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Going Green by Car
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by Paul Tick
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Many Co-op’ers are looking
for ways to protect the environment and save energy. Many are concerned
that the car they drive is not efficient enough and they need to get
rid of it and get a Toyota Prius, the hybrid and most efficient of the
mass-produced cars. Yet, not everyone has the money to buy a Prius and
there have been news reports that the Prius is not as green as we
thought. Among the noted concerns were that the electric batteries on
which the car depends do not last and that owners get stuck with
thousands of dollars in bills for new batteries. Other reports state
that it takes more energy to produce this car than a Hummer will use
over its lifetime. Well, should you ditch your plans for a hybrid,
should you keep your current car? What is a Co-op’er to do?
The Sierra Club points out that the concerns about the Prius are simply
"urban legends." Some of the anti-Prius information comes from a
marketing company study whose research was not scientifically reviewed.
George Will, the very conservative writer who is syndicated in 450
papers, even wrote an article called "Use a Hummer to Crush a Prius."
In it he made space to trash Ben and Jerry’s and the Kyoto climate
agreements. With the use of simple math (or not so simple for some of
us), the Sierra Club disproved the arguments against the Prius. The
club showed that if the arguments were true, than the Prius would be so
expensive that Toyota could not possibly afford to manufacture it. The
Union of Concerned Scientists’ states that the "…study has been
completely contradicted by scientific studies from MIT, Argonne
National Laboratory, and Carnegie Mellon’s Lifecycle Assessment Group."
The reality is that the Prius "…can significantly cut global-warming
pollution, reduce energy use, and save drivers thousands at the pump."
Some reports flag the nickel metal hydride battery of the Prius as a
major environmental hazard but these reports too are highly
exaggerated. The Sierra Club points out that these reports "…describe
the nickel mining industry of Canada from 30 years ago, not of today."
Each Prius battery contains 32 pounds of nickel and the total nickel
required by all the Prius’s being made are only a fraction of the
world’s supply of nickel. The batteries for the over one million
Prius’s manufactured thus far used only 1% of the world’s annual
nickel-mining production. Further, about 80% of all used nickel is
recycled. Used Prius batteries are recycled by Toyota and, to encourage
recycling, the company gives owners $150 for each battery returned. The
Toyota battery has a 100,000-mile warranty and is expected to last for
at least 180,000 miles, so there is no worry that these will suddenly
go dead on the owners.
So, should we each run out and get a Prius? Well, it depends. According
to the American Council of an Energy Efficient Economy’s Greenercars.
org, the Prius is the greenest car of all. While its cost is lower than
most cars on the market, it is still a bit pricy for others. Some
simply want to buy a used car as an important form of reducing, reusing
and recycling. For them, finding a high quality, high miles-per-gallon
used car such as a Civic or Corolla may be the best bet. Others who
want a new car, but one that is less expensive than the Prius, can look
at the Honda Fit or the Smart ForTwo. Others, with some mechanical
ingenuity, may want to convert their car to one that runs on recycled
cooking oil.
No matter what you decide, most important of all is that you walk, use
mass transit, bike ride and car pool as much as possible and use you
car only when absolutely necessary. Think of the environment before any
travel, and think locally when making purchases and when vacationing.
Enjoy the local scene and realize how much we have close at hand.
No matter what car you end up in, using it efficiently is most
important.
For tips on efficient driving go to: www.eartheasy.com/live_fuel_efficient_driving.htm.
To find ratings on most efficient cars, go to:
www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/buying-advice/most-fuelefficient-cars-206/index.htm.
To learn about grease cars, go to: www.salon.com/env/good_life/2008/08/13/grease_car.
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