lightbulbs

[BlaqueKatt]

ok ready sorry there will be some math here but I'll try to keep it simple-

ok lightbulbs-everyone uses them we all know how they work-we all love them-yay for lightbulbs!

ok Lightbulb brand "A" is the lightbulb everyone uses in their home-everyone loves lightbulb "A". Lightbulb "A" lasts 3 months and takes 5 units of energy to use, and one unit of energy to produce. total energy for it's lifetime=5 units.

I have invented lightbulb "B"-lightbulb "B" is better than lightbulb "A" because it uses 5% less energy than lightbulb "A"-it costs a bit more(20%) but hey it saves energy it's worth it-right? A green lightbulb is better for the planet and everyone right?
Everyone buys lightbulb "B" and loves it.

Wait I'm marketing my lightbulb as a "green" product what have I not told people since I'm selling a product to make a profit.....

Hmmm well lightbulb "B" takes 3 units of energy to make and 4 units to use lifetime energy=7 units.
Did I forget to mention lightbulb "B" only lasts 1 month compared to "A"? Did I also forget to mention that Lightbulb "B" is manufactured in a country that relies on over 75% coal power-and has no environmental policy-and I use toxic chemicals that harm the environment to make lightbulb "B"? And the workers in my plant make less than 60 cents an hour-forgot that didn't I-oops


so lets tally up:
Lightbulb "A"-3 months 5 units of energy
Lightbulb "B"- 3months(also 3 bulbs as they only last a month)=21 units of energy.

Not so "green" now is it.....


now replace lightbulb "A" with a traditional car
and lightbulb "B" with a Hybrid

That's what the auto manufacturers marketing department isn't telling you. This is why you have to do your research-companies are trying to make a profit by playing on whatever they can to sell a product-THEY DON"T CARE. Hybrids can't be made in the US because the manufacturing process won't pass EPA standards for pollution-so they're made in countries that don't have an environmental policy(China/Japan), our coal plants have mercury and toxin scrubbers theirs don't. the energy/pollution "saved" is a net loss-just because it's tucked away in another country-doesn't stop it from existing, it merely changed forms and countries. Rather than car exhaust you get coal smoke(which contains mercury, sulphur dioxide<causes acid rain>, sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, acids, metals and airborne toxics.)-coal smoke doesn't stay in one country-article below from Yale global talks about an American Hockey player suffering from mercury contamination due to airbourne mercury from coal burning power plants in China. Rather than install more sophisticated and costly antipollution equipment(that filters out more than just soot), the plant has chosen to pay an annual fee, which it estimates will be about $500,000 this year.

and to prove I'm not just creating problems with no solutions-two zero pollution vehicles that are getting very little funding due to everyone pouring money into hybrids thus ensuring our dependancy on oil


tesla motors

And several compressed air cars
MDI(french)

Tata Motors Mini Cat


sources:
Yale Global

Central Connecticut state university-"the Recorder"
The Recorder is a student-produced publication of Central Connecticut State University

The Reason foundation

Of all the nation's conservative or free-market policy groups, it may be the most libertarian among them, the Reason Foundation in Southern California. Reason's mission is to advance a free society by developing, applying, and promoting libertarian principles, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law.

[Boozy]

I heard that the worst part about hybrid cars is actually the nickel that goes into the engines and the smelting process. We do that in Sudbury here in Canada. Then the nickel is shipped to Asia, made into engines during an environmentally-unfriendly process, and shipped back to North America.

Better to decrease the amount of driving you do; hybrids are not the answer. Maybe some day, but not now.

For the record though, energy-saving lightbulbs are fantastic.

[Amethyst Hunter]

For the record though, energy-saving lightbulbs are fantastic.

I second that. I switched to all energy-savers last year and they're *awesome*. Just watch out, though - the damn things are more fragile than classic bulbs. I've accidentally busted at least two or three of 'em from dropping them (not from a very large height, either).

[AFPheonix]

The thing that fries me about hybrids is that if a little 4 banger regular combustion engine can get 35-40 mpg, why can't a hybrid get a bajillion miles per gallon? What's the point of using that technology if it's not significantly more efficient than what we already have?

[ebonyknight]

The thing that fries me about hybrids is that if a little 4 banger regular combustion engine can get 35-40 mpg, why can't a hybrid get a bajillion miles per gallon? What's the point of using that technology if it's not significantly more efficient than what we already have?

The problem is that hybrids, essentially have two engines, so they weigh relatively more than regular cars. So there goes some of your mileage savings. If you want to save on gas, you are better off getting one of the small inline 4 engine cars.

[Norton]

Wow, I feel ignorant. I never knew the dark side of hybrid cars. Thanks for the informative post. I'll keep this in mind when it comes time to purchase the next Nortonmobile.

[lordlundar]

Here in Edmonton, a similar battle is raging over our trolley buses. For the record, these are standard transit buses but run off of overhead trolley lines.

The pro-trolley pundits argument basically focuses on that they generate no pollution. What they don't realize is the following:

1. The electricity to run these is generated from coal plants outside the city and it's easily dwarfs the residential power consumption in the city.

2. Each trolley has to have an diesel standby for a power outage and both must be maintained regularly.

3. These buses are a couple decades old, so maintaining them is getting tougher to do.

So their argument is really a case of "not in my backyard", yet the city is investing in new, more economic and less polluting buses (new design catalytic converters and a few hybrids) and if the trolleys were scrapped (even new model ones that have been suggested still need a diesel standby) the city would save power and pollution on a larger scale.

[Seshat]

Monash University in Australia has invented 'bio-crude'. A product akin to crude oil that can be produced from the detritus and waste from crop growing. (EG: not the human-edible soybeans, but the leaves and stems.)

Also, there are a few companies in Australia selling biodiesel at the pump. When we can next afford a car, I plan to look for a secondhand diesel that fits our needs and either is already biodiesel okay, or needs only some hose replacements to be so.

The bio-crude is still in very early stages of development: they want to figure out total costs and problems before they start saying 'okay, let's put this into production'.

One obvious issue is that bio-crude reduces the crop waste available for fertiliser - farming is essentially 'mining soil' of trace minerals, and by putting the crop waste back, you're reducing the total amount of 'mining' you're doing per growth period. If you don't restore the crop waste to the soil, you can't reuse those trace minerals.

[rahmota]

Well I had been in favor of hybrids but got to looking into them a bit more. The technology is a short term solution and an eventual dead end.

The internal combustino engine is a hundred years old and all we are doing now is tweaking and twitching the engine and getting into the point where unless we change the technology thigns arnt really going to improve too much more IMO at least.

Hydrogen fuel cells and greater storage capacity pure electrics are a good alternative.

I am also a big supporter of bio fuels like what seshat said and flexfuel engines. Which is rather funny as the new Chevy Avalanche has a V8 flex fuel that gets around 15 combined MPG. Which means I could still have my big redneck truck with a v8 and still go greener than not.