Are Hybrid Cars Actually Environmentally Friendly?
Toyota claims that the Prius is “Harmony between man, nature and machine,” but is this claim actually correct? I believe that hybrid cars are the same, if not worse, than a conventional car. This conclusion is backed by research. I believe that hybrid cars are no better than conventional cars because the production plants of hybrid cars produce an abundance of emissions. Also, some hybrid cars do not give high miles per gallon. A hybrid car still uses gasoline to power half of the car. Those three reasons are why I do not believe that hybrid cars are “Harmony between man, nature and machine.”
When people think of a hybrid car they think green, new technology, and eco-friendly. However, what most people don’t think about is high production emissions. A high amount of electricity and power go into producing any car. In a manufacturing plant there are not only people working on the cars but there are many machines helping to assemble what man cannot. A lot of energy goes into these machines so that they can run. However, hybrid car manufacturing plants use more than just electricity. The battery pack in the hybrid car produces a whole new set of emissions. Nickel is required to make the second battery that is used in hybrid cars. The batteries in most hybrid cars are nickel-metal hydride batteries and, like at batteries, the extraction process pollutes the earth. These batteries are normally recycled back into the car companies because nickel is highly valuable and does not decompose very well. The production of a single vehicle has a whole range of emissions, but hybrid cars also have the nickel extraction emissions and non-landfill friendly issues.
When people buy a car, one of the first things that they look up is the miles per gallon. Buyers are looking for the coolest car with the best miles per gallon. But what if hybrid cars do not get high miles per gallon? What would be the purpose of spending the extra money on a hybrid car if it is going to have about the same miles per gallon of another car? Some hybrid cars such as the Chevrolet Tahoe only get 23 mpg while the conventional Tahoe gets 21 mpg. Spending the extra money on a hybrid SUV that does not have high miles per gallon does not make any sense. Another car that has this same situation is the Nissan Altima; the hybrid gets 33 mpg and the conventional gets 32 mpg. If people are going to spend money on a hybrid car, they should spend it on something that is actually going to make a difference. The Toyota Prius gets 48 mpg and is considered the greenest cars in the world!
The hybrid car is called a “hybrid” for a reason. The hybrid car is a cross between an electric car and a gasoline powered car. This means at low speeds the hybrid car uses the battery to power the car. Once the car reaches about 45 miles per hour (depending on the car) the gasoline motor kicks in because it is needed to power the car at higher speeds. A car running on electricity at lower speeds is almost a perfect way to power a car people are driving in the city. If people live in a more rural area where most speed limits are over 45 miles per hour the car becomes less efficient and is still putting out the same emissions as a conventional car. These cars are not totally green but are on the right track to be.
For some people and some situations hybrid cars are great, but for others they are very impractical. For a car to be considered totally green and eco-friendly, everything that goes into a car must be natural. The production of electricity, the materials in the car, and the power to charge a fully electric car must all be natural. Hybrid car manufacturing plants produce tons of emissions; they still use gasoline and some cars have low miles per gallon. Hybrid cars are not totally green so I do not think they are “Harmony between man, nature and machine.” I think that a more accurate statement would be: “Partial harmony between man, nature and machine.”