A quick google on the author reveals:<br><a href="http://www.myninjaplease.com/green/">http://www.myninjaplease.com/green/</a><br>along with several copies of his bleagh. <br><br>As much as I detest this sort of lying, there is at least a kernel of truth... and what it doesn't come right out and say is that we use ( i.e. WASTE) so much energy. Our nation is the runaway worst waster of other nations' oil reserves and other forms of energy (e.g. natural gas.) Wasting corn instead (i.e. ethanol) is still a waste. Use less. The Dinks driving Humpers (they're Humperdinks, doncha know) have absolutely nothing to brag about... not today, not yesterday, not tomorrow... never did, never will. Someone who drives their Prius 250,000 miles a year just because they get 50mpg is still wasting energy. <br><br>Paul<br><br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 3/16/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">William Benjamin</b> <<a href="mailto:pianoboutique@comcast.net">pianoboutique@comcast.net</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <div bgcolor="#ffffff"> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">List,</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">There was some talk a while ago about quiet cars and I thingt this would be interesting to you.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">William</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"><a href="http://clubs.ccsu.edu:80/recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://clubs.ccsu.edu:80/recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188 </a><br>Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage<br>By Chris Demorro<br>Staff Writer</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>----</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so<br>environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show<br>the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate 'green<br>car' is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes<br>more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first<br>understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid<br>on the market, the Toyota Prius.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower,<br>1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine<br>that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000<br>revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it<br>is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where<br>the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you,<br>it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The<br>battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the<br>gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great<br>energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which<br>netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles<br>per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized<br>how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds<br>limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests<br>which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway<br>speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the<br>Prius's EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the<br>Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs<br>less then half what the Prius costs.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn't be writing<br>this article. It gets much worse.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that<br>is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the<br>Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is<br>mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so<br>much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used<br>the 'dead zone' around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the<br>plant is devoid of any life for miles.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius' battery and<br>Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the<br>plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming<br>every environmentalist's nightmare.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">"The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the<br>soil slid down off the hillside," said Canadian Greenpeace<br>energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a<br>British-based newspaper.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to<br>make a hybrid doesn't end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous<br>plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery<br>in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce 'nickel<br>foam.' From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are<br>shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required<br>to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like<br>environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Wait, I haven't even got to the best part yet.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a<br>Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50<br>percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius's arch nemesis.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Through a study by CNW Marketing called "Dust to Dust," the total combined<br>energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials<br>(metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected<br>lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven<br>over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on<br>the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer<br>will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing<br>it.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy<br>one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion<br>only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still<br>obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price<br>of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a<br>non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses.<br></font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">PIANO BOUTIQUE<br>William Benjamin<br>Piano Tuner Extraordinaire<br><a href="http://www.pianoboutique.biz" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">www.pianoboutique.biz</a><br>The tuner alone,<br>preserves the tone.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div></div> </blockquote></div><br>