Hybrids? Efficientcy. Carbon Debt.

In a perfect example of why Cliff’s Notes don’t substitute for reading the whole book, the method by which Paul McCartney’s new luxury hybrid was delivered to him has ruined any environmental gains that might have been made by driving a hybrid in the first place. Indeed… his brand new Lexus LS 600h hybrid was flown to him by cargo plane. Questions of whether or not a 5.0-liter, V-8, 19 mile per gallon luxury behemoth really exemplifies the spirit of a “hybrid” aside, the judgment involved in shipping cars by airplane is enough to cringe at.

Doing some of my own napkin calculations (below) I came up with a fuel efficiency for the 5,966 mile trip from Tokyo to London of 4 mpg. That’s assuming the cargo plane burned 5 gallons of fuel per mile and there were 19 other cars in the plane. I’m not so sure there were 20 cars on that cargo plane, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. What this means is that the former Beatle’s new Lexus hybrid got 4 mpg for the first 5,966 miles of it’s life without ever starting up or even getting the chance to enjoy it’s V-8 glory on the open road. What a shame.

To be fair, we’ve all been guilty of this kind of inefficient transportation at some level (think bananas from South America), and Paul McCartney is simply an easy target. In fact, most new cars being bought off the lot will have a large “carbon debt” due to the simple act of manufacturing. This debt, even in the case of a Prius, will take tens of thousands of miles of driving to pay off versus something like a fuel efficient used car. In the end, the lack of wisdom here points out that we can deliver all the great new technology we want, yet without the conscious decision to change our habits we won’t make much headway in improving energy efficiency.

*Editorial Note: Nick Chambers is the newest writer on Gas 2.0: welcome Nick

My SHELFARI bookshelf-E D U C A T I O N

FILE UNDER EDUCATION:

http://www.shelfari.com/SPCUG/shelf

Books that I have read, enjoyed, and would recommend to my friends and/or students.

Olympic Peninsula food economy

Research about how our the Olympic Peninsula food economy works and how few products and dollars in that economy stay local.  Some trends:
    There are 662 family farms on the Peninsula
    The average size is 56 acres
    76% of those farms sell less than $10,000 per year
    Only 7% sell more than $100,000 per year
    Of the $278M we locally spend on food annually, $270M (or 97%) leaves the area
    49% of all groceries sold in the US are marketed through five chains and the top two (Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart) are owned by the same company
    America is quickly becoming a net food importer

CFL's (Compact Fluorescent Lamps)

CFL's (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) are supposed to cut down on energy usage and have a longer life span than the old incandescent light bulbs.
 
Some down sides, of the CFL:
 
1)     The ballast contains mercury, which is disposal problem for the "Greens".
2)     Cold temperatures (outside use - like the lamps in my unheated garage, for instance), Dimmer Circuits (turning the lights down), Ceiling Fans (CFL's don't like the vibration) will all shorten the life span of the CFL.
4. You get what you pay for, the cheaper brands last about as long as the incandescent. Some less...LIke the Chinese-made junk lamps I bought at Safeway with the Safeway brand on them.
3)     Lastly, the low brightness (candle-power) may not appeal to users.

    GOOD CFL's do deliver what they are supposed to. Countries like Australia will be passing laws that CFL's are all that you can use.
  
There is a CFL that you can use outside, check the label.
 
ALSO: Check the socket – I have had to replace some. Some sockets are cheap. Others – at one time in the socket's history - someone didn't screw the bulb in tight enough. The pressure contact got hot (look at the little button, in the center bottom of the socket. If it is starting to turn blue or purple – it got hot. I've seen some were it looked like burnt toast) and weakened the connection. There by shortening the life of any bulb you screw in.