Letters to the Editor
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Checking Sources?
So, did everyone check out the major source cited in the article? I don't think I'm ready to trust information from the ACEEE. A quick viewing of their website shows financial backing from such stellar environmental groups as Dow Chemical and Dupont. At least they do admit that their primary concern is "economic prosperity."
Face it, old men with old money are desperately trying to hold back innovation and real energy savings, while they continue to line their retirement accounts. These geezers have slick PR people working to confuse the issues, and they have a willing audience composed of people who like to TALK about energy efficiency while thumbing their noses at consumers who actually try and DO something about the problem.
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Comparisons and Priorities
It's unclear whether Rebecca Clarren is comparing the "revised" Prius mileage estimates to "revised" non-hybrid estimates, or to the old-style non-hybrid estimates.
Also, I agree that it's hard to only get 40 mpg in a Prius... Perhaps if you're driving 80mph in January...
Lots of Prius drivers "hypermile" their cars - we get pleasure from driving in ways that actually increase our mileage.
For instance, I've found that driving 55mph rather than 70 gets me 10 more miles per gallon or so.
We're all taught that Our Convenience is the highest universal priority by our culture.
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Not a good start for this series
From the flip tone to the mangling of facts, this is a very poor start for a series on environmental issues. Here's a clue; The fate of the planet isn't good grist for comedy.
Here's another clue; Get your facts straight. Comparing hybrids to non-hybrids based on highway mileage indicates either profound ignorance of the whole concept of a hybrid vehicle, or a deliberate muddying of the facts.
I'll give you credit for being stupid, this time.
However, hybrids are designed specifically to be efficient in urban driving, where regenerative braking and the ability to creep ahead in stop and go traffic without starting the hydrocarbon motor create huge savings. Hybrids frequently get better mileage in urban driving that on the highway.
For long, steady speed trips on the highway, hybrids don't have any advantage in efficiency. I have a friend who has a 70 mile daily commute. She bought a diesel Jetta instead of a hybrid because it works better for her long trips.
Of course, for an urban commuter, that diesel Jetta would be a poor choice, because it gets full of carbon soot unless it gets regular extended runs at full temperature and speed to burn out deposits.
Consumers need information on the best ways to reduce their carbon footprint, save gas and money, and get good value for their car dollar. Not half-assed factoids and snark.
We can get that in the letters column.
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Huh?
Clarren claims there are many cars less polluting (in their manufacture as well as their use) than the Prius, and yet a quick trip to the greenercars.org Web site she references reveals that the Prius and the hybrid Civic top their list of "greenest" cars. Not only does she fail in her article to back up her claim that the Prius is more polluting than other cars, but the expert ratings she herself reference flatly conradict her.
I don't understand why Salon published this article in the first place. Clarren doesn't deliver on her provocative title. And worse, she plants the seed in people's heads that there's something irrational or obnoxious about championing the Prius--a product that is a huge step in the right direction for automakers. Boo.
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@Woodie's Editor's Choice Pick Letter about hybrid batteries
I felt compelled to write this because Woodie's letter on Prius batteries was so full of misinformation.
" While I'm not saying Hybrids are bad"
And you came here to bury Caesar, not praise him, yeah, yeah.
1. "Recouping Car Costs"
I'm sorry, but ... with what other car does anyone ever mention "recouping the cost?" The Prius is a mid-size car that lists at $22,000. Like a lot of other mid-size cars. If I buy a Subaru Outback or a Ford or a GM am I somehow supposed to "recoup" the cost of my car? Hey, why am I not recouping the cost of the laptop I'm using to type this? Doh!
(Not of course that a heavy driver won't quickly save money on gas compared to other cars. I estimate my wife and I have saved $1000 on gas in our first year alone.)
"It's certainly not sustainable. I need to know I can drive my electric (hybrid or wholly) into the shop - have them pop out the battery and pop in a new one (probably every 2 years or so), and know that the materials of the old battery can be recycled cleanly and efficiently."
2. Battery Cost/Life
Battery replacement does NOT cost $4500. $2300 is more like it. If you ever need to. There's Prius cabs that went over 200k miles without battery replacement. Toyota also has replaced some of the few out-of-warranty batteries that needed replacing for Free. They have also developed techniques to refurbish batteries by replacing individual cells, to diminish both any long-term replacement cost and extend the life of exisiting batteries. Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997. That's ten years. If the batteries were dropping like flies, we'd know.
Sources:
Prius Battery Refurbishing:
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2007/09/23/063663.html
Prius Battery Replacement Costs: Check Ebay. Search "Prius Battery." You'll see the prices from about $550 (Gen 1 Prius) to $1100 (Gen 2 Prius).
Documented instances of Toyota replacing out-of-warranty battery for free:
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=36277&hl=
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=36725&hl=
" Couple that with the disposal problems for batteries reaching their end of life cycle (EOL)"
3. Battery Disposal
Toyota pays a bounty to recycle the batteries ($200 per--the sticker is on the battery), and with the current price of Nickel, there's not a lot of worry this won't happen.
Toyota Battery Q&Q
http://www.toyota.com/html/hybridsynergyview/2006/fall/battery.html
" I'm not sure how the ecological cost of nickel production for use in Hybrids can be assessed, but it should not be ignored. "
4. Battery Creation/Pollution
This Prius myth stems from an article in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, published in the fall of 2006, with the alarmist headline, "Toyota Factory turns landscape to arid Wilderness." The article was notable for attributing over a century's worth of pollution at Sudbury, Canada, to the Prius, ignoring not only the cleanup that has gone on there since the 1970's, but also that Toyota bought less than 1% of that mine's output and that worst depredations to the landscape there came old mine techniques no longer used (burning log piles to literally "melt the ground"). The Mail rather humorously ran a stock photo from 1994 to illustrate the damage the Prius had done, missing the fact that Prius were not even made then. This myth continues to circulate, through columnists like George Will and Robert Samuelson and various right-wing blogs, although a look at the original source reveals that Daily Mail has retracted the entire story due to its inaccuracies.
Sources: Mail on Sunday Toyota Nickel pollution retraction http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=417227&in_page_id=1770
"Hybrid electrics are currently "status" symbols. Like the iPod, and other consumer goods - it's more about broadcasting who you are and what you believe in, even if those beliefs are only skin deep."
5. Prius "Fashion statement" myth.
This is a meme floated since early 2004 by Art Spinella of CNW marketing. Spinella has also reported that a Hummer is more environmentally friendly than a Prius. The fact of the matter is that the Prius looks the way it does to reduce drag and improve fuel economy. Just ask any Prius driver about the mileage hit they took after adding a roof rack and you'll know this is true. Spinealla has since gone on to publish discredited studies claiming that a Hummer is Greener than a Prius.
Sources: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=253407
" and I'm unsure how much of a benefit is actually reaped in terms of ecological footprint outside of reduced carbon emissions from daily operation of the vehicle."
6. An automobile's environmental footprint.
Actually, most of an automobile's footprint comes from daily driving, not manufacturing. At least, that's what scientific studies from MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Argonne Labs conclude.
Sources: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2005/fuel-2020.pdf
http://www.sae.org/technical/papers/2006-01-0375
http://www.ilea.org/lcas/macleanlave1998.html