Hydrogen fuel cells or batteries may be the answer, according to him. With the fuel cells, hydrogen and oxygen combine to generate electricity, and the exhaust is water. Batteries need to be charged, and power from nuclear reactors, solar cells, hydroelectric dams and wind turbines are among alternatives not dependent on burning carbon.

Internal-combustion engines are not as efficient as electricity, according to Singleton. "Electric motors are like 90 percent efficient, and you can even increase that efficiency ... and then a gasoline engine is only about 15 to 30 percent efficient."

Electric Jaws Jr. has already flown across the salt, hitting 85 mph in a one-eighth-mile trial. The race later in the month will be on a one-mile track. "It's called the flying mile," Singleton said.

The record doesn't depend on average speed for the mile. Toward the end of the mile is a section called the traps, where the speed is clocked, and the speed there is what counts.

"You hopefully are going as fast as you can in that section," said Singleton, who thinks he can set a new record.

After all, in an eighth of a mile, he went 85 mph in nine seconds. The tachometer hit 3,700 revolutions per minute. "The motor can turn like 7,000 (rpm). So we weren't pushing it."

The vehicle carries 12 motorcycle batteries, each 12 volts. Each battery is about a quarter the size of a regular car battery, and all fit in a battery box.

Asked to describe the sensations of racing an electric car on the Salt Flats, Singleton said he was impressed by the air whooshing past. "Electric motors are completely silent other than your chain drive and your wheels. ... It's the coolest thing, how quiet it is."

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