Down On The Urban Farm

I've been reading this reportby CNW research that provides some insight as to the total energy costs of an automobile broken doen by make and model.

Data includes supplier as well as brand manufacturer energy consumption for the listed vehicles; transportation at all levels of distribution; use of materials (plastics, steel, light-weight steel, aluminum, etc.) and literally hundreds of other factors.

When examined in this light, the current generation of hybrids don't fare as well as some conventional cars. FOr example, my Honda Accord is pegged at $1.96 per mile. The Toyota Prius is $2.19

To quote the report:

"This doesnít mean that hybrids, for example, are a bad choice. That is NOT the intention of the research. What it does mean, however, is that a 2005 hybrid uses less gasoline and produced fewer tailpipe emissions, but costs society significantly more in overall energy costs than conventional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles."