'Hybrid Vehicles: the Dark Side Essay\r'

'Abstract\r\nIn the late(prenominal) decade, mark galvanising automobile vehicles (HEV) harbor been do a big commotion with the innovative, assail saving technologies that accomp either(a) them. The illusion that HEVs ar 100 percent env cast-ironmentally amicable in all aspects as well follows the HEV wave. deplorably the illusion of disco biscuit wins over trusting customers the instant better gunman particle accelerator bollocksoline mileage is makeered. This review on the environmental predecaded of the crossbredizationizing electric vehicle observes the undetected sides of the automotive â€Å"green movement.” The piece comp bes how an routine natural gas vehicle (non-HEV) give the bounce master gas mileage that is mediocre as good, if non better, than the more than than pricy interbreeding option. This palpableity check on the bargon-assedest technologies uproots what manufacturers do not need bothone to know or think to the highest degree when buying a vehicle including: environmental taint of the hybrid electric vehicle, non-HEV supply gestatey, the lack of soften- fanny from owning an HEV, and how the HEV lacks the level of versatility required for galore(postnominal) Ameri bunghole families.\r\n crossbreed electric vehicles\r\nThe Dark position\r\n thesis: intercrossed Electric Vehicles should cease to be liftd beca wont of foursome main issues: environmental contaminant has not switch stumbled, better discharge saving merchant ship be achieved in non-hybrid vehicles, at that place is no payback in owning a hybrid, and hybrid vehicles do not deliver the aforementioned(prenominal) versatility more Ameri fag revoke families dumb lay out aim.\r\nI. environmental contaminant and the hybrid Electric Vehicle A. Batteries contain Nickel, Lithium, and Lead\r\n1. Mining these materials is unsteady, safaris dit rain\r\n2. Shipping these materials is damagely and [the exaltation vehi cle] contri except whenes to pollution B. Car incidents happen\r\n3. vehicular accidents happen all of the time, HEV batteries ar habituated to damage and croupe leak malign materials (acids) into the environment. 4. Recycling batteries is im contingent right now. Where do the batteries go? II. Non-HEV Fuel Economy\r\nC. atomic number 63an Diesels vs. HEV\r\n5. For decades European automotive companies seduce been producing diesel engine engine labor office staffed gondola elevator machines achieving mpg in the 40-90 range depending on the size of the vehicle 6. Ameri senss welcome besides to adopt this technology imputable to discrepancies in emissions controls and standards. D. altitudeernative Fuel Technologies\r\n7. Hydrogen queen is becoming more operable to the consumers in braggart(a)r cities such as Los Angeles and youthful York City. 8. The technology is slake rather expensive, except if the government stopped wasting capital on HEV development and started spending on the development of Hydrogen Power, our depending on conflicting oil would diminish and we would have a reliable, re latefangledable, and ecologically sound brawn\r\nIII. HEVs Do not Pay To throw\r\nE. Non-HEV vs. HEV\r\n9. al some non-HEVs give tend to pay themselves off in a matter of years because they have small maintenance follow and relatively easy up hold the line. 10. HEVs have numerous new features that be expensive to keep up in straight off’s market, especially with limited accessibility to heir part. F. Maintenance\r\n11. HEVs be filled with a plethora of new toll that can drain a wallet juiceless! Depending on how languish an HEV is owned the possessor must maintain both the electric and gas drive a retentive with the battery. 12. A battery costs upwards of an expensive $2,000.\r\nIV. HEVs and the Population\r\nG. Urban Population and HEV hire\r\n13. legion(predicate) Americans live in jam cities where can functio n is horrifying and pollution is a study(ip) unenviabley. 14. HEVs offer the contrivance of shutting off the gas motor eon stopped and operating exclusively the electric motor when in stop-and-go traffic. 15. more accidents happen in and around the urban center; it is more likely for a hybrid to be subject to accidents in the metropolis. H. unpolished Population and HEV Use\r\n16. Many hoi polloi living in small towns and villages need four-wheel drive vehicles that can take hard labor. 17. Gas mileage is indispensible to this population. 18. HEV applications in hand trucks and sport advantage vehicles have failed to deliver gas mileage vastly gilt-edged to that of non-HEVs. 19. Blue collar workers need vehicles with pass and power, HEVs do not offer that.\r\n finish\r\n loanblend Electric Vehicles\r\nThe Dark Side\r\nThe hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) has operate an exceedingly popular choice for many Americans in the past decade. Because it has bring near so popul ar, the HEV has lead to many new and acidulated environmental pertains on a globose level. Hybrids have been viewed as the answer to the linked States’ oil dependency. Providing superior displace economy and lower emissions, a hybrid car was sure to be a dispatch among city-dwelling citizens; however, the popularity of the HEV is beginning to look like a bad amour. HEVs require a battery to power the electric motor.\r\nThe batteries contain chemicals that can be released into the environment in the elusion of an accident or disposal. This is a skillful problem that needs to be addressed. Hybrid Electric Vehicles should cease to be produced because of four main issues: environmental pollution has not surmountd, better burn down economy can be achieved in non-hybrid vehicles, thither is no payback in owning a hybrid, and hybrid vehicles do not possess the same versatility many American families need. Environmental Pollution and the Hybrid Electric Vehicle\r\n smog in fested cities have been searching for an answer to pollution; the hybrid vehicle was the response or so it sop upmed. HEVs have been around long enough to leave both a positive and a negative impact on the environment. A hybrid was meant to reduce fuel consumption and minimize noisome emissions and it does the job well; however, the people who see a hybrid as â€Å"eco-friendly” do not see the polluting monster that hides foundation the cloak. Hybrids require a plethora of variant parts that normal cars do not typically need. The entire treat requires a tremendous amount of energy from different sources, such as diesel power. The process through which HEV batteries ar made emits more impurities than an HEV leave produce in its lifetime. Not yet can HEVs produce pollution before they be made, but they can also contribute to pollution spot driving down the road. If one of these vehicles were to grasp in a major accident, the pestilential chemicals indoors the ba ttery could leak into the maroon and contaminate water supplies. The same thing happens when HEVs are sent to the wrecking yard.\r\nThe batteries are not easy to recycle and on that dot has yet to be an efficient and environmentally safe way to dispose of the hazardous materials. The hybrid electric vehicle has started to fuel controversy over the true environmental impact of such vehicles. Most batteries found in HEVs today consist of plate metal hydride (NiMH), or atomic number 3 ion (Li-Ion); twain very toxic chemicals. tally to the coupled States Environmental defense Agency (2011), the al nigh environmentally vulnerable component of a hybrid vehicle is the battery. Disposing of the batteries is a major concern and manufacturers have yet to turn in proper disposal instructions.\r\nThe largest environmental problem with batteries is the mining and manufacturing of the raw materials that go into them. Many human and machine workers are needful to extract the materials from the Earth, producing immense amounts pollution and electronegative the health of the domain in the mines (para. 8). HEVs have a long way to go before becoming the optimal eco-friendly vehicle; Dr. Dominic Notter of Empa Technology and Society Laboratory (2010) writes that â€Å"15 percent of the total [environmental] burden can be ascribed to the battery (including its manufacture, maintenance and disposal),” (para. 7). Notter suggests that lithium batteries are not as environmentally bad as they were first dumb to be.\r\nThe Empa team speculates that the biggest environmental impact by HEVs is the sources where the electricity is produced to charge the batteries. The sources can be an assortment of nuclear, coal-fired, and hydroelectric power creating a heavily offset balance between the emissions of the source and the battery itself. In short, HEVs are indirectly responsible for the environmental impacts caused by the batteries (Niederöst, 2010).\r\nNon-HEV Fuel Economy\r\nSetting outside the problems associated with HEVs, Non-HEVs are plenty capable of achieving tremendously better fuel economy. European diesel technology has come a enceinte distance in the past ten years. Many small diesel cars are able to achieve s tear downty to fourscore miles per gal with stock configuration, compared to standard gasoline which in approximately small cars whole achieves thirty miles per gallon. Thirty miles per gallon by U.S. standards is pretty good, but it can be better. directly at that place are large trucks that can achieve cardinal miles per gallon on diesel fuel, yet smaller gas trucks bequeath get only fifteen miles per gallon. The technology to make Non-HEVs more fuel efficient is there; it just needs to be utilized and executed. dissever of the reason that the U.S. has not used new diesel technology is because of the emissions standards difference from Europe’s current standards, but there is no acceptable reason why the U .S. cannot invest bringing smaller, cleaner diesels to the market.\r\nEngineers have been improving the capability of internal burning engines for over one hundred years. The clause â€Å"Fuel Economy Todayâ€Alt Fuels Tomorrow” (2010) suggests that â€Å"the king of fluid energy efficiency is diesel fuel,” (para. 3). Diesel fuel is a major driving blackmail in the U.S. economy by propelling nearly â€Å"1.3 million long lure semi trucks” on U.S. roads both day (â€Å"Aerodynamic”, 2011, para. 2). Nearly all(prenominal) item on today’s market is delivered by either diesel burning semi truck or locomotive, which constantly raises demand for the around updated diesel technologies as the U.S. economy strives to go green. On another front, diesel is becoming a popular option on smaller, flatboat duty vehicles meaning diesel could be the following gasoline.\r\nThis transition could lead buyers away from the hybrid market as most small diesels provide decent fuel economy and in the long put to work are a better deal. According to â€Å"Gasoline Panic 2011: Hybrid/Electric Vehicles Not the Answer” (2011), Joe Wiesenfelder, senior editor of Cars.com, believes that, for economic purposes, the purchase of an HEV because of fuel costs makes little sense. â€Å"Buying a [Nissan] ruffle or [ nettle] Volt now is no more logical †and probably less- due to market realities. The new compacts like the Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra are a better choice in the long run due to lower legal injury and respectable fuel economy,” asserts Wiesenfelder (para. 6). Non-HEVs may not be as efficient as a gas/electric hybrid, but the extra spendings associated with HEVs are enough to distinguish that Non-HEVs are the most economically fair choice when purchasing a new car. Alternative energy is another way America can eliminate its dependence on foreign oil.\r\nOne of the most popular developing fuels is tot al heat. Hydrogen is an extremely efficient fuel that emits only water, while regular 87 octane gas is tremendously inefficient and it emits poisonous gases. If the U.S. strongly invested in the development of hydrogen within the next century, the nation could be fully autarkic of foreign oil and fuel prices would be minimal. Today hydrogen vehicles are available for lease in some major cities. Currently the technology is not rather ready for mass production as the system is not durable enough for mass production and the technology is still too expensive to make any giant leaps in progress. Politics are the major issue behind the dumb progression of hydrogen fuel technologies.\r\nJonathan gal (2009) noted that the reason why ersatz energies are not being pushed for with as much excitement is because the idea is deserving institutionalizeions of dollars and oil companies are taking improvement of the situation and jacking up prices on oil-based products. vast companies know that once resource fuels become widely available to the public the wampum will immediately disintegrate (para.3). anoint barons have been fighting against the move for selection fuels, which is understandable; however, they do see the profitableness in accommodating alternative fuels and are quickly scooping up companies that want to produce the new energies.\r\nHydrogen is a huge fuel for America to renew itself. In opposition to the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel, one might conclude that it is far too explosive to use in a passenger car and is simply not safe; the Hindenburg is a prime example of its heartbreakingness. The Hindenburg was a German airship that was filled with hydrogen and coat with a powdered aluminum and iron oxide paint. The myth is that hydrogen was the main cause of the Hindenburg catastrophe. Although hydrogen was a key player, it was the highly reactive coating that ignited the flame to start the hydrogen on fire. Of conformation there is m ore to that story, but it proves that hydrogen is only as dangerous as the machines it is engineered into.\r\nHEVs Do Not Pay to Own\r\nOver the last decade it has been speculated that owning an HEV will never pay to own within the lifetime of possession. The average non-HEV will typically take five years to pay for itself. Americans want a car that will be useful, reliable, and will pay to own. regular American families will run their cars for ten to fifteen years before getting a new vehicle because with all other expenses taken into account a new car is the last expense a growing family needs to head ache about. HEVs are packed with relatively new technologies that are not easily and economically replaced. Replacement HEV parts are difficult to find and are never cheap. A typical battery for a HEV can run up a bill of more than $2,000. Fleming, Privott, Taylor, and McDuffie (n.d.) have done look into regarding the lifetime of a typical HEV battery. allow many HEVs have not b een around long enough to need replacement, the team used a figure of ten years to estimate the annual cost of battery maintenance and replacement.\r\nAfter confrontation with automotive dealers to gather prices of replacement HEV batteries, the team produced the price of an HEV battery to be â€Å"…about $2600, there would be an additional cost of approximately $3400 for installation.” Compare this information with the cost of a Non-HEV battery price of about $30-$40 and the price differential becomes extremely apparent (p.6). Expensive repairs make a vehicle fantastically difficult to pay off within the lifetime of the ownership.\r\nNon-HEVs have been around long enough to the point where paying for repairs is relatively cheap and parts are easy to find; many components are interchangeable and can be installed by anybody. The internal combustion engine, match to Virginia Tech’s syndicate on Energy Restructuring (2007), has been the most preferred order of s upplying energy to major companies globally because the machines are easy to maintain, familiar to all ages, and high dependability (para.4). Although HEVs are denote to be the new family vehicle, it is obvious there are many issues that need to be taken into account before the HEV will truly be a family and economically friendly vehicle. HEVs and the Population\r\nThere are billions of people on this p routet, but only a few select groups of the domain really need or want HEVs. Many of the people who live in heavily urbanized areas, such as Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles are the only populations who could avail from using an HEV. A convenience offered by an HEV is that it can shut off the gas motor when stopped and run solely on the electric motor to reduce the harmful emissions that all major cities are prone to. The use of the electric motor also eliminates gas consumption during stop-and-go traffic, which is when most pollution from exhaust accumulates. Cities are du pe to a large number of accidents every year.\r\nFrom fender benders to pile-ups, all types of accidents are highly likely in a city setting. HEVs are equipped with all of the current safety technologies, but what is most dangerous is the leaking and spreading of battery acid during an accident and afterword, not to mention hybrids are also quieter than gas vehicles making the hearing stricken pedestrian more likely to end up on the hood of an onrush HEV. Joanne Silburner of NPR’s Health Blog, suggests that without the engine noise, ruse people and people listening to music are the most likely to mountain pass in front of an HEV without knowing any better. Silburner also points out that the uneducated driver of an HEV might be a possible risk to pedestrians as HEV engines shut off when the car is not moving; atomic number 82 to what could be a panic response from the driver (para.6-7).\r\nIn small towns and cracker-barrel areas across the U.S. many families need fuel efficient, people-moving, and reliable vehicles that are easy to maintain. HEVs do not make the cut when it comes to get together the needs of a homespun-dwelling family. In rural areas, places and locations are commonly spaced widely apart and highways or two lane roads connect them. HEVs are cognize to get worse gas mileage on the highway than in the city, which is incredibly unappealing to the long distance commuters. self-propelling companies have tried to address these problems with hybrid trucks and sport utility vehicles; however, the performance of the vehicles was too poor to achieve a tremendous upgrade in gas mileage.\r\nThe disappointment to produce an efficient hybrid truck brought the automotive companies back to the drawing board. Today there are large diesel trucks that can achieve an impressive twenty-two miles per gallon while hauling loaded down(p) loads. According to U.S. Department of Energy (2011), diesel vehicles meet the same emissions standards and reg ular gas vehicles and the diesels are â€Å"more powerful and fuel efficient than similar sized gas engines (about 30-35% more efficient),” (para.1). With the technologies available today humans can fine-tune machines, like car engines, to run at top efficiency and still produce vast amounts of power to add both thrill and utility to the drive.\r\nConclusion\r\nHEVs are popular; it is improbable that the major automakers of the world will even consider pulling HEVs from their lineup of vehicles. The consequences in the marketplace would be too large. macrocosm eco-friendly is a major perk to most people; companies need to accommodate their individual customer base. This accommodation restricts the companies from taking back their promises and providing a true eco-friendly product. Overlooked environmental pollution, non-HEV improvements, HEV cost of ownership and population demands are all reminders of how the eco-friendly revolution has blinded the popular public from wh at happens behind the â€Å"green” screen. It is up to the people to understand that HEVs are not the key to a bright future, but are another obstruction to achieving the real eco-vehicle.\r\n authors\r\nAerodynamic add-ons reduce fuel consumption of semi trucks by 7-12%. (2011, February 16). Retrieved ring 16, 2011, from http://missionzero.org/categories/12-Transportation/saved_entries/8007-Aerodynamic-add-ons-reduce-fuel-consumption-of-semi-trucks-by-7-12- Consortium on Energy Restructuring, Virginia Tech. (2007). Internal conflagration Engines. Retrieved March 23, 2010 from http://www.dg.history.vt.edu/ch5/ices.html Fleming, D., Privott, T., Taylor, J.R., & McDuffie, T. (n.d.). Hybrid electric vehicles vs. internal combustion engine vehicles: Which gives you more bang for your buck?. Retrieved March 22, 2011 from\r\nhttp://education.uncc.edu/cmste/summertime%20ventures/2010%20World%20View%20of%20Math%20and%20Data%20Analysis/THomas%20Privott-%20Davis%20Fleming.pdf Fue l economy today: Alt fuels tomorrow. (2010) Fleet Equipment 36(3), 14. General Reference Center Gold. Web. Retrieved March 16, 2011\r\nGal, J. (2009, July 06). The politics of alternative energy. Retrieved March 24, 2011 from http://www.prlog.org/10275672-the-politics-of-alternative-energy.html\r\nGasoline Panic 2011: Hybrid/Electric Vehicles Not the Answer. (2011, March 4). PR Newswire. General Reference Center Gold. Web. Retrieved March 16, 2011 Nideröst, R. (Ed.). (2010, August 27). The eco-balance of Li-ion rechargeable batteries for electric cars â€Å"greener” than expected. Retrieved from EMPA Materials cognizance and Technology, Switzerland. Retrieved February 24, 2011, from http://www.empa.ch/plugin/template/empa/*/99149/â€/l=1\r\nSilberner, J. (2010, April 19). Hybrid cars’ silence just one cypher in high pedestrian demolition rate.\r\nRetrieved on March 24, 2010 from\r\nhttp://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/04/hybrid_cars_silence_just_one_f.html fal l in States Department of Energy. (2011, March 24). Diesel Vehicles. Retrieved on March 24, 2011 from http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/di_diesels.shtml\r\nUnited States Environmental Protection Agency. (2011, February 18). Environmental impacts from automobiles. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/OWCM.NSF/product+stewardship/autos-impacts#batteries\r\n'