Prius a Carbon Guzzler?

I like the "Back To The Future" reference in one of the comments...

"What? No "Mr. Fusion" canister? Color me disappointed" :ha:

 

That is why I mentioned building more nuke plants.

 

"Po-tato, Pa-tato"

The reality is that if you live on this planet you use your share of resources. Period! And they are finite, so no matter how much you think you are conserving your not really. However SK your right about the saving gas, and that rocks, more $ in your pocket. That is what we all want, so we can have more money to go buy an IPOD which uses carbon for the chips and plastic which comes from oil. So no matter what we are still consuming. So what does it matter if a prius is a carbon guzzler?

My thoughts used to be to conserve, now i lean to believe in the Technological Fix. I say oil companies should sell gas as cheap as they could so that people could afford bigger and even bigger gas guzzlers. Lets just use the oil up then once its gone and US companies have made millions they can (if started earlier) come out and be the first ones with this new form of fuel that everyone will need. Then we can put the hurt $$$ on the middle east and force them to be reliant on us instead of us on them. Ultimatly these resources will be gone!!! So the first ones with a suitable replacement are the one in the lead.

And on a side note, if you live in a house, apartment, have a cell phone or drive a car, you are consuming MORE THAN your fair share (whatever fair means). And thats not just americans. Our per capita oil usage is very high compared to other countries but if you take look at the top 10 % of any country and compare their per capita usage you will see it is about the same. The US just has a smaller pop and more wealth which skews the numbers. If I were to guess I would say that Gunny's or Carpy's (sorry I brought you into this) usage or resources would be about the same, mine still probably a little higher, but thats Just an assumption.

Anyways didn't mean to and don't mean to argue, so forgive me if i seamed at all rude. didn't mean it. May be the :drink:

 

Using less gas and saving money doesn't mean you will spend it on something else that wastes resources.

That's like saying that if you save money on a car and just buy a bicycle instead you are using just as much in resources because you are bound to use that extra $20k to dynamite a rain forest...

 

Can we make one that runs on stupidity? Frank Zappa said that "there is far more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life."

 

I think you are missing the point. I'm glad that you are saving money, and NOT spending it on ANYTHING. But I must say I find your example to be a little on the ignorant side. Even that bike will cost in resources. Once you purchase it from a store it then needs to be replaced. Gas for the truck making a new delivery, coal to provide electricity to power the machines to make the bike and parts. Oil to make lubricant to oil the machines to make the bike. The tires. Is the bike made of aluminum. Then there is the gas used in the machinery to mine the metal. Gas to transport the raw materials to a place to be processed. The list goes on and on. Anything we buy in a store uses resources. Not just the resources to run the item, but everything.

It doesn't matter if you buy a prius or buy a hummer. The reality is that natural resource as oil will be gone someday. Its just a matter of will it happen in 50 years or 1,000 years.

Or an asteroid could hit tomorrow and we will all be dead. You in your prius and everyone else in a hummer. The point is it is pointless to argue. Resources are finite! Which means no matter how much you conserve it will still run out.

Hell even ethonal which saves on oil, (in theory) may use more. The farmer needs gas to plow the field and plant the corn, gas to harvest the corn. He will need large amounts of pesticides to keep the bugs at bay, so there is the gas to deliver the pesticides and apply the pesticides.

I am really not trying to pick a fight or get under your skin, but in this discussion about "Conserving" I think that it should be know just how much resources are put into every aspect of our lives that people do not realize. You can choose not to believe me that is your right, and I am not saying you are wrong in your assumptions about a prius or conservation or anything else. Just passing on some knowledge that you may all ready know, but for others reading this it may be something the haven't thought about.

 

You aren't making any sense. It is clear to use that riding a bicycle fewer resources than driving a car, right?

Of course resources are finite, at least in a temporary sense. That's why conservation does matter.

But matter can't be destroyed, so it isn't actually finite. We can re-use resources.

 

Figure this comment out and I'll buy someone a cheese burger.

I applaud Starkiller's decision to buy a Prius. Good choice.