Sunlight, landscaping, natural breezes, and the choice of building materials can all reduce the need to use and pay for fuel and electricity. The addition of energy-absorbing thermal mass material, that stores and slowly releases heat inside a house can help maximise its use of sunlight. The future of commuting looks cleaner and greener with new technological developments on the horizon. Vehicles that will help reduce air and water pollution, global warming, and oil consumption are now on the road. These vehicles emit less pollution and achieve greater fuel economy than traditional combustion vehicles.
Clean vehicles eliminate tailpipe pollution and enable drivers to break free of petrol consumption.
Some clean vehicles, combine hydrogen with oxygen to produce electricity. A General Motors fuel-cell van, which appeared in the 1999 Paris auto show is the latest vehicle using this clean technology. Such fuel cells are currently used in buses and could be powering passenger cars as soon as 2003. If fuelled by methanol, the fuel cells can double the fuel economy while virtually zeroing out smog emissions. Natural gas, propane, methanol, and ethanol, are other building blocks in store for a clean-car future that combines advanced technology vehicles and environmentally friendly fuels.