http://www.reactivereports.com/chemistry-blog/copenhagen-climate-clangers.html Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:08:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.reactivereports.com/chemistry-blog/copenhagen-climate-clangers.html/comment-page-1#comment-607 David Bradley Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:10:19 +0000 http://www.reactivereports.com/chemistry-blog/?p=1642#comment-607 I've been saying that for years David. There was a government-funded financial "incentive" to replace one's old car with a nice shiny new one here in the UK last year, I suspect that was more to do with manufacturers lobbying to sell their vehicles than reducing carbon footprint. There's no way replacing an old car regardless of emissions while driving provides a net CO2 reduction, if one considers the whole of life equations for bother vehicles involved. I’ve been saying that for years David. There was a government-funded financial “incentive” to replace one’s old car with a nice shiny new one here in the UK last year, I suspect that was more to do with manufacturers lobbying to sell their vehicles than reducing carbon footprint. There’s no way replacing an old car regardless of emissions while driving provides a net CO2 reduction, if one considers the whole of life equations for bother vehicles involved.

]]> http://www.reactivereports.com/chemistry-blog/copenhagen-climate-clangers.html/comment-page-1#comment-603 David Henry Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:58:37 +0000 http://www.reactivereports.com/chemistry-blog/?p=1642#comment-603 Climate Clangers! Great phrase. I suspect another big clanger lurking out there has to to do with purchasing a green, ecofriendly new car while discarding an old gas guzzler. While I strongly favor reducing our carbon footprint, what does the balance sheet for this transaction look like? The power to simply move the new vehicle (electric or hybrid), must still come largely from fossil fuels, even figuring a big improvement in efficiency over the old one. More of concern is the energy required for the steel, glass, plastic, rubber, etc needed to manufacture the new one. At what point is an energy tradeoff seen between the continued inefficient use of the old machine and the high cost of the new one? Wouldn't we be a lot better off delaying the new car and putting that energy into creating non-carbon based power infrastructure? Climate Clangers! Great phrase. I suspect another big clanger lurking out there has to to do with purchasing a green, ecofriendly new car while discarding an old gas guzzler. While I strongly favor reducing our carbon footprint, what does the balance sheet for this transaction look like? The power to simply move the new vehicle (electric or hybrid), must still come largely from fossil fuels, even figuring a big improvement in efficiency over the old one. More of concern is the energy required for the steel, glass, plastic, rubber, etc needed to manufacture the new one. At what point is an energy tradeoff seen between the continued inefficient use of the old machine and the high cost of the new one? Wouldn’t we be a lot better off delaying the new car and putting that energy into creating non-carbon based power infrastructure?

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