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Skriven 2007-05-14 15:06:50 av mark lewis (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage
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http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188


Central Connecticut State University
The Recorder

March 7, 2007     
 
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.


)\/(ark

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