Thats’ the question that Alternet asked today.

Alternet writes:

Motorcycles typically get about double the gas mileage of even the most fuel-efficient cars-but that doesn’t mean they are green. Despite getting 60-70 miles per gallon, motorcycles are not subject to the same rigorous emissions standards as cars and light duty trucks, even though they spew up to 15 times more pollution per mile, mostly in the form of smog-causing hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides.

Increasingly stringent regulations in Europe and the U.S. have forced automakers to make their engines cleaner, but motorcycle manufacturers have not been held to such high standards and have therefore been slow to implement similar advances. According to the European Commission, motorcycles-despite only accounting for about three percent of total traffic volume in Europe-are expected to generate as much as 14 percent of that continent’s total hydrocarbon emissions by 2010.

This is good to know. I definitely know people who have validated their motorcycle morning commute and their mid-life crisis bike this way. However, there is hope. Several motorcycle manufacturing companies, such as Honda. are looking at ways to make motorcycles a greener ride. Additionally, Intelligent Energy, a British company, is in the process of developing an Emissions Neutral Vehicle (ENV), which is a motorcycle powered by a detachable hydrogen-powered fuel cell.

via alternet
image via chrisabraham