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General => Chatter => Topic started by: Tony on October 05, 2012, 08:30:47 AM

Title: Electric cars less green than thought
Post by: Tony on October 05, 2012, 08:30:47 AM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19830232

I know we use Methanol but given that it's a 12.5% consumption by volume process, that makes our fuel use considerably more environmentally friendly than even the 200k lifetime projections for electric cars :)

Plus a lot of us are tinkerers and maintain older vehicles, so we're not buying new vehicles with their associated manufacture carbon footprint.

Title: Re: Electric cars less green than thought
Post by: greasemonkey on October 05, 2012, 10:54:43 AM

Wonder who funded the university to do that study? Not that it wasn't blindingly obvious anyway.
One of the oil companys, maybe?
Or did they do it off their own bat, and are hoping for a nice grant from a car co or battery co, to find out how mistaken they were.

Title: Re: Electric cars less green than thought
Post by: Tony on October 05, 2012, 01:16:12 PM

Funded by the Norwegian Research Council under the E-Car Project (grant number 190940)

Good conspiracy theory though.

Title: Re: Electric cars less green than thought
Post by: julianf on October 05, 2012, 03:48:59 PM

I read a study once (cant recall where) which looked at the environmental impact of all sorts of cars, and the result (which, of course, could be bent) was not what you would expect.

The car they concluded was the 'greenest' motor was not a modern hatchback, or a prius, or some other sort of hybrid, but an aged **** <name edited out.

They figured that, although the mpg wasnt great, the design was simple, and sturdy, the environmental cost of production low, and the expected lifespan much greater than many other vehicles.

People all too often overlook that the environmental cost of something is not just the running cost, but the huge costs in its production.

So, what did they think was the most environmentally sound car?

Im not going to tell you. 

(pete would never let us hear the end of it!)

Title: Re: Electric cars less green than thought
Post by: Tony on October 05, 2012, 03:58:53 PM

Oh I see... did they factor in the trail of hydrocarbons it leaks out onto the roads  ;D

Edit: Found it http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/features/jeep-wrangler-is-this-the-greenest-car-on-sale-423233.html

"CNW Marketing Research"

I wonder who paid for that study...