Course:ECON371/UBCO2010WT1/GROUP7/Article2

Article #2 Here is a lengthy article. It explains that the batteries essentially begin production in Canada then go to Europe then to Asia. Thats an expensive start. then the obvious it has 1 engine and 1 motor.

March 7, 2007 Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage By Chris Demorro Staff Writer

The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer. Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.

The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?

You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the Prius’s EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.

However, if that was the only issue with the Prius, I wouldn’t be writing this article. It gets much worse.

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare.

“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.

All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?

Wait, I haven’t even got to the best part yet.

When you pool together all the combined energy it takes to drive and build a Toyota Prius, the flagship car of energy fanatics, it takes almost 50 percent more energy than a Hummer - the Prius’s arch nemesis.

Through a study by CNW Marketing called “Dust to Dust,” the total combined energy is taken from all the electrical, fuel, transportation, materials (metal, plastic, etc) and hundreds of other factors over the expected lifetime of a vehicle. The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.

The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it.

So, if you are really an environmentalist - ditch the Prius. Instead, buy one of the most economical cars available - a Toyota Scion xB. The Scion only costs a paltry $0.48 per mile to put on the road. If you are still obsessed over gas mileage - buy a Chevy Aveo and fix that lead foot.

One last fun fact for you: it takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses

Read more: Why are hybrid cars so expensive | Answerbag http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/219984#ixzz11dtfvCnP

Owain Jones

Summary: The article first explains the basic concept of how a hybrid works buy using a Toyota Prius as an example. The Prius has two engines, one gas and one electric. The electric is basically responsible for building up speed to 30 mph. From here the gas engine takes over and the electric is recharged with the braking system. The fuel saving concept behind this is that it takes a lot of energy to set and object in motion and little to keep it in motion. The authors point in this section of the article is that although the government used to report impressive EPA numbers on the Prius, the numbers were based a extremely conservative driving,such as very slow acceleration and slow average speeds. When more realistic numbers were reported it showed that some fuel efficent gasoline cars were comparable to the Prius' numbers. However these non-hybrid cars are a lot cheaper. The main argument in this article however is that Hybrid cars are not only high priced but also costly to the environment. The author describes how the batteries for the Prius are made from nickel and this nickel comes from Canada. The area around the plant is a dead zone from all the damage, and the sulphur dioxide produce much acid rain. This causes the death of plantlife and because of this the soil is begginning to erode of the the land. The nickel is then transported to Europe where it is further refined, then to China, and on to Japan. From there the battery is shipped back to the United States. This transportation mostly via massive containerships is very environmentally unfriendly. In fact the average cost of driving a prius over its expected lifetime is 3.25$ per mile whereas the Hummers is 1.95$.

Analysis:In the case of the hybrid we are using a technology to try and reduce emissions. Hybrids are very pricy and this price can be seen as an abatement cost. However by using this technolgy we are in fact producing much more emmissions so the gain from hybrids is cancelled out. Although it may appear to the consumer that we are reducing emmisions, we are in fact just reallocationg from where they are produced; directly from the car or from the processes it takes to produce the car.

Owain Jones Summary: The article comments that as of right now, hybrid cars are relatively expensive. That is, given hybrids’ prices and their fuel savings it would make more financial sense to buy cheap compact car that is not hybrid, although still fuel efficient. The article suggests some fuel efficient models and also some diesel fuel cars. Analysis: We can relate the high price of hybrids directly to supply and demand. On the demand side it is quite obvious that hybrid cars are popular and in high demand. High demand moves us along the demand curve upwards and prices increase. Furthermore most car companies, with exception of a few such as Honda, have many hybrid models if any. This small supply also pushes the price upwards. Also on the supply side is the fact that hybrids are a fairly new technology. The technology has not been perfected and therefore the technology is expensive to produce, this further shifts the supply curve and pushes the price upwards. In summary the high demands, and low supply make hybrids expensive to the public. Predictions: As environmental awareness increases, the demand for hybrids will either stay constant or increase. However as hybrid technology progresses the price of hybrids will more than likely fall, and as companies add more and more hybrids to their product lines supply will shift and price will decrease further. So for consumers it may be more economical to by a fuel efficient car now instead of a hybrid and purchase a hybrid 5 or 10 years down the road.

Analysis: We can relate the high price of hybrids directly to supply and demand. On the demand side it is quite obvious that hybrid cars are popular and in high demand. High demand moves us along the demand curve upwards and prices increase. Furthermore most car companies, with exception of a few such as Honda, have many hybrid models if any. This small supply also pushes the price upwards. Also on the supply side is the fact that hybrids are a fairly new technology. The technology has not been perfected and therefore the technology is expensive to produce, this further shifts the supply curve and pushes the price upwards. In summary the high demands, and low supply make hybrids expensive to the public.

Predictions: As environmental awareness increases, the demand for hybrids will either stay constant or increase. However as hybrid technology progresses the price of hybrids will more than likely fall, and as companies add more and more hybrids to their product lines supply will shift and price will decrease further. So for consumers it may be more economical to by a fuel efficient car now instead of a hybrid and purchase a hybrid 5 or 10 years down the road.

Robert Oeming

Summary - I agree with Owain that the article highlights the economical value of purchasing a fuel efficient car over a hybrid, as the hybrid has hidden costs associated with it. Not just costs, but claims by various companies which fail to report the true value of owning a hybrid. Such inherient costs include the over due tax incentive, which applies to the original owners of the hybrids, not the second hand owners. In any way, the incentive has allegedly stopped in 2006, I do not know how accurate this is, as im not in the market for a hybrid. The claims are assiciated with the fuel savings acquired through the ownership of the hybrid. Sure, if i dont want to use air conditioning, cut and thrust driving or the typical hard acceleration, the hybrid wins the case.

Analysis- The article is biased towards economical savings rather than environmental friendliness; fuel efficient cars as opposed to hybrids, which require both expensive gasoline as well as electrical power. Two power sources as opposed to one. If you rather go "cheap than green" fuel efficient cars are your choice. As the article points out,you are saving on the costs of gasoline, at a certain price as mentioned above. Plugging your car into the wall coupled with the price of costly gasoline can certainly overpower the costs associated with "gigantic fuel-sucking SUV's," but definetly not fuel efficient cars.

Pauline Berry- October 7th, 2010

Summary In promoting “greener” methods of transportation, one would not speculate on a hybrid vehicle to contradict this proposal. In a recent study of the Toyota Prius, an alternative fuel vehicle, it has come to the conclusion that this environmentally-friendly mode of transport has depleted its original cause. Compared to the production of a “gas-guzzling” Hummer, the Toyota Prius has been labeled as one of the worst production sources of pollution in North America. The Toyota Prius has worse polluting effects than that of a Hummer due to its internal construction of duel engines in addition to the external methods of its production.The production process of a Prius is what deems this vehicle as a worse polluter than a Hummer. The primary ingredient in the composition of a Prius’ battery is the metal, nickel. This nickel is excavated at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. The externality of producing this metal has been devastating to the surrounding ecosystem and has now been labeled a “dead zone” by NASA; who now exerts the area around to test moon rovers. This nickel is purchased by Toyota annually from this plant in amounts of 1,000 tons.The large amount of nickel is then shipped over to a refinery in Europe and later transported to China where it is formed into nickel foam. The process doesn’t stop there, the nickel foam is then shipped to Japan for final alterations and later arrives in the United States. This entire process is done for the production of a single Prius battery. The amount of transportation, time, energy sources and production methods involved in composing a Prius battery takes nearly 50 percent more energy than the production of a Hummer. In addition to the widespread collection of parts needed for a Prius battery, a Prius costs $3.25 per mile to drive as oppose to a lower $1.95 per mile Hummer. Moreover, the lifetime of a Prius is estimated to be a short 100,000 miles; contrastingly, a Hummer’s expected lifetime is 300,000 miles, three times the amount of a Prius.

Analysis It is ironic to see the Hummer as a more environmentally-friendly mode of transportation as oppose to a Toyota Prius. From an economical perspective, many factors affect the usage of a vehicle, these include the external benefits of the vehicle upon both the individual and society, the willingness a person has to purchase the vehicle, the maximum amount a person has to spend on the vehicle, overall environmental impact and ex-cetera. In reference to the article, the Prius does not decrease the costs or exceed the benefits a buyer is searching for. A vehicle buyer who is economically and environmentally inclined is searching for a car that emits less pollutants than another vehicle and is economical to drive. The Prius, as the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) states, is at an equal emissions level with the Chevy Aveo, which is on the market for less than half the price of a Prius. As stated in another article, EPA Lowers Prius Mileage Estimate, Toyota claimed that the Prius would cover 60 miles per gallon in city driving; however consumers are claiming the Prius only drives for 45 miles per gallon. The central question to that article is will consumers now be inclined to pay the expensive cost for a hybrid just to be caught short of driving the initial estimated mileage? This brings me back to the willingness to pay for a Prius, if a consumer can save gasoline and the expensive cost of a hybrid vehicle, why buy a Prius? Moreover, a Prius costs approximately $3.25 per mile driven and a Hummer costs approximately $1.95 per mile driven. Not to mention the life span of a Hummer is three times that of a Prius (300,000 and 100,000 miles, reciprocally). Therefore, as evidence shows, to a consumer, a Toyota Prius is a costly and not an environmentally-friendly mode of transportation. Similarly, to a producer, a Toyota Prius doesn’t seem to induce an eco-aware state of mind. It should be a number one priority to a producer to ensure that they use the most environmentally-aware methods of production to satisfy emission policies as well as society. Contrastingly, this is not the case with the Prius. The production of the Prius is one of the worst methods encountered in automobile production. The energy, fuel ,time, and transportation it takes to produce a single Prius battery is exhausting to read let alone actually execute. The process it takes to create an “efficient” vehicle is ironically destroying our surrounding atmosphere. The cost of creating a Toyota Prius (the labour, production costs,emission pollutants, etc.) completely exceed the benefits of producing the Prius (environmentally-friendly product that has a high demand from a variety of consumers, reduced emissions, abiding emission limitations, etc.) In General, the Toyota Prius is not adhering to all the benefits it is made out to create. It is depleting its connection with being an efficient vehicle and the benefits of having a hybrid vehicle tend to be less desirable when evaluating at the level of a Prius. Toyota is a well-regarded company for having economical vehicles; ill-production of the Prius is constraining Toyota’s reputation. Technology has evolved so profoundly that it is not limited to the use of old processes; the nickel mine in Sudbury, Ontario does not need to be utilized. Toyota should either find a mine that is in a closer vicinity in order to reduce the travel costs and unnecessary fuel emissions, if not abolish the nickel idea as a whole and innovate an idea that is in fact environmentally friendly.

Additional Articles used: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/12/priius_epa.html

Prof's Comments

Would be good to rearrange things, as this is very difficult to read. Also, compiling your points into one document, rather than as a record of a discussion, would be good. You can edit each other's work, rather than just adding.

The article does some serious editorializing. While the basic point, that there are unaccounted for externalities with respect to hybrids, is sound, there are some strong assumptions and blatant errors. Sudbury was a pretty bad place. It isn't anymore. The large stack is still there, but it includes scrubbers and other technologies that reduce emissions. Large container ships are also very fuel efficient, on an energy per unit weight basis, so the energy footprint that results from moving goods around the world is not that high. Also, the assumption that a hummer will be owned and driven for 300,000 km compared to a prius only going for 100,000 km is questionable. Some very large grains of salt should be taken with this article.

An important issue would be to consider whether it is economically efficient to have such a distributed production process. Would it be better to build the batteries here? How much shipping of stuff would that involve, relative to the current system? How much more would production that pays NA wages impact on prices? ...