permaculture

[Toby Hemenway <hemenway@jeffnet.org>]

Anne wrote:
> In terms of air polution, modern cars are actually not as responsible 
> as many people think.  The main culprits are those horrible engines in 
> lawn mowers, leaf blowers, etc. and diesle engines.

The Portable Power Equipment Manufacturers claim that less than 1% of 
California's air pollution comes from 2-cycle engines (mowers, etc).

The American Lung Assn http://www.lungusa.org/air/airout00_diesel.html  
says diesels account for 26% of all particulate pollution from fuel in 
the air, so that leaves 3/4 of all particulates coming from other 
fuels; diesel is hardly the main culprit.  My bio-diesel buddies claim 
diesels cause less pollution than comparable gas car exhaust; I'll have 
to question them more carefully about that.

> I would also like to warn anybody thinking about owning hybrid or 
> electric cars...  Sure, the gas efficiency is wonderful, but the 
> batteries that compensate for it are some of the most toxic things 
> I've ever heard of.

The Toyota Prius uses nickel/metal hydride batteries, which are not 
regarded as hazardous waste when damaged (nickel is pretty inert, or 
our food cans would kill us). I don't know offhand what some of the 
other hybrids are using, but I believe they are not lead-acid or other 
toxic combinations. Also, batteries in hybrids are far smaller than in 
all-electric cars. And sure, they wear out in 10 years or so, but the 
many thousands of pounds of pollution that is saved more than makes up 
for the few pounds of battery core (most of which is recycled, anyway).

What's this "six block evacuation" after an electric vehicle crash? I'd 
like to know more about that. Sounds like an oil lobbyist's dream.

I think it's important to check facts and to be cautious in condemning 
attempts to improve the environment. Nothing we do will be perfect, but 
I'd rather see us take small steps toward sustainability and support 
them, rather than criticize the efforts of others and wait for the 
giant leap to perfection that will never happen.

Toby