slk23, but what about all the waste and pollution in the manufacturing of the other cars and what happens to them when they are no longer serviceable? It's kind of like the current Ethanol tom foolery. All the tree-huggers are for it but it actually pollutes more because of the process it takes to plant, harvest, transport and convert the corn to ethanol, what do you think the Plows and Tractors in the farmers field run on? Then the trucks to haul it to the refinery...Everyone thinks the Prius is so earth friendly but looks can be deceiving.
The carbon footprint is what it does over it's lifetime manufacturing it, driving it, and what ends up in the landfill. not a year to year thing.
slk23, but what about all the waste and pollution in the manufacturing of the other cars and what happens to them when they are no longer serviceable?
First, my message was a reply to a statement about the carbon footprint as shown on fueleconomy.gov, which is tons of CO2/year. The Prius and Civic Hybrid use less fuel, and emit mess CO2.
I've read that the CO2 emitted for the manufacture of a car is small compared to the CO2 emitted during its service life. But don't have a reference on that.
I'm not bashing the Smart... Just trying to stay objective and fact-based.
But I think the other poster was talking about the overall footprint from concertion to in the grave I mean a bicycle does not pollute at all but if the manufacturing of it does is it really that green?
slk23, but what about all the waste and pollution in the manufacturing of the other cars and what happens to them when they are no longer serviceable? It's kind of like the current Ethanol tom foolery. All the tree-huggers are for it but it actually pollutes more because of the process it takes to plant, harvest, transport and convert the corn to ethanol, what do you think the Plows and Tractors in the farmers field run on? Then the trucks to haul it to the refinery...Everyone thinks the Prius is so earth friendly but looks can be deceiving.
The carbon footprint is what it does over it's lifetime manufacturing it, driving it, and what ends up in the landfill. not a year to year thing.
Excellent point Curtis.
I read an article that in Canada where the batteries are made, nothing grows up to a mile away from the plant.. These batteries aren't as green as so many tree-huggers would have you think. I try to be wise about what I waste, but there is a bigger picture.
I think the smart is the smartest car on the road. If anything is uses less materials to make it.
I get the feeling there is some tribal thinking going on here: "they" (Prius) are bad and "we" (Smart) are good. It's not that simple, as I think you'd understand if you read some of the quality analysis available instead of accepting rumors and hearsay as fact.
The ForTwo is a great car, but so is the Prius. It probably does take more energy (and more CO2 is put into the atmosphere) to make a Prius, but it does use a little less fuel to go the same distance while carrying more people and cargo. The Prius and ForTwo have different missions and both fulfill them quite well.
Regarding the factory in Canada:
Quote:
Over the past year, there has been an explosion of stories raising questions about the real environmental cost of hybrids.
One of the most misleading ones, which has been spread by countless blogs over the past several weeks, and cited without verification by several sources that appear reputable, looks to have originated in a story last November in England’s Daily Mail, a right-leaning, British tabloid paper, which bore the gleefully spiteful title ‘Toyota factory turns landscape to arid wilderness.’ An editorial, published last month in a newspaper for a small state university on the East Coast, helped bring this misleading report a new life.
But it isn’t a Toyota factory at all. The automaker has, in fact, only been purchasing significant amounts of nickel from the Sudbury , Ontario , Inco mine for its batteries in recent years, while the environmental disaster the headline is referring to largely occurred more than thirty years ago.
yes, but our point is after all is said and done the PRIUS leaves a bigger carbon footprint than a HUMMER. This has nothing to do with being a Smart Fan-Boy, the person who did the article was not doing it as a pro Smart article. I am actually a very big Toyota Fan, I wish the Smart was a Toyota product because if it was we wouldn't be reading about all the problems with it. The bottom line is just because the Prius gives off very little emissions doesn't mean it's the most green auto, it is only green during it's driving life, everything leading up to it and after is far from green, it's really pretty simple. Also, just so you know I didn't buy my Smart for any "green" reason, I actually could give a crap about any of this global warming garbage, one day people will look back and realize it's a load of S#!T. I might just drive my smart twice as much as my other car just to keep my carbon footprint the same or just burn a tire in my backyard!
Actually, the article in WIRED said that the manufacturing of the Prius left a higher carbon footrpint than the manufacture of a hummer. It also points out that that scale is soon tipped after people start driving the two cars, as the hummer uses so much more fuel and pollutes a lot more. However, compared to a 98 Geo Metro the Prius would have to drive 100,000 miles to compensate. I wonder how that Smart stands up against the Metro?
yes, but our point is after all is said and done the PRIUS leaves a bigger carbon footprint than a HUMMER.
FALSE. Do a little research about the discredited "report" that made that claim. Start with the article I quoted.
It's sad how many people are eager to believe that load of BS (Hummer is greener than Prius). I can't understand why people are apparently threatened by a friendly little car like the Prius.
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