Is the Hummer more environmentally friendly that the Prius?
(icwales.icnetwork.co.uk) A DEBATE on the future of electric-hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius is raging after US researchers claimed that their green credentials may not add up.
Gas-guzzling cars such as the Hummer may actually be more environmentally-friendly than the Prius, the surprising research claimed.
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The debate was sparked by researchers for CNW Marketing in the USA, who said Hummers, the big military-style cars beloved of rappers, scored better than the Prius in terms of carbon cost.
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The researchers have pointed out that the nickel used in the Prius battery has to be shipped half-way around the world to Swansea and back again to be refined.
They also suggested the Prius only does an average of up to a third of the mileage throughout its life, than could be expected from its less fuel-efficient competitor.
The findings have been disputed by Toyota. Welsh environmentalists last night also expressed scepticism about the findings.
Julian Rosser, director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, said, “The most important thing for people to consider when choosing a new car is to get one as efficient as possible.
“We’re putting a huge amount of CO2 in the air and car transport is an increasing part of that picture.”
He added, “I’m a bit tired of getting accosted by people who read things in the papers and what they will remember for the rest of their life is that an inefficient car is better than an efficient one.”
Researchers counted the nickel content of the battery as one of the Prius’s biggest concerns. Mined in Canada, where local environmentalists are concerned about the process’s ecological impact, the 1,000 tonnes a year of smelted metal is then taken on a 10,000-mile journey by tanker and diesel train.
First it arrives in Wales to be refined, then it is shipped to China where it is turned into “nickel foam”, and from there it is sent to Japan where the batteries are made, before being shipped back in cars to the UK, the US or any of the car’s other markets.
The study suggested such a factor was part of a wider environmental footprint that showed the Hummer coming out better than the Prius.
According to their figures, the Hummer H3 is expected to do an average 300,000 miles through its driving life, while the Prius is expected to last just 100,000 miles. (more…)
Now I have read some of the criticisms surrounding this report, but I have yet to hear ONE of those critics prove that the effort and waste (as described in the report) it takes to manufacture a Prius is inaccurate.
The one thing that I was not aware of was the short expected lifespan of the Prius (@100k). We used to own one until the unfortunate day in March ’06 when a car totaled it.
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