What Car do you drive and are you concerned about the environment?

[Kongkiwi]

I see cars in the US boast MPG of 30mpg, where as in Asian countries it is more like 50mpg. So what sort of car do you drive and are you concerned about the environment?

Just for the record, I ride a bicycle to work everyday, when I go out, the missus and I have a Honda Civic. This is by choice.

[wtf.panda]

I just mentioned what kind of car I drive in another thread.....do I care about the environment? Nope. I don't know the exact numbers, but the entire human population produces a minute amount of CO2 each year when compared to the ocean. Something like 1 volcanic eruption the size of Mt. Saint Helens puts out more CO2 then all of the world. There are desalination plants in the middle east that each day, burn enough fuel for me to drive to the sun, and half way back.

In other words, I don't put out enough CO2 to make a difference.

[KABONG28]

I drive an old BMW 525it (an estate for those of you in Europe, or a Station Wagon for us Americans) It's a 93, and it gets about 18MPG city, but 28 Highway, which I think is pretty good for a 14 year old car. We also have a 2000 4Runner, which gets somewhere around 18-20 MPG, but it's not a daily driver.

I care about the environment, and I think we should do a little better job as stewards of what we have, but I think that "Global Warming" is a crock of shit, and that it's just the latest buzzword. I seem to recall that we were due for another ice age a while back, and that never happened. I'm not saying that we shouldn't do anything, but I don't think that we can take a couple hundred years of data, and suddenly say we know what's going on with a planet that's been here A LOT longer than that. Read State of Fear by Crichton. It's a novel, but the science is true, and it's a good read.

[Kongkiwi]

I was hoping that someone was going to mention America's thirst for oil. Panda your CO2 is nothing, but the other 300 million people in the US collectively surely are adding to the problem of polution, and unfortunately you are part of that number. If you could halve the amount of fuel consumption of the US, would you?

[KABONG28]

Originally Posted by Kongkiwi

I was hoping that someone was going to mention America's thirst for oil. Panda your CO2 is nothing, but the other 300 million people in the US collectively surely are adding to the problem of polution, and unfortunately you are part of that number. If you could halve the amount of fuel consumption of the US, would you?

Here's a stereotypical American answer for you. I would as long as it was easy to do so. I don't want to have to buy a new overpriced car. I do what I can to improve the milage of the cars I have, keep them tuned, tire pressure, K&N filters, etc. I WOULD do more to help that along, but I'm also not going to jump through my own ass, and drive around in a little bitty car. Alternative fuels are a good idea too. But here's the bigger problem that we face. It's not the oil, it's the OIL COMPANIES. They stifle new technologies, and kill innovation. And while it's nice to say that it's America and our "gluttony" there are plenty of huge oil companies that aren't American so you can't just blame us (not that you are)

[ArgonV]

One car I can drive does 16 kilometers per liter, so that would be 40 mpg. (One mile is 1,6 km and one gallon is about 4 liters, right?)
The other one does 10 kilometers per liter, so 25 mpg, but runs op LPG. It can do gasoline as well, and runs 30 mpg then.

And yes, I do care about the environment, that's why I take my bike whenever I don't need to use a car. Or public transport in the week, 'cause that's free for me on most weekdays

[wtf.panda]

Originally Posted by Kongkiwi

I was hoping that someone was going to mention America's thirst for oil. Panda your CO2 is nothing, but the other 300 million people in the US collectively surely are adding to the problem of polution, and unfortunately you are part of that number. If you could halve the amount of fuel consumption of the US, would you?

Depends on what the cost is.

I do believe in global warming, but I do not believe that we(As the human race) are the cause of it. You can google it and read all about it, science has proven that our Earth has went through several heating up, then cooling down periods in it's history. And according to them, we are coming out of an ice age. For those classmates who really like to get involved, the earth goes from hot -> cold -> hot -> cold

We are coming out of a cold.....so we are going into a ____ ?

We may accelerate the proccess a minute amount, but it doesn't matter, because it is going to happen regardless of if we all walked everywhere we went.

And you're not really pointing fingers at the USA for global warming are you? I seriously hope not... If so, the American bashing has dropped to a new low.

[KnifeHeavy]

I drive a civic too - but I flatulate in huge amounts so my CO2 contribution is like that of a Hummer.

[ArgonV]

Originally Posted by wtf.panda

Depends on what the cost is.

I do believe in global warming, but I do not believe that we(As the human race) are the cause of it. You can google it and read all about it, science has proven that our Earth has went through several heating up, then cooling down periods in it's history. And according to them, we are coming out of an ice age. For those classmates who really like to get involved, the earth goes from hot -> cold -> hot -> cold

We are coming out of a cold.....so we are going into a ____ ?

We may accelerate the proccess a minute amount, but it doesn't matter, because it is going to happen regardless of if we all walked everywhere we went.

And you're not really pointing fingers at the USA for global warming are you? I seriously hope not... If so, the American bashing has dropped to a new low.

I agree wit the panda. Global warming probably is a natural process, though we contribute a bit. I read somewhere that they were able to deduce that there was a small global warming in the 1600s and a small ice age after that. So it's just that the ice age has ended and we're warming up again now. Although this might be the calm before the storm, a decent ice age is said to be due sometime in the next few centuries.

And if we're blaming anyone specific for carbon dioxide production, blame India and China.

[Kongkiwi]

No I wasn't blaming the USA. I was trying to draw attention to your consuption of oil, that's all.

I agree with the cycles, I agree that while our efforts are futile, most do it because they feel better thinking they are making a difference. There is no solution to issues involving the Earth's well being, we are all so insignificant.

[wtf.panda]

Originally Posted by Kongkiwi

No I wasn't blaming the USA. I was trying to draw attention to your consuption of oil, that's all.

I agree with the cycles, I agree that while our efforts are futile, most do it because they feel better thinking they are making a difference. There is no solution to issues involving the Earth's well being, we are all so insignificant.

Exactly. From what I've read, even if everyone switched to hybrid cars right now, it would only delay the inevitable heating a cooling. So instead of an ice age in 2142, we would have one in 2174 or something(THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE).

[I_die_Often]

There is not enough data on CO2, I strongly feel based upon 40 million years of data from Ice core samples that global warming is a complete crock of shit, HOWEVER this does NOT mean continuing the use of fossil fuels is intelligent, just convenient.

A hybrid car is chained to the gas pump keeps us a slave, hybrids do not work with out gas this is not a real solution only a band aid a little MPG boost, HYDROGEN is a complete LIE and I can prove that too

What we need is ELECTRIC vehicles to get us off OIL, out of the middle east and stop polluting our own country with poisons, Wind farms, Solar power, tidal energy, and Geo thermal power and other RENEWABLE energy sources could have us off oil in 10 years (or vastly reduced 50%+) if we had a President with a brain, balls and leadership we got to the moon we can get off oil

When I say electric I do not mean a golf cart, a regular car with batteries, the Tesla Motors car goes from 0 to 60 in 3.9 secs and tops out at 185, it competes with a Porsche not a golf cart or Prius, www.teslamotors.com this is our future, we need to speak up to our representatives and get them moving in the right direction renewables are the future not what the oil companies say

[DisabledVet]

Well you guys may not believe me so Ill post a pic... but I guess my answer is I do care about the environment but you wouldn't know that from what I drive..lol (Its not my every day driver..)..thats Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 which is the 420 horse version so thats not fuel efficient by any means either...




BUT!!!

Here is an interesting article... about the Honda Prius VS the AM General Hummer H1

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.

[The_Sal]

I drive a 2000 Ford Ranger, 4.0L V6....I get roughly 16 mpg city and 20 mpg highway....I drive over 30 miles a day just to work. My wife drives a Hyundai Accent that gets around 30 mpg. I care about the environment somewhat but like panda said, we are just avoiding the inevitable. I think its too late for us to make a drastic change in our environment, we should have done something about it back in the 50s and 60s and shouldnt have been boasting such huge engines in our American muscles.

Also, laugh all you want but the advancement of alternative fuels is hindered by the big Oil companies and the US government. Let me elaborate. If we were to make alternative fuels readily available, oil companies wouldnt make a huge profit like they have in the last years. Also, a lot of government officials have ties with oil companies and subsidiaries. The only reason we have these alternative fuels now is to kinda throw us a bone and make it seem like they want to do their part.

[DisabledVet]

Originally Posted by sal3500plus

I drive a 2000 Ford Ranger, 4.0L V6....I get roughly 16 mpg city and 20 mpg highway....I drive over 30 miles a day just to work. My wife drives a Hyundai Accent that gets around 30 mpg. I care about the environment somewhat but like panda said, we are just avoiding the inevitable. I think its too late for us to make a drastic change in our environment, we should have done something about it back in the 50s and 60s and shouldnt have been boasting such huge engines in our American muscles.

Also, laugh all you want but the advancement of alternative fuels is hindered by the big Oil companies and the US government. Let me elaborate. If we were to make alternative fuels readily available, oil companies wouldnt make a huge profit like they have in the last years. Also, a lot of government officials have ties with oil companies and subsidiaries. The only reason we have these alternative fuels now is to kinda throw us a bone and make it seem like they want to do their part.

Yes...also why is it the oil companies seem to buy all of the patents and rights to all these great fuel saving technologies...hmmmm they just sit in a drawer.