Accounting for All That Goes Into a Hybrid Car

Hey Mr. Green,

Does your analysis of hybrid cars’ energy use account for all the fuels used in shipping cars and parts to different countries, making the batteries, and so on?

--Branden in Austin, Texas

Yes, the analyses I consulted, such as those from Argonne National Laboratory, include "upstream" and "downstream" inputs to the manufacture, distribution, and disposal, or to use another weary metaphor, “cradle-to-grave inputs.”

Shipping by sea is nowhere near the energy drain some anti-globalist and locavore zealots claim. The amount of energy required even to send a car halfway around the world only amounts to only a tiny fraction of what it’s gonna burn on the road! A huge ship can move more than ton of material 1,000 miles on only a gallon of fuel. The international shipping average is estimated around 422 miles per ton per gallon, and that’s a fairly conservative number because it includes less efficient ships that may well use more fuel that those hauling cars. Like it or not, this is a major reason why multinationals can afford to be multinationals.

Right here on terra firma is where we burn the bulk of our fossil fuel. In fact, of all the cargo shipped by sea, about a third is oil itself, almost all of which is burned by us clueless land-lubbers. People who harp about the evils of long-distance shipping might just be projecting their own local energy waste onto “distant ships sailing into the mist,” as Bob Dylan pictured them in his astoundingly allusive and complex “Jokerman.”

A typical semi truck with a 30-ton load burns about six to eight times more fuel per ton-mile than the biggest cargo ships, but that’s nothing compared to air freight, which can guzzle from 30 to 100 times more fuel per ton-mile as a large ship. Also, a lot of the fuel used in ships, known as "bunker fuel," is actually recycled oil, though this isn’t nearly as environmentally friendly as it sounds. This fuel is, as you can imagine, quite dirty, so the real problem with ships is less energy use than toxic emissions of sulfur, nitrogen oxides, lung-clogging microparticulates, and other pollutants. This is why the International Maritime Organization has begun to take steps to force ships to clean up their emissions near U.S. and Canadian coasts – thanks in large part to a long campaign by our friends at Friends of the Earth.

Finally, to the hybrid-cars battery controversy. There’s been some substantial clouds of blog-fog from chronic hybrid dissers, in which the claim is that it takes more energy to get the nickel for a hybrid’s batteries than a Hummer would burn in its entire supersize life. As I’ve noted, if this were the case, hybrid manufacturers couldn’t even afford the batteries, let alone the whole bleepin’ car, since the Hummer would burn more than $15,000 worth of gas at today’s prices before it hit 100,000 miles. The nickel used to make the batteries is mostly recycled, which requires far less energy than would be needed if it had to be mined and smelted anew.

Comments

[Brian]

Won't millions of hybrids still require 9-lane freeways? Why not push for better transit and more livable cities that require less driving. VMT reduction is key.

BTW, the kids just aren't into cars like they used to be.
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Maybe the private auto is a dying industry? Fingers crossed.

[ed hardy]

Yes, the analyses I consulted.The nickel used to make the batteries is mostly recycled, which requires far less energy than would be needed if it had to be mined and smelted anew. http://www.edhardyukshop.com/

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I must agree that a city with proper public transportation will need less cars- hybrid or not.

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[New York Auto Shipping]

This was actually very informative, I had no idea that maritime shipping was this economical.

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What a well-researched article — thanks for putting in the time to look into the back-stories of all these famous brands. I had no idea the Twitter bird came from iStockPhoto, of all places!

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But when the kids make mistakes, criticism has to be specific, instructive and constructive. I always give that kid a chance to make it up later in practice and publicly praise him for SOMETHING he did right

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They should produce a lot even other car companies.

[Peter Woodfellow]

I agree, although i gotta say if your car does not need replacing do not replace it. Thats were i agree with the green, i have a 209 year old car which i replaced for a hybrid car because it was getting hard to get spare parts.

[Jamie Shellman]

Isn't it true to every green product or green gadget? Every second that an item traveled, is accounted for something in cash. And the price differs with what type of transportation. The cash flies as the gas is turned into smoke, so as with coals that is used for sea shipping. The real deal here is that, at least, it can decrease the amount of pollution that usually goes up to the atmosphere.

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[Makayla Chalker]

All told, hybrid cars compensate for everything. From the very first parts manufactured all to its end-of-life, these cars then live up to its name of eco-car. There are even car manufacturers who introduce newer batteries, even more efficient engines, and tons more while making any environmental-friendly car buyer smile wider. Pretty cool, is it not?

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I agree with your idea definetly production of hybrid cars must be increased..
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[Laura @ Tricycle for Adults]

I bought a Honda Insight 7 years ago and I can’t tell you how much I enjoy driving it and more so, filling up for about $25. As far as the safety concern, I tell people that I refuse to live my life fearing SUVs or any other behemoths on the freeways. I’m not sure why the American car manufacturers would be willing to invest in smaller, more fuel efficient cars when there is still such a demand for SUVs.

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[bkk]

In the future, I will build a hybrid car.

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