How Green are Hybrid Cars
It has been said there is no such thing as a truly green car and this is still true. Some of the alternatives to conventional automobiles can be a lot better but just how green they are is not always made clear by the manufacturers. To determine how green a hybrid car is you need to look at the environmental costs of manufacturing as well as examine the impact of its fuel usage.
Hybrid cars, as the name suggests, run on two separate power sources. These are usually an electrically charged battery and petrol or diesel. The manufacturing of the car itself and the battery lead to the consumption of natural resources and the resulting environmental damage. Extraction of minerals and metals can be extremely costly in environmental terms.
The materials required in the batteries, such as lead acid, are toxic in themselves. Eventually there are going to be a lot of worn out hybrid car batteries needing recycled, and some of these will inevitable end up on landfills. This is a potential environmental hazard that will need to be dealt with in the future.
However most of this will apply to any new car, apart from the issues surrounding batteries. The green credentials of hybrid cars rely on their fuel efficiency. Reducing fuel consumption would have substantial environmental benefits. Recent tests by the UK consumer magazine Which revealed the current crop of hybrid cars are not performing nearly as well as the manufacturers claim.
Which tested the three most popular hybrid cars: the Honda Civic, the Toyota Lexus, and the Prius. None got as many miles to the gallon as the most efficient standard car. In general if you have the choice between two cars that are exactly the same in every respect except one is a hybrid then the hybrid in the more environmentally friendly option. Otherwise you are best choosing the most efficient, and probably smallest, car you can find.
There are more genuinely green cars being developed, including electric and hydrogen based models. These are not generally available commercially. The other current option of biofuels has its own problems, with land being given over to growing biofuel crops rather than food.
When it comes down to it the answer is really to drive less, not drive a different kind of car. Hybrid cars are expensive and not worth it. You are better spending the extra money on a few acres of rainforest and look into alternatives to driving in the first place. Like with much green consumerism the real green option is consuming less, not consuming differently.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,1766799,00.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/hybridcar.shtml
