Going “Green?”
If you want to drive a car driven mostly by batteries, that is fine with me. But please don’t act snooty about it when I pass you in my twenty foot long four wheel drive Suburban. Have you noticed that some in the so-called “green movement” have an attitude?
Unfortunately, many green activists do not understand science. Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a huge Hummer according to Chris Demorro in a March 7, 2007, article in The Recorder-Central Connecticut State University.
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 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 nickel produced by this disastrous plant is then 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.
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 massive Hummer - the Prius’s now-defunct 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.
If environmentalists were serious and truly considered the facts, they might ditch all the new green technology and just go back about a few years.
Back then, no one used an engine that burnt gas just to cut the grass, when a mower one pushed yourself silently trimmed it. Walking and working gave folks so much exercise, that no one joined a health club to run on treadmills operated by electricity. Back then, people returned milk bottles and beer bottles that were sterilized and refilled. Folks took the stairs rather than an elevator, and always walked everywhere. Clothes hung on the line were dried by everyday solar and wind energy at work; instead of an energy -wasting machine burning electricity. In the kitchen, all was stirred by hand because there were no electric machines to do everything.
Back then, kids rode their bikes to school, or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. Thirsty folks did not chunk a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. Writing pens, cloth diapers, lighters and razors were refilled, instead of throwing away the whole thing.
Being Green is not bad, but you are probably doing it wrong.
When Mr. Peel is not single-handedly melting the ice caps in a four wheel drive, he pursues better results for his injured clients. Mr. Peel often addresses churches and clubs and can be contacted through www.PeelLawFirm.com, wherein other articles can also be found.
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