My Prius is at the shop right now - it seems that the rear shocks did not like all the back roads that I drove on at Death Valley National Park. At least the repair is under warranty. I still like the car.
Meanwhile, hybrid vehicles are under attack as not being as carbon efficient as switching from a meat eater's diet to a vegan diet. In defense of my hybrid vehicle, I would note that part of the problem with this study is that it is conducted by Europeans, who know nothing about what gas guzzling entails. They probably compared the hybrid vehicle to a car, rather than a large SUV that God gave to Americans.
Another problem is this other site which says that switching to a hybrid vehicle saves 1.9 metric tons per year, not the one ton mentioned in the latest study. If the larger figure is right, then the hybrid is even better than switching to a vegan diet. Finally, becoming a vegan is not easy, as many vegetarians can attest. If you're not up for veganism, switching from grain-fed to grass-fed beef could do a lot to reduce to CO2.
UPDATE: James Annan also jumps on this meme sweeping its way through the nerd blogs. I'd add that here in the Bay Area, cattle ranching provides a land-use alternative to sprawling subdivisions that are bad for emissions, even if filled with lentil-eaters. Also, hybrids are a good stepping stone to plug-in hybrids, and that can give us some real emission reductions.
I didn't like James' blonde joke though. It's mean, it wasted A WHOLE LOT of my time, and I was embarassed when someone explained it.
It doesn't matter what other options that are not the same might do.
ReplyDeleteI have always tended toward energy efficien vehicles, but after 50,000 miles, my Prius is the best car I've ever owned, bar none.