> a German report entitled "Oeko-bilanz eines autolebens",
> or approximately "Eco-analysis of the life cycle of a car,"
> produced by a forecasting institute in Heidelberg in the 1990's.
Thanks! for the reference, Nick. I'll look for it some night when I can't
sleep. And while I can't read German, I know people who can.
> In terms of cubic meters of air pollution, it turns out that the
> impact of refining materials, building the car, and ultimately
> scrapping it accounts for about 60% of the total
> "cradle-to-grave" impact (including driving). In other words,
> production and disposal together (but mostly production) produce
> about 1.5 times as much air pollution as driving the car 80,600 miles.
Hmmm, wonder if a "typical car produced in Germany in the 1990's" meets US
emission standards ? There's also the question of what constitutes "air
pollution", our friends in Europe seem to feel that CO2 is air pollution
even though we have to breathe it or die.
> (my commuter car is a '73 VW Karmann Ghia converted to electric power...
it gets about 2.5 miles per kwh)
So assuming you charge it from an electric grid, does that really represent
a net reduction in pollution ? According to the National Resources Defense
Counsel, electric power plants are THE "single largest industrial source of
some of the worst air pollutants". Not trying to pick a fight, just
curious, as I assume you worked all this out before doing the conversion.
Randall
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