News on hybrid vehicles, fuel cell cars, and the future of automobiles

I know there seems like an obvious answer–of course, a hybrid apparently has less negative impact on the environment than my gas-guzzling SUV. But does the potential gain in fuel-efficiency/lower emissions outweigh the impact of getting rid of my current car–which will either be bought as a used car and keep spewing exhaust in addition to my brand new car or–perhaps worse–just sit in a junkyard and become a giant piece of litter? Of course, there’s a social impact–if everyone keeps driving their SUVs instead of replacing them, it reinforces the SUV’s place on our roads instead of encouraging people to look for something more eco-friendly. Some could argue owning a car at all is bad. For what it’s worth, I don’t know if there’s a right answer. Also, whether I own the SUV or a hybrid, I’d still use it pretty rarely and would walk or take public transportation as much as possible. Thanks for any responses.

Your argument sounded pretty good until I did a little math on it. Let’s say your suv gets 15 mpg, on average. A recent article in Bicycling magazine said that in terms of energy consumption in calories, a bicycle gets the equivalent of 622 mpg of gasoline. I don’t know how they arrive at that figure, but it sounds reasonable. Even if you use a bicycle for 20% of your overall trips, which is a pretty ambitious effort, your overall mpg only improves to 18.5. Did you know that driving a 15 mpg suv for one year instead of an ordinary car that gets 25 mpg wastes as much energy as leaving your refrigerator door wide open for six years? No need to feel too bad about the next owner continuing to pollute with the suv. Used car buyers have choices, too and he or she bought what they wanted. Just like you did when you bought it. Also as cars get older, they tend to be driven fewer miles. When it is all finished, much of it can be recycled. When I got my suv, it replaced a gross polluting ‘79 ford truck, so in some cases the suv may actually be an improvement. I would gladly get rid of my suv, but I owe twice what it is worth and still owe two years of payments. I do plan on getting rid of it asap. If you can afford to do so, getting the hybrid (or other fuel efficient car) is without a doubt the best choice for the environment.