Cars that don't use gas are great for the earth, but?

Question

How are tires made? are they bad>, Is the way they are made bad?. Again how do we get metal for cars the manufacturing of them uses coal burning still. What are we going to do about all that part of the issue.

Answer 1

I agree that hybrid cars are worse for the environment than my current gas powered vehicle.  

1)  What happens whenever you get into an accident?  They can't extract you from the vehicle as there is electrical current running through it........The paramedics will be at the pearly gates sooner than you.

2)  We dont know the long term effects of leaking batteries to the environment.......That's a really good trade off, no?

3)  If my current vehicle is paid for.......Should I take on another huge payment to save gas consumption?

4)  Why should I give the auto companies my hard earned money when I'll buy a recycled (Used) vehicle and be much better ahead.

5)  What happens to al the unwanted vehicles that are perfectly fine because Mr. and Mrs. Trendsetter wanted to by a Hybrid?

6)  What happens to all the Jobs cut here because you didnt buy American?

Inquiring minds want to know

Answer 2

we could power our vehicles using electric or air, the last time i was behind an electric vehicle it didnt smell like a diesel or gas engine.

Answer 3

There's a lot of myth, urban legend, and misinformation out there on hybrid vehicle batteries and vehicle production, thanks to a flawed marketing paper by CNW and a poorly researched student newspaper article that keep getting quoted...

Anyhow, I suggest reading:

Hummer versus Prius: "Dust to Dust" Report Misleads the Media and Public with Bad Science:  http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_...

Prius Versus Hummer: A Nickel for Your Thoughts: http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200711/...

"I read an article stating the Prius has a worse impact on the environment than a Hummer because of the enormous pollution created in making the car's batteries. True?" : http://www.straightdope.com/columns/0804...

Prius Versus HUMMER: Exploding the Myth: http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_New...

Giving Directions: No, the Hummer Actually Isn't More Energy Efficient Than A Prius, Let's Put This "Debate" To Rest: http://www.betterworldclub.com/articles/...

Dust in the Wind: Hybrids' Total Energy Cost: http://www.hybridcars.com/environment-st...

Hybrid Battery Toxicity: http://www.hybridcars.com/battery-toxici...

Heard the One About the Hummer? : http://www.toyota.com/html/dyncon/2007/s...

Usually the mythic "article" from The Mail on the nickel in the hybrid cars' NiMH batteries is quoted from a now retracted article. The retraction that clears up this bit of misinformation is at: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live...  (They were using data from the early 1970's about the INCO-Sudbury nickel mine, which was more than 20 years before the first hybrids needed NiMH batteries, and the plant has greatly cleaned themselves up and reforested the area since then. If you were to add up the amount of nickel in the million+ hybrids sold since 1997, the total is less than 1% of the world's annual nickel production (far more nickel is used for stainless steel, for example).)

Here's the 2004 Toyota Prius Green Report (life cycle assessment): http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/k_forum/tenji...

(you'll need to download the Japanese fonts for your PDF reader in order to read it, but the entire document is written in English.)

Over the lifespan of the Prius, when compared to a comparable mid-sized gasoline vehicle, the Prius comes out ahead in the life cycle assessment (LCA) for airborne emissions for CO2, NOx, SOx, HC, but actually does worse for PM (thanks to the material and vehicle production stages). Measured lifespan is given as 10 years use/100,000km. The CO2 break-even point for the 2004 Prius compared to this unnamed gasoline vehicle is given at 20,000km. (more CO2 is emitted during Prius production, but the Prius makes up for it over it's driven lifetime.)

Another neat thing is that the Prius is one of the first uses of Toyota's Eco-Plastic (plastic made from plants, as opposed to petroleum products). The battery is recycleable (NiMH), as is much of the car (steel and aluminum body, for example).

As for the batteries themselves:

The lead-acid (Pb-A) 12v accessory batteries in hybrids tend to be smaller than those found in every traditional gasoline vehicle. Recycling programs are in place for traditional lead-acid batteries.

All the hybrids on the market use NiMH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) batteries, which contain no heavy metals (so they're not hazardous waste, like the Pb-A batteries), and are easily recycled.  The hybrid batteries in the currently available hybrid vehicles are usually listed by the manufacturer to last the lifetime of the vehicle, and have long warranties (not pro-rated!, usually 8 years/80,000 miles to 10 years/150,000 miles, depending on model and where purchased) to cover it. So far, hybrid battery replacements are VERY uncommon, and rarely out of warranty. Pricing is much better when buying a used unit from a wrecked vehicle (much less than US $1000), and not paying dealer-inflated rates/labor prices.

The hybrid battery packs in the Prius (at least in the US) have labels on them for whom to contact to recycle them. See the HV Battery Pack Recycling section in the Prius Emergency Response Guides.

page 11 (of the printed version): http://techinfo.toyota.com/public/main/1...

page 19 (of the printed version): http://techinfo.toyota.com/public/main/2...

To quote Toyota's press release:

http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_librar...

http://pressroom.toyota.com/Releases/Vie...

<quote>

How long does the Prius battery last and what is the replacement cost?

The Prius battery (and the battery-power management system) has been designed to maximize battery life. In part this is done by keeping the battery at an optimum charge level - never fully draining it and never fully recharging it. As a result, the Prius battery leads a pretty easy life. We have lab data showing the equivalent of 180,000 miles with no deterioration and expect it to last the life of the vehicle. We also expect battery technology to continue to improve: the second-generation model battery is 15% smaller, 25% lighter, and has 35% more specific power than the first. This is true of price as well. Between the 2003 and 2004 models, service battery costs came down 36% and we expect them to continue to drop so that by the time replacements may be needed it won't be a much of an issue. Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear.

Is there a recycling plan in place for nickel-metal hydride batteries?

Toyota has a comprehensive battery recycling program in place and has been recycling nickel-metal hydride batteries since the RAV4 Electric Vehicle was introduced in 1998. Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled. To ensure that batteries come back to Toyota, each battery has a phone number on it to call for recycling information and dealers are paid a $200 "bounty" for each battery.

</quote>

And I'll note that even when considering the emissions of the fuel source and that of manufacture, the Toyota Prius came in 2nd for Greenest Vehicles of 2008 among US models in the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy's (ACEEE) Green Book, behind the Honda Civic GX.

http://www.greenercars.org/highlights_gr...

http://www.greenercars.org/greenbook_met...

The Prius is no more dangerous in an accident than any other vehicle with those explosive air bags or a tank full of gasoline... If you have an emergency responder that will not go near your Prius, then you have a very poorly trained emergency responder and I'd wonder about any of their other services...

The major auto manufacturers already publish Emergency Response Guides for their hybrids/alt fuel vehicle, available for a nominal fee in print form, or a free download.  Many manufacturers' sales regions or local dealerships will offer training classes/seminars for emergency responders to learn about the technologies.

More safety information for emergency responders can be found here:  http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toyo...

In case of an accident, the HV battery pack should disable itself from the car. (The HV battery pack disables itself whenever the airbags deploy, or when the car is off. The common first step by an emergency responder (for any car) is to turn the car off...) The HV battery pack is located over the rear axle, an area not typically intruded upon in an accident.

All of the HV cables are bright orange and well marked. They run under the car, not in an area typically cut during extrication (i.e. jaws of life) procedures. They DO NOT run through the doors, as an erroneous AP article suggested.

Unfortunately, the AP retraction article wasn't picked up by all the outlets that reported the original story, and the AP doesn't keep their reports after a certain number of days free to the public, so here's the text of it:

"Posted on Fri, May. 07, 2004

Correction: Hybrid Car Rescues story

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - In May 3 and May 4 stories about hybrid cars, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the cables connecting the high-voltage batteries to the electric motors run through the doors. The cables run underneath the car.

In the Toyota Prius, the cables are routed below the floorpan, about 18 inches away from the driver's side door opening sills and are protected by a metal shroud. Toyota said the company has received no reports in the United States of any personal injuries related to the electrical systems in the five years since the Prius was introduced."

other articles:

http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/news...

http://pressroom.toyota.com/Releases/Vie...

as for tires, tapping the sap of the rubber tree is no more harmful/deadly than tapping the sap of the maple tree for syrup (a renewable resource).  However, most modern tires are made up of synthetic rubber compounds sourced from petroleum products.  There are some tire manufacturers that offer greener alternatives (for example, see http://www.nokiantyres.com/environment ) or tires that do not wear as quickly.

also see: "Battery-Powered Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicle Projects to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Resource Guide for Project Development," July 2002

http://www.netl.doe.gov/products/ccps/pu...

mainly section 4.3

Answer 4

go do some research

Answer 5

actually, most cars that don't use gas are worse pollutants than gas powered cars.

Answer 6

or and think about this taking away one negative a huge one i might add from all the others that still exist like you said tires n the metal that has been around for just as long actually longer it's not like for example your building a car that runs on air no remarks this is just an example and the rest of the car is built the same as a normal car your not adding another bad emission or if you are with the battaries it's nowhere near as bad as or as damaging as gasoline now honestly it will be an add on that will change this industry not a revolutionary car cuz then we would have to trash all the old ones n everyone would have to buy this new revo car at a rediculous price n honestly i doubt lower class can afford it and this will not be done with a dumb azz republican Mccain cough gag sneeze!?!?!?

Answer 7

The vaunted Toyota Prius is actually a potentially very damaging car to the environment.  The 10 kg of nickel in the batteries would be one example- mined in South America or Canada, refined in Europe, and then manufactured into batteries in Japan.  Lots of transportation, and lots of ugly industrial processes at each step.

Other car manufacturers (Like Subaru/Fuji Heavy Industries) focus more on production efficiencies a d cleanliness than operating efficiency.  It takes a Prius a long time to "pay back" the cost of its production, whereas a Subaru might me less efficient to operate, but started with less environmental debt.

Want to save the planet?  Buy a used car.

Answer 8

It is a stupid thing to blame CO2 as the big bad greenhouse gas. The plants have done a great job...

Answer 9

Here some room for improvement. Check out http://www.myspace.com/392127717

Answer 10

Ways of Reducing CO2 Emissions in The Manufacture of Cars and Tires.

You are talking about the manufacturing side of the issue, I suspect this is the short end of the problem as a couple of hours of manufacturing a car produces a very low level of CO2 compared to running the car for years and years. I also suspect that the CO2 emitted by the manufacturing of the tires a car goes through in it's life time will pale in comparison to the amount of CO2 produced by making the car - just imagine the amount energy that goes into manipulating steel compared to the energy to manipulate rubber for manufacturing.

There are ways to eliminate and reduce greatly the CO2 cost of producing the energy required to make these products- wind farms, solar power, tidal power, wave power, combined heat and power, wood burning power stations (wood from renewable sources of course), ect and of course nuclear (fission) power which, as you probably know, produces energy utilizing the immence power created by the splitting of atoms, this though is highly controversial and rightly so. These singularly or combined would produce enough energy to get rid of the industrys' dependence on high CO2 producing power generation methods. Making current powerstations much more efficient would also help but in my opinion more attention should be focused on "green" solutions.

Also, a number of these companies will be using out-of-date manufacturing equipment/methods in their plants (especially in other countries) that are inefficient in power consumption, so if the plants were brought up to date there would be less CO2 emitted because the plants would be more power efficient.

They should also use as much SYNTHETIC RUBBER as possible in their tyres so that large amounts of rubber trees aren't unnecessarilly destroyed for their rubber as reducing the amount of trees reduces the amount of CO2 trees can absorb from the athmosphere, thus accelerating global warming.

I'm sure more ways can be found.

Answer 11

Yes. Peple don't seem to see that gas isn't the only down side to creating lots of cars.

The tyres are made of treated rubber. Rubber comes from the sap of the rubber tree. Taking the sap is taking the tree's food and then the trees die. The sap is taken to big polluting factories where it gets turned into harder stuff, then it's taken to another factory where its remelted and molded into the shape of a tyre. All this toing and froing is also polluting the atmosphere =(

Hope i helped