Florida State University officials unveiled a new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) car in an effort to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.
“The unveiling of the Compressed Natural Gas car shows that Florida State is pushing for something better for the economy,” said Corey Shirley, a senior business management and real estate student at Florida State. “This initiative could lead to bigger development in the future.”
Gerome Ogeris, an FSU Alumni said, “The vehicle will have a positive impact on the community because it would reduce our [need] on the current resources we have and also reduce the amount of pollution we create.”
According to the Florida State University Office of Research, the CNG car, a Honda Civic, produces 60-90 percent less smog producing pollutants and 30-40 percent less greenhouse gas emissions. United States Environmental Protection Agency has called it the cleanest internal combustion vehicle on Earth. It also costs considerably less to fill the tank (estimated half the price of regular gasoline) and it uses a fuel that is almost entirely domestic.
The Office of Research in a statement said that it’s time to move beyond the debate and get behind the wheel of a potential game changer in our nation’s energy dilemma.
Florida State’s Office of Research collaborated with American Honda to build the environmentally attentive vehicle from the start to finish.
Students and faculty got a chance to watch the unveiling of the CNG car at the university’s Material Research Building and learned about the technology exactly from Honda CNG experts.
“The Compressed Natural Gas car is a new and cool addition to the universities research development,” said Larry Edwards, a senior international affairs student at Florida State. “It’s healthier for our environment because it burns cleaner than gasoline and it’s healthy for our ozone.”
FSU’s CNG car initiative involves a partnership with Leon County Schools, the city of Tallahassee and Proctor Honda. Until local public stations are constructed, Leon County Schools and the city allow the university to use their existing CNG facilities to refuel the car. Proctor Honda was active in getting the car to Tallahassee in order for Florida State researchers to begin the project, according to the Florida State news site.
To learn more about the FSU CNG car, visit http://www.research.fsu.edu/naturalgascar/.