Prius vs. Hummer...Environment
06-25-2007, 07:20 PM
#1
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Prius vs. Hummer...Environment
I have no idea if this is true. Tried to research it through the University. But the schools newspaper site is down until September.
Current issue: May 9, 2007
Central Connecticut State University
Editorial & Commentary
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.
March 7, 2007
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.
06-25-2007, 07:34 PM
#2
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Join Date: 01-21-2007
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seems to be common knowledge among any one who is not a modern hippie wanna be to me. They just don't realize that electricity has to come from somewhere and what damage the production of a battery can do to the environment.
06-25-2007, 08:16 PM
#3
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And what about when the battery is done, the process of disposing or recycling it? And the cost to replace it. This largely an unknown due to hybrids being relatively new on the road.
I think there is some stretching going on for the sake of shock value and impact as far as the Hummer H2 comparison goes in the article. I don't buy it. I do buy that the hybrids are not a good deal compared to high efficiency gasoline or diesel cars. Every Prius buyer out there would have been better off financially getting a Corolla instead, both in the short term (purchase) and long term (cost to operate & maintain over life of the vehicle).
I think there is some stretching going on for the sake of shock value and impact as far as the Hummer H2 comparison goes in the article. I don't buy it. I do buy that the hybrids are not a good deal compared to high efficiency gasoline or diesel cars. Every Prius buyer out there would have been better off financially getting a Corolla instead, both in the short term (purchase) and long term (cost to operate & maintain over life of the vehicle).
06-26-2007, 07:15 AM
#4
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Good read, they are starting to wondering about the actual lifespan of the hybrids as some are hitting their 9th year now. I can see them breaking the 100k mark for the most part easier than I can imagine a H2 hitting 300K.
06-26-2007, 11:02 AM
#5
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Join Date: 06-14-2007
Location: Salina, Kansas
Posts: 52
I heard this exact same topic on 'Bill O'Reilly' a while back. They say they check all the facts before reporting, so you may be able to find something on the school site once it's up again, Snoopy.
Maybe our Canadian friends up around the Sudbury area can weigh in on the environmental issue at the plant.
Maybe our Canadian friends up around the Sudbury area can weigh in on the environmental issue at the plant.
06-26-2007, 11:22 AM
#6
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Join Date: 04-30-2006
Location: Maryland Heights, MO
Posts: 9,149
The hybrids have been all hype from the beginning. No benefit at all. I'm not suprised by any of this info. I stopped looking at them whem I figured out how long I'd have to drive it to actually save any money.
06-26-2007, 11:47 AM
#7
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Join Date: 05-25-2007
Location: Ontario
Posts: 181
The hybrids have just been put together to meet a market demand. It's a significant step in the progression/evoloution of cleaner fuels/methods but I think in the grand scheme it's only real benifit is getting people thinking of environmental responsibility and/or the cost of fuel.
Toyota had to republish their 'real' milage values lately and not their theoretical '68mpg highway' figure. I believe the real world value was closer to 48-53, which for much less money can be had in a straight light duity deisel like the VW TDi engine.
Once the North American perception changes, you'll see fewer 'new' hybrids and more new alternate fuels like E85 and higher, or straight deisel.
Toyota had to republish their 'real' milage values lately and not their theoretical '68mpg highway' figure. I believe the real world value was closer to 48-53, which for much less money can be had in a straight light duity deisel like the VW TDi engine.
Once the North American perception changes, you'll see fewer 'new' hybrids and more new alternate fuels like E85 and higher, or straight deisel.
06-26-2007, 01:38 PM
#9
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Join Date: 12-30-2006
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I could be wrong on this and probably am. But I heard it was going to cost about $5000.00 to replace the battery in the Prius and a disposal fee of a $1000.00.
Don't know if it's fact or fiction but that is what I heard about 3 years ago.
Alan
Don't know if it's fact or fiction but that is what I heard about 3 years ago.
Alan
06-26-2007, 01:56 PM
#10
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That's probably accurate on cost for the battery replacement.
E85 is no solution, IMHO. It causes a 25% drop in mpg, and this is in the best case scenario of a factory tuned Flex Fuel 2007 model year vehicle.
Check it out (scroll down to the ethanol flex fuel vehicles, you'll see two sets of EPA MPG estimates, one for E85 and one for gasoline, the E85 est's are about 25% lower accross the board):
http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicle/suv-07.htm
E85 is no solution, IMHO. It causes a 25% drop in mpg, and this is in the best case scenario of a factory tuned Flex Fuel 2007 model year vehicle.
Check it out (scroll down to the ethanol flex fuel vehicles, you'll see two sets of EPA MPG estimates, one for E85 and one for gasoline, the E85 est's are about 25% lower accross the board):
http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicle/suv-07.htm