Something Better Than a Hybrid
Check out "The Greenest Vehicles of 2007," a list released this week by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Top scorers:
1) Honda Civic GX
2) Toyota Prius
3) Honda Civic Hybrid
4) Nissan Altima Hybrid
5) Toyota Yaris
6) Toyota Corolla
7) Toyota Camry Hybrid
8) Honda Fit
9) Kia Rio / Rio 5
10) Hyundai Accent
11) Hyundai Elantra
12) Honda Civic
Green is the new black. And driving an energy-efficient automobile is almost as sexy as giving up meat and drinking chai tea. So hot.
The ACEEE also publishes a "Meanest Vehicles" list of unrepentant gas-guzzlers. For the sinners among you...
20 Comments:
What? My Ford-150 didn't make the meanest list???? DAMN!!
I guess I need to buy a 250 now.
Wow, im a conservative and my car is #12 on the list... Does that make me......... .... pro-environment???
Kate, at first i was all for alternative energy for cars, but im recently knocking one off the list, ethanol. I read an article that the #1 destroyer of forests in south america, which the forests are being demolished down there almost as bad as Africa, is for corn and grain fields to produce ethanol. We are destroying our environment in order to try to save it. What a joke.
I think oil drilling is much "less bad" for the environment that pummeling forests across the world in order not to drill underground. Personally, i think we need to switch many cars to natural gas. No carbon emissions, drilling barely disturbs anything, and natural gas renews itself.
Your thoughts?
Completely against ethanol as well. Not so sure about natural gas but I'm willing to learn more about it. Would like to see us rely less on oil and look into bringing electric cars back from the dead.
Let 'er rip.
Kate,
Remember where electricity comes from... it depends on the plant, but in FL its about 60% coal, 20% natural gas, and 20% nuclear.
Im personally more OK with nuclear, the NEW type of nuclear, much cleaner and greener than the chernobyl days. Unfortunately any electricity usage will use some form of oil (gas, natural gas, coal). But significantly increasing efficiency stds in cars, trucks, appliances, insulation, windows, etc.. that would reduce oil use.
Heck, between compact flourescents and tinted home windows, TECO tells us that we use 15% less energy than the avg for the same size home less than 10 yrs old with 2 people in it. So im sure other efficiency stds could go a long way.
I've had family trying to sell me on the Hydrogen energy deal but after I saw "Who Killed the Electric Car" -- it seems more like a pipe dream (You won't want to watch that Rich, but it's interesting none the less. Hell, KATE won't want to watch it -- It's got Mel Gibson in it :) )
The point that leads me back to that film is that the Hybrid revolution was inspired by GM's EV1 (the electric car referenced in the title of the film). Toyota was threatened by how well the EV1 performed. GM fought hand over fist to stop the rules that were going to force electric cars in California and they lost out on a niche market entirely because of it. Great lack of foresight, guys!
BTW Rich -- Conservation is derived from conserve. Owning #12 on that list doesn't make you an Environmentalist, it makes you an embodiment of what you aspire to be: a conservative.
All ethanol is not created equal.
Minnesota requires gas stations to sell E-85 (ethanol) and has a whole bunch of processing plants. Corn futures now assure farmers double and triple what they were getting for a bushel of corn in 2005 through about 2010. Besides the already mentioned environmental concerns with ever increasing corn production, to use E-85 effectively you need a dual fuel vehicle, and the last time I filled up in MN it cost 10 cents a gallon more than regular. I agree with Kate et al that corn based ethanol is bad, as is sugar cane (water issues).
However, researchers at the Univ. of MN have been successful in making cellulose based ethanol from native prairie grasses. This holds enormous promise because it wouldn't require irrigation, or the petroleum based fertilizers and pesticides used in corn production. Canada has some promising technology in the cellulose ethanol arena too.
Ultimately, no matter where we turn for power, it doesn't hurt to use less. Buy a smaller house, closer to work, and walk. Your heart and planet will thank you fr it.
I just saw the line on Kate's post on giving up meat as a "green" solution. Animal cruelty article aside....
I read that the reason they say beef is the worst for the environment is largely due to cows drinking so much water.
Well, my first argument would be, if i wasnt on a liberal blog site, is that water does come from the sky. Additionally, it rains more than nature even needs in most parts of the country, and world. The only reason we need water reservoirs in FL is to store water from heavy rains in the summer to use throughout the rest of the year. We average about 52" rain per year in FL, but natural wetlands and sensitive ecosystems here only need about 35" of rain. Thus, humans use the rest.
But, that argument will not go over well here, even though I went to school in the development and landscape field and would by some be considered some kind of expert, but....
Whether we are killing cows for meat, or just letting cows graze as they please, they will still reproduce, and still drink the same amount of water. So when people come out with greener or nongreener foods, they should consider water a little less important than the pollution and carbon emissions in producing and processing foods.
PT's right, as always. :-) I'll be considering these things when house hunting in The Springs. That's for sure.
What's up with you, Rich? Figure we were agreeing so you had to search through the post for something hidden between the lines to argue about? So hot.
Okay. If someone doesn't care enough about their own health or cruelty to animals, I doubt any ecological argument is going to work. However, I'll give it a try. If we took all the land presently used for grazing and planted vegetables, we could quite literally feed the world. Cows also let loose a lot of gas, which contributes to the warming of our planet. Hog farms do even more damage to our fragile ecosystem. Read "Diet for a Small Planet". Pure gold.
Now I'm gonna go shave my head.
Kate,
I know it seems like I was trying to find a disagreement... maybe i was getting a little uncomfortable that i am agreeing with you on some things.. :)
Healthwise, too much red meat certainly is bad, but if you limit it and keep it to sirloin or leaner, it wont be so bad. Cruelty to animals, i wont get into that.
My question on the ecological argument, is, where would the cows graze? Wherever that is, the grass would get eaten, and a lot of gas would be let loose. Cows reproduce whether their owner owns them and wants them to or not.
Just an example, I will use deer. I can say Ive never eaten deer, i never intend to eat deer (unless my life depends on it), and the very thought of killing one personally and skinning it for skins and meat would make me head for the porcelain gods, but...
I know many people go deer hunting. Some for food, most for fun (sadly). These deer are not bred for business, and sold in high volume in the stores, they are left to roam free, and humans are allowed to kill them about a month a year. The white tail deer population was 350K in the US in 1900. It is now over 28 million.
Cows would be doing the same thing, for thats all animals think about... food, drink, sex. Hmm, come to think of it, thats mostly what we think about too... :)
But maybe you see my point.
So which one do want to buy? Don't tell me you're droolin' for that kia!
Rich-You're kidding about cows right? Today's breeds are so dependent on humans they'd never be able to reproduce and extend their range as deer have. Calves are weaned early and with artificial insemination and computer tracking of their estrus cows are bred far more often than they would be in the wild. Don't see too many unwanted pregnancies in the cow owning world.
I have killed and skinned animals, and don't have too much trouble being at the top of the food chain. However, I think green omnivores and vegetarians should do more to support local small scale farming. It is far better for the planet to eat a homegrown veal calf free of anti-biotics or growth hormones than organic asparagus flown in from Chile. Animal cruelty aside, we could all start driving 60mpg cars tomorrow and we'd still be buying far too much oil to pump into our food or to drive it from distant fields.
Oy, don't get me started on veal. But otherwise you have made an excellent point.
I wouldn't make hunting or eating meat or wearing fur or driving a tank illegal (pro-choice across the board and all - except maybe about the tank). However, I would encourage people to think about the choices they make and perhaps, if they're interested in healthy, earth-friendly, "do no harm"-type living, then maybe they need to change a thing or two.
Yes, I'd like people to think more. About everything.
port tampa,
I would agree with you mostly. Todays cows are dependent on humans, b/c they are so controlled. That is based on the current situation. If they were in the wild all along, they would be breeding abundantly.
I definitely agree on the local farming issue. the world market has definitely created a niche for each country or area for certain products. Now while certain areas just cannot sustain or grow certain foods, we could definitely cut down on oil use for long distance food travel.
I would also be perfectly willing to pay more for beef that is from cows uninjected, and more for eggs from free roaming chickens.
I have never killed or skinned an animal, if I did, I probably would stop eating meat for a while, which wouldnt leave me with much to eat, since I dont eat vegetables. (only fruit) So I plan to stay away from that.
Just fyi - the civic pictured is a 02-05 civic SI - not fuel effecient.
^ - a 04 civic hybrid driver. yay!
Ooops, sorry ank.
Cute car, though.
Great top 12 list, try getting on the freeway at 65mph in one of those underpowered death traps. Great concept save a few bucks on fuel, get rapped by the dealerships to fix them when it brakes. Meanest vehicle, how does a 6 cylinder Jeep make the list and a Z06 vette does not? But anyway congrats to you and your new meanest vehicle purchased, you are on your way to turning over to the dark side.
anonymous,
I am moderately conservative, just so you know, b/c after my comment, you may call me a bed wetting liberal.
The only cars on the greenest list with low horsepower are the Toyota Yaris, the HOnda Fit, and the Hundai Accent.
The civic and corolla, both compacts, have 140 and 130 hp, respectively. You may think this is low, but if you actually DROVE the car, it has quite a good pickup. The pickup power is dependent on horsepower AND WEIGHT. By the way, all the cars except the 3 mentioned above also have 4 and 5 star crash test ratings.
Second, the "meanest" cars are based on emissions, NOT fuel mileage. Fuel mileage contributes to emissions, but diesel fuel is not as clean as unleaded fuel, and thus the diesel cars which have better gas mileage still are dirtier. The 6 cylinder jeep would have other issues, like a lower quality catalytic converter, or something like that.
Me, I actually own a 2004 civic, with only 115 HP, and it jumps on the highway easily up to 70 miles an hour.
Now I am not into the whole UN socialistic Kyoto Treaty plan, its a joke. But.... for national security purposes and for cleaner air purposes, we should be doing whatever it takes to be more efficient and less pollutant to our atmosphere. Just compare the air quality before the EPA in 1970 to now. Do they go too far, yes, but it was a good plan to clean up our air.
There, Ive ranted.
Rich--
“Bed wetting liberal,” I love that. Liberals wet the bed—hahahahaha. They should wear diapers to bed. How about this, they wear toddler training pants during the day. Maybe they suck their thumbs. Those people are bed wetting, thumb sucking liberals and their caring about others way of living. They certainly are not good compassionate conservatives, huh Rich?
goader, i defend the need for americans to be increasingly efficient, and all you can comment on is my slogal for liberals?
I should have figured that would cause some reactions. I certainly thought it was funny when i heard it. I give the source here, Neal Boortz, the libertarian talkmaster, my favorite talk show host. Keep the govt out of our lives socially and economically. Love it!
Oh, don’t kid yourself I did far more than comment on your slogan for liberals.
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