Are Prii Actually Good for the Environment?
So I live in California, which means everyone and their grandma has been ditching their old, reliable, 35mpg gas-burning cars to go and buy brand-spanking-new models of the Prius. And the sales pitch for Prii (and electric/hybrid cars in general) seems to be a two part-er: a) you will spend less on transportation, and b) you will be helping to save the environment. I know for a fact it's cheaper to recharge a Prius at home (or at any of the numerous "free" ports offered by various businesses), but it seems unlikely to me that overall the Prius is better for the environment than any other car. It seems like a car designed to address the symptoms of the energy/environment crisis, while leaving the root problem well alone. Some things to consider:
Most hybrid/electric cars like the Prius still have an auxiliary acid battery, which is toxic and hard to recycle.
The main battery for the Prius is a NiMH battery, which is a little less toxic and a little easier to recycle, but it's also a major pain in the ass (environmentally speaking) to produce. The nickle has to be mined, which I understand to be very bad for the surrounding areas, and once that's done it's usually shipped to Europe, and then to Asia, and then somewhere else in Asia, and then finally to the US. And I don't think many of the planes or ships doing all this extra leg-work are environmentally friendly vehicles.
Speaking from the US, our national power grid is mainly comprised of and woefully dependent on coal, gas, and nuclear power. It seems to me that it defeats the point of using electricity to avoid burning gas when the electricity you use also comes from gas. Again cheaper for the consumer, but not environmentally superior.
And there are some more speculative arguments, too, like will having a more fuel efficient car influence people to drive more, and have the environmental impact be the same, anyways? Or, wouldn't it be better to buy a much cheaper used car (plenty have good mpg ratings, even if it's 5-15 mpg less than a Prius), because that car already exists and doesn't require hazardous mining, recyclable byproducts, and thousands of gallons of gas burned to produce and power the thing before it even gets driven?
And they're ugly.
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On a related note: I wrote "Prii" in the title hoping someone would go, "what the fuck is a Prii?" and click on my debate, but apparently "Prii" isn't the best way in terms of language to describe more than one Prius; proper Latin dictates "Priora" and English dictates "Priuses." I always said "Prii" to refer to multiple Prius-es because I thought it was funny, and as it turns out "Prii" is actually the accepted term. Toyota put the issue to vote, and from options like "Prii," "Prius," "Pri," "Priuses," "Prien," and "Prium," the public had enough of a collective sense of humor to vote in "Prii." "Prius" as a plural came in close second. So regardless of what your English or Latin professor says, Toyota says it's "Prii." |
