Five Reasons Why Buying A Hybrid Prius Won’t Save The Planet

The 2012 Toyota Prius gets the best EPA-rated gas mileage–50 miles per gallon combined–of any non-plug-in car sold in the U.S.

But the Prius hybrid sometimes gets a bad rap.

At least some of it is due to the notorious (and very funny) South Park episode in which a deadly attack of Smug afflicts the little mountain town whose residents all drive a hatchback called the Pious.

With its top-of-the-list gas mileage, a Prius hybrid is clearly a step in the direction of driving green–and all journeys begin with the first step. But by itself, buying a hybrid isn’t enough.

Here are five reasons that just driving a Toyota Prius won’t make a notable dent in the enormous task of saving the planet (however you may define that).

Using less gasoline is not as good as driving less

If you buy a 2011 Toyota Prius for a round-trip commute that’s 100 miles, you’re still burning 500 gallons of gasoline a year. Whereas if you could walk, bicycle, carpool, or take mass transit to work, you wouldn’t.

Unfortunately, 60 years’ worth of U.S. zoning laws have trapped many of us into suburban sprawl that keeps commercial buildings–be they stores or offices–miles away from residences.

That means a car becomes necessary even to get a gallon of milk. And outside a few major cities, mass transit is unappealing to nonexistent.

Even a Prius can’t keep pace with global car growth

We now have 1 billion vehicles on the planet, and by some estimates, we’ll have 2 billion or more by 2050. In other words (well, just one word): China.

Today, only a tiny number of China’s 1 billion-plus people have cars. That will change.

So just to stay in the same place, the efficiency of every vehicle has to double–to Prius levels or more.

Modern lifestyles encompass much more than just car emissions

One of our favorite book titles lately is Time to Eat the Dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, whose authors measured the environmental impact of modern lifestyles.

They conclude that adopting an existing animal and spaying it has an impact on your family’s carbon footprint.

Family planning and contraception may be more cost-effective

Far more impactful than spaying your pet would be making effective family planning services and contraception globally available.

Read full here http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/five-reasons-why-buying-a-hybrid-prius-wont-save-the-planet.php

Also see why gas-guzzlers will always be with us