For all the hype about hybrids and electric cars, the best way to reduce our carbon footprint is to make the cars we're already driving more efficient. But switching a vehicle to alternative fuels or getting a plug-in hybrid conversion is expensive, and the IRS, foolishly, doesn't cut you any slack for it.

Although the government provides tax breaks for hybrids and alt-fuel vehicles produced by major automakers, it doesn't provide any relief to those who make their existing cars greener. "There are no incentives for the 248 million vehicle owners in the United States to convert their vehicles into cleaner, greener plug-in hybrids," says Frank Kuchinski of Poulsen Hybrid, one of a growing number of companies doing such conversions.

Such a policy is short-sighted, given the emphasis lawmakers put on easing our dependence on foreign oil and the urgent need to address global warming. It must be changed.

Plug-in hybrids capable of 100 miles per gallon or more and electric vehicles that emit no emissions hold great promise for weaning us from oil. But they remain years, if not decades, away from widespread adoption. Toyota has been building the Prius for a decade and only recently saw sales surpass 1 million. Gas-electric vehicles like the Prius and forthcoming Honda Insight still comprise less than 3 percent of the market.

A growing number of companies are developing the technology to convert gasoline cars to run on ethanol or compressed natural gas, and others are converting hybrids to plug-in hybrids. Such conversions typically cost several thousand dollars, but can reach as much as $35,000. That has advocates like Andy Grove, the Intel founder who has called for 10 million plug-in conversions by 2012, to propose a federal tax credit that would cover half the cost of making the switch.

Kuchinski recommends increasing the gas tax — something that is long overdue anyway — to pay for it. He says the question is, "Are consumers willing to add a few pennies to the gasoline tax to fund green incentives for consumers who want to convert their vehicles into a plug-in hybrid or would like to purchase a new hybrid or plug-in hybrid?"

It's a good idea. After all, if the IRS can provide tax breaks to people who claim their SUVs as a business expense, it can offer some relief to people who do something that, ultimately, benefits us all.*

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Photo: Flickr / Rainforest Action Network.

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