused by vapor coming out of the plane. They’re known as contrails. 

Dana K:  Contrails trap heat that would otherwise escape into space, and this trapped heat warms the atmosphere.  

Megan Hall: So, what are the emissions if you consider both ways that planes warm that atmosphere? 

Max Kozlov: Well, based on our calculations…a one-way flight from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania is about equal to the effect of emitting a sixth of a ton of CO2.  

Megan Hall: how do those emissions compare to driving to Pennsylvania?

Dana K: Well, if Christina drove your average car from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, she would produce twice as much CO2- about a third of a ton.

Megan Hall: Wow, so driving is worse than flying?  Is that the same long-distance flights, like the one Christina took from Pennsylvania to California?  

Max Kozlov: Yes. long-distance flights actually burn a little less fuel per mile, since most fuel is used during take-off and landing. 

Dana K: But, those flights also travel at a higher altitude, which makes those little clouds behind the plane trap more heat. 

Max Kozlov:  Still overall, if you’re traveling alone, flying has less emissions than driving.

Megan Hall: Ok – so should everyone fly instead of drive since it’s faster and produces less emissions?

Max Kozlov: Well, if they drive alone – yes. 

Dana K: However, if some of those people on the plane carpooled, or they were a family that traveled together, the amount of emissions from driving would go down.

Max Kozlov: Driving with just two people in the car makes flying and driving roughly equivalent.

Dana K: and adding more people in the car makes driving more efficient than flying. 

Max Kozlov: It’s also more efficient if people take buses and trains.  

Megan Hall: Ok, so what’s the take-away?

Dana K: Well, first, try to avoid taking unnecessary long-distance trips.  

Max Kozlov: But sometimes, as Christina says, you do need to travel.

Christina: We want to be considerate of people having lives and having responsibilities, things like job interviews, conferences, and family.

Dana K: So our advice is that if you’re going on a business trip by yourself, then take a flight, since emissions from driving alone will be greater than flying.

Max Kozlov: But, if you’re traveling with your family, or a bunch of co-workers, think about making it a road trip.

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks Dana and Max! 

That’s it for today. For more information or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to “the public’s radio dot org slash possibly.” Or, subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts. 

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio. 

References

1. https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2015/09/evolving-climate-math-of-flying-vs-driving/
2. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_institute/transportation_and_global_warming/airplane_emissions/
3. https://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
4. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/06/aviation-s-dirty-secret-airplane-contrails-are-surprisingly-potent-cause-global-warming

The post What Creates More Greenhouse Emissions – Flying Or Driving? appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

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Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.

If you’re like most Rhode Islanders, more than a third of your greenhouse gas emissions come from heating your home. 

Our winters can get pretty cold here, so we wondered, is it possible to stay warm and cut our emissions at the same time? 

We had Max Kozlov + Dana K: from the Possibly team look into this question Welcome Max and Dana!

Max Kozlov: Hi Megan!

Dana K: Hello!

Megan Hall: So, what did you find out about home heating in Rhode Island?

Max Kozlov: Well, if you want to reduce the emissions that come from heating your house, the first thing you should do is make sure it’s insulated. 

Dana K: Once you have a well-insulated house, the next step is to install the most efficient heating system you can find.

Megan Hall: Ok so what are the options for low emissions heating systems? 

Max Kozlov: We talked with Dave Caldwell about this 

Dave Caldwell: I’m the vice president of Coughlin Johnson Homebuilders and Remolders

Dana K: He recommends installing something that’s called a heat pump. It runs on electricity and works sort of like a refrigerator, except in reverse.  

Dave Caldwell: If you see where your cat or your dog likes to lay at the bottom of the fridge because it’s blowing warm air out. The fridge is taking the air from the room, taking the cold out, leaving it in the fridge and exhausting the hot air at the bottom.

Max Kozlov: Instead of sitting in your kitchen, a heat pump sits outside your house. It transfers heat from the outside and brings it inside your home. 

Dana K: That’s way more efficient than creating heat by burning oil or gas.  

Max Kozlov: Heat pumps also work as air conditioners in the summer, removing heat from your house and dumping it outside.

Megan Hall: So how do these heat pumps circulate air through your whole house?

Max Kozlov: If your house already has ducts or central air conditioning, you just connect the heat pump to that existing system. That’s the cheapest option. 

Dana K: But if a house doesn’t already have air ducts, you can install wall-mounted heating units in different rooms throughout the house. 

Max Kozlov: This is more expensive, but it’s also more efficient. 

Megan Hall: How much of a difference will switching to a heat pump make in terms of my greenhouse gas emissions?

Dana K: Well if you switch to heat pumps from an oil furnace, you’ll reduce your emissions by about 50%. 

Max Kozlov: And because heat pumps run on electricity, you can reduce your heating emissions even more if you sign up for electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar power. 

Dana K: That’s something you can do today.

Megan Hall: So, if I want to install heat pumps in my house, what should I do?  

Dana K: First, get an energy audit to make sure your home is well insulated.  

Max Kozlov: Next, find a contractor who has experience installing heat pumps. National Grid has a list of approved vendors and that’s a good place to start. 

Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Max and Dana! 

That’s it for today. For more information or to ask a question about the way you recycle, use energy, or make any other choice that affects the planet, go to “the public’s radio dot org slash possibly.” Or subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts. 

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Public’s Radio. 

Resources

1. RISE engineering gives free home energy audits: https://www.riseengineering.com/home-energy-assessment
2. National Grid’s list of approved contractors for installing heat pumps:https://www.nationalgridus.com/media/pdfs/resi-ways-to-save/rhode-island-electric-mshp-contractors.pdf

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