Human Society Viewed from the Perspective of 3R-Eco Activities and Environmental Measures: Part I -Effectiveness of Incorporating the Hybrid System into Low Fuel-efficient and Long-distance Automobiles-

There is increasing concern over environmental issues and measures to address them across the world. In particular, 3R-Eco activities and other environmental measures have been implemented at a personal to national level. However, current environmental measures are not necessarily effective. To address and solve environmental issues in a real sense, it is important to keep in mind that environmental issues are problems caused by humans. Therefore, the present paper discusses them with a focus on 3R-Eco activities.This paper first discusses “Reduction (waste-reduction) activities”. Large numbers of people are involved in activities that aim to reduce gasoline consumption in particular. There are several approaches, including the combined use of bio and fossil fuels, adoption of solar cars to reduce gasoline consumption, and improving fuel efficiency. Among these, there has been marked progress in hybrid technology in recent years. However, it is still questionable whether the current utilization of hybrid vehicles and technology is an effective environmental measure in today’s society, in which people heavily rely on automobiles. In response to this question, the present study examined the effectiveness of the “use of hybrid technology” for “fuel-efficient automobiles” and “those that run long distances”, including a calculation of the gasoline consumption that can be reduced with the use of hybrid vehicles and an examination of its relationship with fuel efficiency, based on data regarding the use of automobiles by Japanese people. The results suggest the environmental measures that are effective.