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I won’t get into global warming, the causes, whether or not its real, etc., etc. here. Thats for another time, and another blog (not ours.)

Many people love the gas mileage that their Prius gets, with the hybrid option to store electric charge when freewheeling down a hill, or coasting on the highway. This energy is stored in batteries, to be used later to help drive the car. It’s more expensive to get the dual power, but it saves on the price of gas. A hummer is a very large, very heavy and very boxy car. Its gas mileage is horrible, although its got a good deal of power under the hood, and comfortably seats 6.

When most people look at how “green” something is, they usually just look at the finished product. The Toyota gets better mileage, but the Hummer is more comfortable and larger. What many people forget to take into account is how green the production of the product is.

To make the batteries in the Toyota, the Lithium is shipped across numerous oceans about four times between the time it’s mined and the time its refined into batteries. Ships burn fuel, and lots of it. Also, the Toyota has an expected lifetime of 100,000 miles. (I’m not sure if this is the entire vehicle, or just the electric drivetrain?) The Hummer has an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles, almost 3 times that of the Toyota. Put it all together, and you’d need 3 Prius to equal one Hummer.

Quoting the article

“While the Prius digs a deep environmental rut, the Hummer H3 plods on
with a much lighter touch. An H3 costs $2.07 per lifetime mile to
operate in environmental terms, while the Prius costs $2.87.”

I’d read the article, because it’s a really different perspective on what’s “green.” (only about a page, not too technical, better written than my summary here)

http://ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=259455997533377