Longer vehicle life can reduce CO2 emissions: study

[snelson]

Thought it was interesting....

Longer vehicle life can reduce CO2 emissions: study

Fukuoka, Japan – Extending the life of a vehicle, rather than cutting it short through vehicle replacement programs, can help reduce its life-cycle CO2 emissions throughout the supply chain, according to a new study by researchers from universities in Japan, Germany and the United States.

The study suggests that while the American “cash for clunkers” program and the U.K.’s “scrappage scheme” were designed as economic instruments to support the vehicle production industry, governments also claimed that they reduced CO2 emissions by bringing more fuel-efficient vehicles onto the road. However, the researchers said that little evidence exists to capture the economic and environmental trade-offs, and developed a new dynamic model to quantify the carbon emissions due to changes in product life and consumer behaviour related to product use. Based on a case study of Japanese vehicles used from 1990 to 2000, the researchers said that extending the vehicle’s lifetime, rather than shortening it, helps to reduce CO2 life-cycle emissions.

Even if the fuel economy of less fuel-efficient regular passenger vehicles were improved to levels comparable with hybrid cars, total CO2 emissions would decrease by only 0.2 per cent.

However, the researchers did find that extending the vehicle’s lifetime contributed to a moderate increase in emissions of health-relevant air pollutants, such as CO, HC and NOx, during the use phase.

The study concluded that the effects of global warming and air pollution “can be somewhat moderated and that these problems can be addressed through specific policy instruments directed at increasing the market for hybrid cars as well as extending lifetime of automobiles, which is contrary to the current wisdom.”

[konadog]

Doesn't surprise me a bit. The emissions out of the tailpipe pale in comparison to that of production...

[nxski]

I think this basically sums up that point...

[nxski]

We are doing a service to the environment by recycling Japans old vehicles!

[mararmeisto]

Sounds like what I've been saying for a while now...

I have a neighbour and friend who has a few 1950s and 1960s Cadillacs. His argument goes: that 60-year-old car (that's right, I typed 60!) is actually greener when compared to all the vehicles he would have been expected to have bought during that time period, especially when considering not just the usage-footprint (emissions while running) but the entire footprint of the vehicle from production to destruction.

For example, most of the hybrids out there are not as "green" as everyone hopes they are when one considers all the heavy metals that are used to produce the vehicle, the amount of trans-oceanic transport of materials for the global production of the car, and the amount of pre-cautionary measures required when disposing of the car. Sure it's pretty danged clean when the engine is running, and even cleaner when the batteries kick in, but overall, is it really that clean?

Makes one pause for thought...

[nxski]

I'd say the Prius may have it's place among taxi drivers (yet to be determined), but for those celebrities who buy it to look 'green' and then let it sit until the batteries are dead and the components have seized, scrap it and buy the next most environmentally friendly thing it definitely isn't. They would be better off buying a massive SUV for show as it won't be driven as much and won't cause as much environmental damage in production. It also comes down to what the driver does with their Right foot (assuming their car is post 1920's).

Jeremy Clarkson's "plinth my ride" approach does not work with hybrids!

[DelicaMark]

I have friend that works for a wind turbine company...green energy. When I asked him if they ever did the net energy calculation including manufacturing shipping etc he just laughed and said we don't like to talk about that. Sounded a lot like you would be doing well to net out to zero carbon footprint after about 15 years when the energy produced/saved is weighed against the energy required to make the turbine and ship it from China.

There are not many green energy related things out there that don't have a hidden near equal negative affect. I am an engineer and work with a few truly geeky engineers. One of such geeky engineers (not me I promise!) ran an experiment to see what the net energy saved was by riding his bike to work 15kms each way instead of driving. The results were that the extra food that he ate to make up for the extra calories burnt and the energy required to grow and transport that extra food pretty much negated the energy saved by not burning fossil fuel in his car for the week or two that he ran the experiment.

....sorry a little off the topic.

-Mark

[Firesong]

Except the fossil fuels are in need of saving.. we can handle a little 'gas' from the extra food ;)

[lopar]

"typical" stupid people fed by the media that never do their own research........ this is 10yrs+ old news

"I get over 1200km per tank, burn less fuel and save the planet!" stereotypical prius owner................ B-U-T the overall environmental impact from creation to recycling is one of the worst on the planet. There are extra components on such a vehicle that require more manufacturing/shipping from all over the world; by the time it hits the show room, it has created a horrible foot print. Ironically, most would argue, a HUMMER! is actually one of the most environmental vehicles out there, bulk of components are made in USA (less shipping) and they have an extremely long life expectancy. While fuel economy is a good thing, it is only part of the overall picture......

But people flock to media coverage............ similar mentallity for plastic bags, want to kill the planet? change to re-usable bags; I always RE-use them(plastic) for garbage bags instead of buying a box of plastic bags for garbage anyway........

recycled paper; sure, might as well ship around a biodegradeable product all over the place, use(destroy) fresh water(more precious than oil), manufacture more equipment to process, ship it around again.........

Might be a better thought to work on reduction and sustainability rather than jumping on the lastest enviro fads.

I have friend that works for a wind turbine company...green energy. When I asked him if they ever did the net energy calculation including manufacturing shipping etc he just laughed and said we don't like to talk about that

I read up on this a long time ago........ short version; I do not think that wind turbines will be around for much longer.

Wow, busted ranting......

[thedjjack]

Hybrids are a bad idea. Two drive and two brake systems to return worse mileage then a small European Diesel? I fix my own cars why would I want one.

The bicycle study is biased. I do not believe that all the factors were considered. It is an extra 1000 calories a day. Same commute requires a chain, 2 sets of brake pads, 2 cables, and a cog set a year to keep my 1996 bike running. Trust me my wife's commute in the car uses way more parts, oil, gas, and coffee to keep going. Plus it is the minimum amount of exercise required to live and you need to factor in getting the exercise else where which makes the calories calculation wrong (except exercise increases life expectancy increasing the use of resources, but this logic means the best solution would be to kill ourselves).

Wind turbines can add to the grid, power plants use a significant supply of resources to build and keep running as well. Need to look at real data and not that produced by people with money to make off coal etc. turbines seem to be working in some European places just fine.

[Jordan]

One of such geeky engineers (not me I promise!) ran an experiment to see what the net energy saved was by riding his bike to work 15kms each way instead of driving. The results were that the extra food that he ate to make up for the extra calories burnt and the energy required to grow and transport that extra food pretty much negated the energy saved by not burning fossil fuel in his car for the week or two that he ran the experiment.

He must live a very unbalanced life or drive a very efficient vehicle.

[konadog]

Hah! The bike thing is cute, but ridiculous for sure - Good for a chuckle. Bicycles are pretty much the most efficient form of transport ever. Great exercise and FUN too.
I agree that wind power has its place but is by no means a panacea and, like hybrids, has been waaaay oversold. Pretty hard on bats in some places too...

[Shaun Van Ramen]

I wonder if my deli can make such cool noises as Seasick Steve played on the Morris Minor!!!


"Painting it green doesn't make it green"
I am sure someone has said that

[solanoid]

Hi,

Another interesting subject is the emission ratings of large domestic deisels. Have you noticed that all the big trucks have those funny slots cut out of the tail pipe? I have been told that when they do the emission tests, they hold a monitor up the the exhaust tip, but with the slots cut out, 30% of emissions can escape the monitors reading. Thus resulting in "cleaner" emission ratings. I have not verified any of this info but it seems reasonable.
And what about those new catalitic converters that burn off the sediment every so often? are they really a good idea? or just another money grab?
There was an interesting news story called "who killed the electric car" covers some of these topics, worth a look.

Aaron

[psilosin]

Even if ALL of the emmisions end up in the sensor readings, the way in which emmision testing is done is flawed.

Instead of PPM they tend to use %...so a big truck putting out massive exhaust but with say a smaller % NO2 (or CO or CO2 etc) actually would get a better rating than a small car that has minimal exhaust but a higher % NO2 reading...even though the ACTUAL total amount of pollutant released form the truck is way higher.

Car companies obviously like the % method. People who would actually like to know the actual effect their vehicle exhaust has would obviously prefer the PPM (or whatever direct unit of measure) method.

It drives me nuts when people get tricked by this and scrap a perfectly good old little efficient car like a Ford Festiva / Mazda 323 / Toyota Tercel in good condition and buy a new car, almost always bigger in size and with a real world worse fuel ecconomy, and feel smug that they are saving the planet.