This is old, but worth the read:
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.
http://clubs.ccsu.edu/Recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188
CNW Marketing Report here:
http://cnwmr.com/nss-folder/automotiveenergy/DUST%20PDF%20VERSION.pdf
The Inco Mine:
http://www.sprol.com/?p=64
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