Save the Environment with Blog Action Day
Posted by Johan Cyprich on 15 Oct 2007 | Tagged as: General
October 15 is the start of the annual Blog Action Day. On this day, bloggers are asked to do two things to make a positive difference in the environment.
- Publish a post on what can be done to improve the environment.
- Donate the earnings from this day to an environmental charity.
You should also register your blog with the Block Action Day web site. This is one way of declaring public support and being rewarded by getting a reciprocal link on their site.
I did some research, and here is my contribution for Blog Action Day.
New Cars are Bad for the Environment
Everyone wants a new car. Its a great feeling driving one out of the dealership with the trademark new car smell associated with it. The government in British Columbia rewards people with newer cars by not requiring them to test vehicle emissions in their Air Care program. New cars are better for the environment, right? And a hybrid car must be even better for the environment.
Wrong.
In fact, a new car does tremendous damage to the environment in just the process in manufacturing it. The Environment and Forecasting Institute in Heidelberg, Germany examined what was involved in manufacturing a typical, medium sized car in Germany (a nation which has the highest environmental standards).
They found that 25,000 kg of waste and 422 million cubic metres of air was polluted just in extracting the raw materials to manufacture one car. Transporting the materials to the factory for production polluted another 425 million cubic metres of air and also placed 12 litres of crude oil in our oceans. During the manufacturing processing, 75 million cubic metres of air were polluted again and 15,000 kg of waste produced. This is the environmental impact in manufacturing a single car.
The government of British Columbia is concerned about old cars polluting the environment. You have to wonder if anyone does serious research in the government before making decisions. A more likely reason for Air Care is that its another way to collect revenues from the general population.
A Hummer is Better for the Environment than a Prius
You might think that its laughable that a gas guzzling SUV would be more beneficial for the environment than a Prius. After all, a Prius has less emissions than a Hummer, so it must be better. The problem with this is that the manufacture of the batteries does tremendous damage to the environment. It takes more energy to produce a Prius than a Hummer.
The nickel for the Prius’ battery is mined in Sudbury, Ontario (Canada) and then is smelted at a Nickel Centre a short distance away. Toyota then ships 1000 tons of nickel to Wales (England) for refining, and then its sent to China where its manufactured into nickel foam. Finally, its delivered to Japan at Toyota’s battery plant. This process doesn’t seem very environmentally friendly. Its a 10,000 mile journey by container ship and diesel locomotive.
The process of mining and smelting in Sudbury has left a dead zone in the surrounding countryside which NASA uses for testing moon rovers. The Superstack in the factory there pollutes Northern Ontario with sulphur dioxide. It brings acid rain that not only destroys plants in the area, but also weakens the soil so much that it slides down the hillsides.
The Solution
Think twice about buying a new car, or a hybrid. A used car is not only better for your finances, its better for the environment.
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