I'M torn, dear readers. My crappy old car is on its last legs. It spews forth a cloud of black soot when we take off, and if I want to walk my talk, I just don't think that offsetting it with Greenfleet cuts the mustard. I fear it is time for an upgrade, but this is the thing - I really, really don't want to get another car that runs on petrol.

I don't want a deisel either, even if you can run them on bio-diesel. I've gone off the idea of biofuels (okay Jane R had a point), not because I think they are inherrently bad, but I am concerned that there isn't global regulation of their production, and about the threats to forests and food security that unregulated biofuel production poses. And if I'm going to be coughing up (geddit?!) for a new car, I don't want to put money into old technology that works by burning stuff and producing carbon emissions.

I'm not impressed with hybrid technology - I only do short trips around the suburbs mainly (less than half an hour), and Mr Honda Salesman said that there wasn't much point in me purchasing one of their Civic hybrids, because the electric motor really only kicks in when you are on the open road. At least he was honest.

I think that the the government investment in building hybrids is a bit of a greenwash, effecting little real environmental gain, because hybrids really don't save much fuel. I mean the Civic's fuel consumption is 4.6 litres per 100km, compared to that of the regular Civic, 6.9 litres per 100km. So that hybrid consumes about 2/3 the regular petrol engine. Given that the price of petrol has gone up by about 50%, that means that if I drove a hybrid, my weekly fuel bill would be the same as what I was paying at the start of the year. Excuse my for not rejoicing about that.

But I think with the whole oil peak being realised, and petrol prices surging relentlessly higher, to go forward, we just need to stop suckling at the nipple of the international oil conglomerates. It may be comforting and familiar, but it really is time for us to get off the boob and look elsewhere for our energy sustinence. The planet, not to mention our back pockets, will breathe a huge sigh of relief. Hoorah.

Last year's Reva incident got me all excited, imagining about a life where I was completely energy self-sufficient - harvesting my own sunlight for free with PV panels on my roof, and plugging in my little Reva automobile to charge. Alas it was not to be. B*stards.

But failing a car that I can run without paying anyone for the privelege of doing so, what I'd really like is a nice car that produces no emissions and doesn't cost much to run.

And guess what? There is one! The Honda FCX Clarity. Be still my little green beating heart. It's fueled by hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe! (No need to worry about peak-hydrogen any time soon.) This car is powered a hydrogen fuel cell, and produces zero carbon emissions, with water vapor being the by product of the energy producing process. I'm salivating - are you? The downside - and it's a biggie, you need to fill up on hydrogen, so there needs to be infrastructure to support this transportation technology. Because of that you can only get them in California at present, where they have already installed hydrogen refueling stations.

I reckon Rudd would have been better putting $35 Mil into hydrogen stations instead of hybrids ...

STOP PRESS: I'VE FOUND A PLUG IN ELECTRIC CAR MADE HERE IN VICTORIA!!!! OMG I'M SO EXCITED!!! I'll get to the bottom of it and report back ASAP!!!!