DIY Electric Car is running a great four-part series on environmentally-friendly cars. The first article refutes the entire premise by proclaiming that environmentally-friendly cars are an oxymoron.

We at Carectomy have become fond of the expression that “the greenest car is the one you don't drive”; Tom Konrad referred to us in his article for AltEnergy Stocks when he stated, “A Carectomy is Better than a Better Car”; Eco-Chick pointed out that the Smartest Car is Still Worse than the Dumbest Bike; and the country of Norway went so far as to proclaim it illegal for car manufacturers to use the words “green,” clean,” or “environmentally friendly” in any car advertisements.

DIY Electric Car asks, and answers, the questions: Are super-efficient or alternative-fuel cars eco-friendly? Can a car be green?

From DIY Electric Car:

The answer is no. The green car is a myth. Cars are inherently harmful to the environment. They need roads to drive on requiring large scale land clearing. They use a large amount of energy to run that generally comes from polluting sources and they use limited resources that have been stripped from deep within the earth...

I hear you saying ‘if all cars aren’t green then aren’t your standards a little high?’ If I said that rude, obnoxious people were friendly just because they didn’t punch me in the face ‘friendly’ would kind of lose its meaning. The same is true of eco-friendliness.

DIY goes on to present a variety of solutions to minimizing the impact of transportation. Alternative fuels, modifying your car and driving habits à la Ecomodder, and carbon offsets make the list. But, not surprisingly, it's giving up the car altogether that will have the greatest positive impact.

Photo via flickr by alister.

Comments (7)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

scotto said:

Good point about cars never being eco-friendly but I wish that you hadn't perpetuated the myth that alternative fuels are. When people mention alternative fuels, they almost always mean ethanol or biodiesel, and the latest research is that these fuels are actually worse for the environment than fossil fuel. OK, biodiesel from recycled deep fat fryer oil is a net win, but there probably aren't enough McDonalds's in the entire USA to satisfy the biodiesel demand for a single American city. Maybe someday we'll come up with truly benign biofuels derived from algae or something like that, but we're nowhere near there yet. Until then, the best green strategy is to simply avoid consumption.

March 25, 2008

Nick said:

scotto: I think by 'alternative fuels' it means anything other than gasoline, not just biofuels. Solar power is an alternative fuel and so is hydrogen (made from splitting water with wind power). And I agree with you 100% that virgin biofuels are unsustainable and worse for the environment.

March 25, 2008

Josh said:

Scotto - I totally agree that many of the alternative fuels are a terrible approach. Actually, the DIY articles are frank in their assessments as well. For Carectomy's take on the downfalls of biodiesel and alternative fuels, check http://www.carectomy.com/index...ion-Needed http://www.carectomy.com/index...-After-All

March 25, 2008 | url

colin syme said:

l agree that the "general" green car is a myth but have you heard of the air powered car about to be made by Tata next year? the tanks filled with compressed air which can be filled by installing a micro wind turbine which, depending on weather conditions can fill the tanks overnight and give you 130 miles on a fill. This car is close as you will get to green and emits no more than a donkey cart if you take the donkey farts into consideration!

March 26, 2008

dude said:

Well we all know that cars are and never will be a green thing but we need them. Life as we know it would never been possible without cars. They're simply the thing that allowed us to reach this way of living. But what I dont agree is that companies building huge s.u.v's dont do anything to improve their efficiency. That's what sucks! If companies really were interested in improving mileage and fuel economy they would begin by using other materials that are lighter than now, or putting diesel-electric engines. I now this little things raise up the cost of the car. But if all companies raised the prices of ALL cars to be able to improve the consumption, people would still pick the cheapest car, that now would have a much better fuel comsuption than the previous model. This would be something.

March 28, 2008

Roger said:

You are right about cars being inherently "not green." We could have the most fuel efficient cars with equivalent of 100 miles per gallon. This would still not BEGIN to address over paving and over development required for a personal use vehicle requiring space for parking, roads, etc. that is, land use issues. Continuing to take over land that for car use, cloverleafs, malls, roads, etc. that before long will be needed (and not available) for locally / regionally oriented agricultural production is a sin and crime for which we will be soundly cursed by future generations, including likely our own children and grandchildren.

March 29, 2008

bal said:

Nice to meet you. I had a look at blog. Please link to this site. http://www.geocities.jp/yuyuifirst/

April 12, 2008 | url

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

Add Comment