Hybrid Vehicles Negative Environmental Impact

From LoveToKnow GreenLiving

If you are considering purchasing hybrid vehicles, negative environmental impact reduction is an important feature of these ‘green’ cars.

Even the police are using hybrid vehicles.

Green Living and Cars

When following a green living lifestyle, a major conundrum that we all face is how we handle travel by car. While the ultimate ‘green dream’ would be a society where we can all travel by public transport or simply jump on a bike, the reality is very different. In many circumstances cars are essential. For people living in remote areas, or who do not have easy access to a public transport network or perhaps for young families, owning and running a car is a necessary evil. Many people want a way of reducing the emissions from their cars. Even without the wider green issues of global warming people recognize the benefits of not living in smog filled towns and cities.

Wider Environmental Impact

Reducing our own carbon footprint is one of the key ways of slowing and stopping global warming. Carbon emissions from cars have a negative environmental impact and any steps to reduce these will have a positive effect.

Obviously the most effective way is to reduce the number of miles that are driven. Vehicle sharing initiatives, combining a number of visits together and using public transport where feasible are all good options. However when you have cut down on all unnecessary miles and are driving only those miles that are essential, what other options are available to someone keen to live a more green lifestyle?

Hybrid Cars

Hybrid cars offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional cars. Hybrid vehicles use multiple power sources, typically a battery along side traditional gas or diesel and the alternative power source is used when feasible. The battery is charged as part of the motion of the car, meaning that no additional energy is required. The combination of a sustainable energy source and no carbon emissions means that this form of supplementary power helps reduce hybrid vehicles' negative environmental impact.

Many manufacturers are now offering hybrid vehicles in response to environmental impact reduction. Modern hybrid cars offer a range of features, making them attractive to a wide range of people; as a result, these vehicles are becoming increasingly popular and more mainstream. The Toyota Prius has been purchased by over 1 million people worldwide and even luxury car manufacturers such as Lexus offer a hybrid alternative.

Hybrid Vehicles, Negative Environmental Impact Reduction and Other Important Facts
  • Hybrid vehicles use less gas. According to the EPA.gov website, for every gallon of gasoline used, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) are pumped into the air. Cutting down on the amount of gasoline used will cut down on the carbon dioxide being emitted into the air.
  • Hybrid vehicles use multiple energy sources. The supplementary fuel source in hybrid vehicles is typically from an electric battery and this has no emissions and is completely sustainable.
  • The batteries in hybrid vehicles have been designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle. Detractors have claimed that the batteries of hybrid cars will be both expensive to replace and will also be difficult to safely recycle. Manufacturers of hybrid vehicles have responded with reassurances about the expected lifespan of batteries. To ensure that batteries are effectively recycled, Toyota has even gone as far as putting a $200 bounty on their batteries, which is paid when they are returned for recycling.
  • End of life recycle programs. Vehicle manufacturers recognize the importance of recycling car parts. Hybrid vehicles have been designed to make recycling easier to achieve. Even the conventional car manufacturing process can benefit from recycling. The cost of manufacturing some car parts from virgin material can be significantly more than using recycled parts. Even prestige car manufacturer Rolls Royce has a stated recycle goal.

Hybrid vehicles will play an increasingly important part in the reduction of greenhouse gases and the slowing of global warming. The choices of hybrid cars are widening and the cost decreasing -- making them an increasingly viable alternative and long term investment.

Anyone still thinking that hybrid vehicles are basic, stark, and designed just for tree huggers should think again!

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Comments

Thank you for your comment, Andrew, you raise some interesting points. Kate

-- Contributed by: K Pullen

The environmental impacts overlooked by hybrid buyers are real but not of interest to those making the choice these days. First, if a buyer is opting to purchase a hybrid when their existing vehicle is still serviceable, even if of lower economy of operation, the carbon cost of manufacturing that vehicle is levied upon the environment. End user satisfaction with themselves and the choice of hybrid can result in many years before the end user savings of fuel make up for an unnecessary retirement of another vehicle and production of another.

Secondly, the environmental impact of making a single hybrid ought to be compared to an similar format economical vehicle so that buyers understand that if the purchase is to benefit the environment, which the hybrid would in their comparative use, are the impacts of manufacture so negative at the industry level as to negate a lifetime of end user's savings.


I continue to use an older car which is in good operational function because the lower MPG at this point still does not warrant replacing it, with a hybrid or otherwise, if the overall impact to the environment is going to be negative.

-- Contributed by: Andrew Cheatham

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