Two views of our complex relationship with the automobile.
We all know cars are a main source of CO2, and the bigger the car, usually, the more CO2 it emits. And that complex relationship has a couple of intriguing highlights in the paper today.
In Sweden, people like their homegrown automobiles. But now they're discovering that the cars they love emit more CO2 than most. That conflicts with a general Swedish attitude of progressive social and environmental responsibility.
In the United States, it seems, a hybrid car means one thing: Toyota's Prius, even though other car-builders offer hybrid models. What's driving that trend is the message Prius buyers want to send, as much as the benefits they see for themselves and the planet in driving a hybrid. It's not enough to cut your carbon emissions; you have to be seen to be cutting your carbon emissions.
But imagine if the status ride changed from an SUV to a sensible, efficient hybrid.
Dave Dowling
It would be nice if governments would legislate that all new cars must be non-polluting, and put some of those surpluses into making it so.
In My Opinion all those gas vehicles are a major source of pollution. rivers of exhaust fumes flow outward from every major highway killing the fresh air we should be breathing.
Most hybrids are expensive and they still burn gas! And because of this are not really a solution In My opinion. they are a half meager step in the right direction, but we should be taking full strides, not half meager steps.
Compressed air cars, electric cars, hydrogen cars, and other such stuff are what is needed now, not 20 to 50 years from now.
Ten billion dollar government surpluses could very easily kick start a non -polluting vehicle manufacturing industry here in Canada.
Mark Stewart
Jeep SUV's are not all bad. Since 2005 Chrysler is producing the biodiesel Jeep Liberty CRD.
Liberty CRD has a 78 litre tank (half the size of a regular SUV). The late 2006 and 2007 models are astounding. In the city Liberty's biodiesel will take you about 500-600km (3-4 weeks). In the country you get about 800 km (Vancouver to Prince George).
The nice thing about biodiesel is this: unlike choking carbonmonoxide that spews out of the Prius Hybrid when it exceeds 20km/hr, the Jeep Liberty CRD smells sweet. Haven't you noticed? Vancouver's buses run on biodiesel. Oddly enough, the sweeter the bio-mix, the more powerful the Liberty's bio-engine.
Yes there are lots of stinky Liberty 3.7's on the road. Two families on my block own Liberty CRD's. Please, don't be blind to the creativity that is changing our lives.
Prius may not be the greenest option available when you buy. Whatever you do, answer the call as best you can.
Lora Bruncke
Dave, I just watched Who Killed the Electic Car. We need to be looking at it again. All those involved with killing it should be fired, and any riches made from the death of this great idea should be confiscated.
Rochelle Blaak
Hybrid vehicles aren't the answer to reducing carbon emissions. It takes a lot of electricity to make the hybrid batteries and hydrogen fuel cells that run the vehicle, which in turn creates just as much carbon dioxide as regular gas burning cars. The only answer to lower carbon dioxide emissions is to drive less by taking more cars off the road by carpooling, using public transit, biking and walking to our destinations.
And it's not just cars that are a problem. We also need to take more planes out of the sky.
Octavia
The technology is not quite that advanced to make so many electric powered and hydrogen powered cars so that people can use them. Anyway even if it really has improved and electric is on the market who will really buy them. There is the new Toyota Camry 2007 in hybrid and it's a pretty luxurious car and also consummes considerably less than a normal car but i've noticed that not a lot of people buy it. They opt for the regular one that they are more familiar with. Why?
I think getting people to drive a hybrid is going in the right direction and might just make a person more comfortable later to go for and electric or hydrogen car. We've all gotta start somewhere and the hybrid is a good place to start for now!!!
P.S. What about those new air powered cars? Those are pretty cool!!!
Donna
Of all the discussions I hear and read about reducing vehicle carbon emissions, I have yet to hear or see any list that includes
"STOP USING DRIVE THRU's"
Nothing in the Live Earth material I read said anything about them. Nothing in the recent blast of governmental conservation propaganda. Nothing.
Get out of your damn cars! Whatever kind they are! Please!!!
John Taylor
The problem is not the car, it is the fuel.
We are on the edge of making plug in electric cars a reality, all that is needed is a very very simple infrastructure.
We first need a world standard power supply *(agreed on by battery manufactures for plug in Electric cars).
Then we need these power outlets to be made available in the very large shopping plazas of each city, (other locations can be optional).
Then we need to legislate improved availability of plug in cars.
Electricity is non-polluting in the car, and can be made with limited pollution at major power stations.
If given the choice, an Electric car could improve our air quality and transportation options.
Dave Dowling
Lora I agree. It was 1978, I was a teenager then working at a gas station.
One day a man came into the gas station and asked to purchase 12 battery clamps!
I had to ask why he needed 12 battery clamps.
The man answered for "for My electric vehicle!"
Which I did not believe and told him so! Well, he eneded up showing me the gas guzzler he had converted to electricity.
I forget what make of car it was, a small import, but he had converted it.
it had 6 car batteries in the trunk, and an engine unlike any I have seen.
That was 1978, here it is 30 years later, and there isn't even 1 percent of vehicles in Canada that do not pollute.
The solutions are here and implementable.
the real problem seams to be oil luvin' politicians with no will, no backbone, and no vision for children of the future to be able to breath clean air, drink pure waters, and be able to drive without polluting.
Hannah
The idea of hybrid cars intrigues me, but there are a few minor problems. You see, a conversion for your car can be a great idea, but it costs A LOT of money. Certain fuels for different hybrids are also very hard to come by, and lots of people that have good intentions just don't have the money for this type of car. Buying a new hybrid car is also quite expensive, so lots of people can't buy them. If more and more companies start making hybrid and electronic cars, and only that, eventually most everyone would be using them. Of course, this course of action would take a long time to put to work... We need more people to stand up for our environment. The current number of followers astounds me but I'm not sure if it is enough! I agree with Octavia, we have to start somewhere in the fight against global warming, and hybrids are a great place to start!
Hannah
The idea of hybrid cars intrigues me, but there are a few minor problems. You see, a conversion for your car can be a great idea, but it costs A LOT of money. Certain fuels for different hybrids are also very hard to come by, and lots of people that have good intentions just don't have the money for this type of car. Buying a new hybrid car is also quite expensive, so lots of people can't buy them. If more and more companies start making hybrid and electronic cars, and only that, eventually most everyone would be using them. Of course, this course of action would take a long time to put to work... We need more people to stand up for our environment. The current number of followers astounds me but I'm not sure if it is enough! I agree with Octavia, we have to start somewhere in the fight against global warming, and hybrids are a great place to start!
Douglas Gunn
Shortcuts and lazy logic
This discussion is a perfect example of the origin of my reluctance to jump whole heartedly on the Green bandwagon: clarity and logical consistency. I very much want to be making the right choices because they are demonstrably sound and not just because of some subjective notion of aesthetic.
In this case, cars arent really the problem. The problem is the cars reliance of the internal combustion engine that consumes petroleum and emits massive amounts of pollutants.
Okay, so maybe Im splitting hairs. Granted, the modern car is ill-suited as a solution for world-wide personal transportation if we want a healthy and sustainable environment. As environmental advocates it is important to remain precise in our arguments for several reasons, not least of which are adopting objectivity and conciseness.
In this case, attacking the car immediately antagonizes every person that relies on one and makes them WILLINGLY complicit in degrading the environment. Hardly a great strategy if you want to enlist their help. Today, for the majority of North Americans, a car isnt seen as an option. As the original posting indicates, the car is a big part of North American culture.
By failing to identify the true origins of the problem, reliance on petroleum, the environmental/green advocate is facing an uphill battle to enlist the broad base of the population to help solve todays automobile-CO2 problem.
A better communications strategy might be to clearly hammer away at our reliance on petroleum for transportation while advocating and communicating alternatives: public transport, alternative energy vehicles, carpooling, work-home proximity, and my favourite the old fashioned and reliable walkabout town with a knapsack.