Environmentally friendly or otherwise

Been mulling ove tthis for a while now and wondered what others think.

The push for more enviro friendly ways of doing things is a good idea, but I wonder if we are not being sold a pup in some instances.

Take the present Hybrid vehicles. OK, they certainly seem to be greener - less CO2 emisions and less fuel used. However, What about the energy that goes into battery manufacture and recycling? What abouthe energy used to make the electrical components?

The current crop of small turbo deisel engines is tremendously efficient. Surely they must ultimately come close to the greeness of hybrid, when all factors are taken into account.

The same goes for solar power. How much energy goes into producing PV panels?

Would small wind powered generaters be a better way to produce the power?

I'm not agin the ideas, or even the practices, but I would love to see some comparative data.

It's abit like farming efficiency. Too many people equate high yield with efficiency. This is errant thinking. Farming efficiency ought to be measured on an energy balance basis. How much energy goes onto the farm via the way of fuel, ferilizer etc., versus how much energy comes out the gate in terms of food energy/

Hi Artme,

There are a number of ways to decide on the environmental benefits of any item. Life Cycle Analysis calculates the total energy that is used to produce an item and then consume and dispose of it. So the battery issue gets calculated into a Prius. Similarly with the Solar Panel vs Turbine question. ISO14040 covers the process from a standards point of view.

You will find results of LCA's on the net but those results are used by opponents and proponents equally to prove their case as to which technology is better. As usual the facts will get bent to suit the case being made. LCA's are also notoriously expensive and difficult to get accurate. I tried to do one for Oats and it took six months. I was then viciously attacked by those who thought certain items should have been in or out of the LCA.

Other issues that I think are as important are the social/developmental issues. What is the impact on the societies that make and consume a product? Is wealth being appropriately concentrated by this production? There is also the pollution issue, it doesnt take much energy to process lead. Then there is the Carbon issue. All are equally valid questions IMHO.

double post, oops..

Arthur your on the right track all quotes in enviro garble are purely statistic there to make you think they are enviro friendly. They do not take into account the building of factories to make any of it, the building of recycling plants, the machines needed to build, maintain or produce the products required.

In autos it will cost you more to maintain as you now have two fuel sources to maintain, repair.