Question 8

Question 8

While driving down 6th avenue today, I was cut off by a driver in a prius. As I layed on the horn and physically expressed my displeasure with his reckless actions, I began to wonder if hybrid cars are actually as good for the environment as advertised. I got home, and decided to take to google with my question. I typed in "are hybrids really better for the environment", and instantly was introduced to a source that seemed like it would address my question directly. I clicked on it and began to read what it had to say. "A key element of a hybrid car is its battery pack. Although many are made out of lithium-ion and nickel metal hydride, which are relatively safe for the environment, they can be hazardous when disposed. China has a near-monopoly on the rare earth metals that hybrid cars depend on. Rare earth metals going into the production of hybrid cars, which depend on them for components like the electric engine, may have already caused more damage to the environment than the vehicle could possibly offset. China is widely known for its disregard for environmentally-friendly mining techniques, especially when half of its rare earth metal mines are illegal" (Thomas Horner). According to this source, the production, and transportation of materials across the ocean from China might actually make hybrids like the Toyota prius more harmful to the environment in the long run. I find this interesting because I had always bought into the media hype that hybrids were extremely safe for the environment, but this source seems to believe that the cars are actually worse for the environment. Another point that the source hits on is if the batteries inside the vehicles will be recycled properly, because if not, that could also have a huge negative impact on the environment. I believe that this source makes a very logical and effective point in his article, supported by facts. I have never known too much about cars, especially hybrids, but to find out that the cars could actually be worse than gas consuming vehicles is a very interesting point. I will explore this further later.

Sources in order of appearance:

   Horner, Thomas. "Are Hybrid Cars Really Green?" Suite101.com. 30 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://thomas-horner.suite101.com/are-hybrid-cars-really-green-a219898>.