Prius Outdoes Hummer In Environmental Damage

[fuzzo]

source

http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/editorial/e....asp?NewsID=188

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.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

4:20:39 PM

Copyright © 2006, The Recorder | All Rights Reserved | [email protected]

[Hola]

Shame!!!!!!!!!

[neXGen]

so true about the ontario.. i recently got some pics based on that area relating to environment pollution.. the article did say that the cause for all was the nickel mining and the factory spews out so much toxic that it keeps on raining acid.. and toyota contributing directly to these mining efforts via purchasing tons of nickel is not in keeping with the "be green and less mean" advertisements..

interesting article bro! but I did hear bout prius not taking off as it should, in other sense, not the car of choice for most individuals..

Zz

[fuzzo]

slow sales may have to do with it's looks... they definitely didn't spend much time on it's appearance...

[miniace]

Some good and shoking info.Thanks Fuzzo for sharing. Anyone got info about the number of Prius' sold here?

[neXGen]

Some good and shoking info.Thanks Fuzzo for sharing. Anyone got info about the number of Prius' sold here?

very few miniace dude.. i remember seeing two cars in Colombo so i am really not sure about the exact figures.. how much does the prius cost though? prob bout 8 mil odd?

Zz

[Devinda_Z]

Anyone got info about the number of Prius' sold here?

NONE sold officially through T*y*ta Lanka

owing to the ludicrous tax even on this "environmentally friendly" hybrid the agents say that its not worth marketing the vehicle here

they have one if not two demo vehicles to showcase thier "hybrid synergy drive" technology and promote the "green" intiative

However there are a few of the 1st generation Prius' running about town... -most probably recon imports!

[ash]

& read this.....

Cars like the Toyota Prius that Michael Osborn nearly walked in front of before being stopped by his guide dog are silent when running on electric battery power, causing problems for blind pedestrians, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

"Half an inch and it would have hit us ... it wasn't making any noise," said Osborn.

"I'm an environmentalist, and I'm all for quiet cars," he said. "But it poses a particular problem for somebody who has no vision."

Sound is key for blind people using canes or guide dogs who wish to cross the street. Hybrid cars on average make much less noise than vacuum cleaners, the Journal said.

The National Federation of the Blind is calling for the auto industry to alter hybrid car designs to make sounds loud enough to hear over other ambient noises.

"We want to get ahead of this and not have to wait until five blind people end up seriously hurt or dead," said Gary Wunder, a member of the NFB Committee on Automobile and Pedestrian Safety.

[Pericles]

& read this.....

Now that is ironic considering they keep pulling up ppl for the silencers being too loud. Next time can try "naa ralahamy mehema thiyenney andha minisunta ahenna" Specially old Pila. That thing is loud, my friend!

[Devinda_Z]

& read this.....

i'm sorry but that has to be the thinnest argument yet for hating a hybrid - when JC brought it up it was funny - but when an "environmentalist" uses it its just ridiculous!

Sensitivity in design to the needs of those with impairments is the right way to go - but taking it out on a car for being "too quiet" is jus silly!!

How many blind people jump right across a road without pausing? please note that time alone is more than ample for a the quiet lil car who has a DRIVER who isn't blind to see the individual trying to move ahead and stop the vehicle!!

If someone argues on the grounds of stopping distance...

- well if an incident where an ultra quiet car were to be accused of hitting such an individual it can be assumed that it is in an area that a visually impaired individual would just amble across the road without much thought,such as a small street in a residential area or village - this alone would point out that its not the fault of the quiet car - but rather of the Driver who was going too fast in such a zone to stop the car in time!!!

&its no secret that the Prius is Slow - so its doubtful that it'll run over as many blind people as these few paranoid campaigners would like to think it could!

but its so typical & yet rather ironic that those who make fusses abt these issues are the very same people who are unappreciative of innovations which are inline with their principles and wind up nitpicking & decimating such products!!

Edited March 19, 2007 by Devinda_Z

[miniace]

NONE sold officially through T*y*ta Lanka

Only demonstrater examples hah. Any privately imported ones?

[The Don]

I think cost to put on the road isn't a good way of measuring what essentially is a very new technology. For the moment obviously all is not perfect, but thats partly due to the technology not being mainstream yet and a lot of improvement and R&D still necessary to get the best out of it.

Fact is in the next few years more and more cars will come out in Hybrid form, and as the numbers increase the cost per unit will drop and also it would obviously be made more efficiently.

Also the Prius is most attractive to large cities with large concentration of cars and inside most of these cities the speed limit would range from 20-30MPH and sometimes 40 and running on electrics in such an environment would significantly decrease pollutant levels provided enough hybrids are running.

I think every technology would always have sceptics, thats just a part of life, fact is until a alternative to fosil fuels are found which could be practically implemented in auto cars in a cost effective manner (know there are a few technologies being developed but mostly in R&D stage), Hybrids would indeed become more and more popular as a bit of a half way house,

The Don

[neXGen]

I think cost to put on the road isn't a good way of measuring what essentially is a very new technology. For the moment obviously all is not perfect, but thats partly due to the technology not being mainstream yet and a lot of improvement and R&D still necessary to get the best out of it.

Fact is in the next few years more and more cars will come out in Hybrid form, and as the numbers increase the cost per unit will drop and also it would obviously be made more efficiently.

Also the Prius is most attractive to large cities with large concentration of cars and inside most of these cities the speed limit would range from 20-30MPH and sometimes 40 and running on electrics in such an environment would significantly decrease pollutant levels provided enough hybrids are running.

I think every technology would always have sceptics, thats just a part of life, fact is until a alternative to fosil fuels are found which could be practically implemented in auto cars in a cost effective manner (know there are a few technologies being developed but mostly in R&D stage), Hybrids would indeed become more and more popular as a bit of a half way house,

The Don

Coming to the prius, there efforts in the development of such a car has yes given a part benefit to the consumers but then again no one could turn their heads from the amount of destruction indirectly caused by toyotas decision to include nickel based batteries in it.. the costs would definitely be a factor in hybrid based systems but it should be justified with much more than a greener way in operating.. it should also represent a greener method in manufacturing..

Would the hybrid supra be based on da same system? (not engine obviously but technology)

Zz

[The Don]

Coming to the prius, there efforts in the development of such a car has yes given a part benefit to the consumers but then again no one could turn their heads from the amount of destruction indirectly caused by toyotas decision to include nickel based batteries in it.. the costs would definitely be a factor in hybrid based systems but it should be justified with much more than a greener way in operating.. it should also represent a greener method in manufacturing..

Would the hybrid supra be based on da same system? (not engine obviously but technology)

Zz

Ni-Cd batteries do not only get used on Prius's you know, look inside mobile phones laptops etc and you will see plenty,

The prius is not the answer to global warming, I am just saying its a step in the right direction. We can't find answers to every problem all at once can we ?

[neXGen]

Ni-Cd batteries do not only get used on Prius's you know, look inside mobile phones laptops etc and you will see plenty,

The prius is not the answer to global warming, I am just saying its a step in the right direction. We can't find answers to every problem all at once can we ?

I thought most of the lap n mob batteries at lithion based and that they ve done with nickel-cadmium stuff.. yeah i agree dude.. but would it be a step towards the right direction if they are saving the environment and equivalently destroying it wit time wit time hehe....

couldnt read up more stuff relating to enviro friendly power sources.. i guess something new would have def popped up within the last few months..

Zz