Comment 67861

By Undustrial (registered) - website | Posted August 11, 2011 at 12:19:08

As driving gets more expensive it also gets less affordable, and that means an abundance of cheap used cars. Will new, greener cars be able to compete with these if they're more expensive than standard new cars now?

Most of the energy use and pollution produced by a car happens before you buy it. Extracting ores, smelting metals and running production lines emits more carbon than you're ever likely to manage with the tailpipe. Buying a new car, even if it's fuelled by happiness, cuddles and sunshine is not a "greener" option if there's any life left in your current vehicle.

This isn't to say we shouldn't work towards cleaner cars, but we need to put it in context. As important as new "greener" cars are, there's also the need to look at our existing vehicles. How do we use them more effectively? Car shares and carpooling networks are a good start, as well as maintaining and upgrading the cars we already have.

"Today, the notion of progress in a single line without goal or limit seems perhaps the most parochial notion of a very parochial century." — Lewis Mumford

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