One for the Greens bless em`& Anti 4X4 lot..

[att]

Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
By Chris Demorro
Staff Writer




The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.
Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.

The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?

You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius’s EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.

However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn’t be writing this article. It gets much worse.

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.

“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.

All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?

Wait, I haven’t even got to the best part yet.

When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis.

Through a study by CNW Marketing called “Dust to Dust,” the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.

The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.

So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.

One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.

[thermidorthelobster]

This is interesting.  If anybody knows of anywhere which gives a reliable source for carbon emissions for building cars in general - or ideally specific models - I'd be interested to know, as I've never found anything.

[Skibum346]

Hope this works...

The Nickel Mine in Sudbury, Ontario!

Skibum

[att]

It works......Looks like a nasty place, only green bits are the water :shock:

[Skibum346]

And if you zoom out... the tan colour extends for a good 30K North East and South West...

Think we should open a stand at the next ramblers show.... selling rucksack patches...

"Save the Planet.... Drive a Hummer!"

 :(biglaugh):

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

Hopefully that will shut the self-righteous gits right up!

[mike142sl]

att

Where did you get the article?

[Horness]

att

Where did you get the article?

Central Connecticut State University

The article doesn't even touch on the energy costs involved in recycling the Prius' batteries once the car goes to the scrap yard.

[Bulli]

the trouble with the whole thing is that the people smugly driving around in their priuses are deaf to the facts. They have already chosen to hear what suited them and wont believe evidence to the contrary.
Im sure all ramblers believe all erosion is caused by 4x4 and choose not to look at facts, its not what they want to hear. Belief is a very strong thing and very difficult to change...look at religion there has been no proof of a higher intelegence but millions believe there is and who's to say they are wrong. The fact that many religions have changed over the centuries and some have wildly different views doesnt seem to concern anyone with a firm belief.

[rollazuki]

It costs a wee bit to manufacture, yup, it also probably cost a hell of a lot in R&D as well, but how does mankind make progress......?
My guess is the model T ford is pretty good environmentally, especially if we all ran them.
There would be an endless supply of used parts(cos we have all got one), theres no trim per se. so no plastics etc,
Its got skinny ass tires so little rubber involved.
My guess it was mostly iron and steel, so ultimately recyclable!

Is that what you want???????????????????????????

Toyota are pretty much leading the pack as far as petrol/electric hybrids go, for all the nay sayers who note some poxy little diesel can do the same or better mileage, dont forget the prius is a full 5 seat family car. With all the usual(and expected) toys like AC and electric whatnots.

When the prius began it was the ONLY one of its kind, its lead to developments in materials recycling(like the majority of the interior plastics), and of course the LI Battery.

The battery has (so far) an indefinite life, and Toyota have warranted them to 100k, or 5 years such is their faith in the technology.

The LI Batteries if failed are returned to Toyota for recycling, so wont sit around in a scrapyard ruining the british countryside.

There is always a cost allocated to progress, the question is, do we want progress?

Maybe we would be happier running to work in the infinitely recyclable T Ford.........






Rolla.

[Bulli]

or the infinately recyclable Land rover...id prefer that

[rollazuki]

As long as its a series or basic 90 type model.
For all you guys with discos and such like with fancy electric windows, power/heated seats, interior trim, carpets, Id guess you are are driving the wrong car

[mike142sl]

As long as its a series or basic 90 type model.
For all you guys with discos and such like with fancy electric windows, power/heated seats, interior trim, carpets, Id guess you are are driving the wrong car

:roll: That's all we need, a splitter in the ranks   - and you from Sheffield as well, what ever next.

Speaking of progress, have you seen this new engine technology http://www.theaircar.com/howitworks.html Looks very interesting but WHY do they have to put it into a shell that looks so toy town???????? There is also no detail about what it sounds like - I suspect it's close to a steam engine! Interesting though.

[Range Rover Blues]

Anyone who tells you that a rechargeable battery has an infinite life, just take a look at your cell-phone.

I've had mine a year and it's spending a third of it's life on the charger now.

Plus I can get 5 adults into my Micra, it will do about 60 to the gallon, real world figures, the manufacturer claimms better.  Why, because I'm not dragging around half a tonne of Nickel foam that I wouldn't want to be near in an accident.

Thing is they are using something called regenerative braking.  It's not a new idea at all, the railways have been doing it for ages.

I read a study years ago that concluded the worst thing to happen for the electric vehicle was the forst world war.  Before 1914 most comecrial vehicles were steam or electric (or horse-drawn) but the demend for a relieble power source miles form anywhere lead to the rise of the IC engine, after the war the large number of surplus vehilces added to the 'new' technology saw the IC engine take off and electic power was all but abandoned.

We were supposed to be electrifying the railways in the 30's and 40's but then came WW2 and that got shelved for 20 or 30 years too.  Woodhead being one of the few electric lines in Britain (and that was pulled up shortly after, causing a masive outcry) and the network hasn't been completed to date.

What makes me laugh is all these people in their electric cars like the g-wizz, they think it's so clean but they don't see the massive polution at the other end of the cable.

Truth is if we want personall mobilty it comes at a cost and untill we make our cars solar powered then it will always take a certain amount of energy to do a certain amount of work.

Oh, solar powered, that's like using a fuel that's based on crops which absorb the same amount of carbon to grow as the fuel relases when it's burned.

Like Biodiesel then?