it's an opinion piece in a student newspaper and it does not cite its sources.
On 6/21/07, Gruss Gott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 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 > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Upgrade to Adobe ColdFusion MX7 Experience Flex 2 & MX7 integration & create powerful cross-platform RIAs http://www.adobe.com/products/coldfusion/flex2/?sdid=RVJQ Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:237074 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
