Comparing Prius and Elements


Another discussion on fuel emissions and goals
Kirsten at Enjoy Every Sandwich compares a Toyota Prius against a Honda Element with some interesting results .

The first and most obvious thing to look at is the price tags. I drive a Honda Element named Penny, so I'll compare that to the Toyota Prius. The 2006 Honda Element's MSRP starts at $17750 whereas the Toyota Prius MSRP is listed at $21725 to start. So a tiny little car which can't do everything I've done with my beloved Element would cost me $3975 more to buy up front and still a bit more than the Element even after the tax credit incentive.

Beyond that, there's the functionality to consider. I have used Penny a lot in home improvement projects to haul away large items to the dump and haul large items out to my house. Just recently I brought a big roll of carpet and a drum kit out to my house thanks to Penny.

And beyond functionality, there's the sheer joy of driving a vehicle that I love, love, love. Penny and I have been to Seattle and back three times together, and she is by far the best road trip car I have ever ridden in. So while it wouldn't cost John or Rich anything for me not to drive my SUV, it certainly would cost me.

Now let's apply this same question- What would it harm anything to just reduce emissions no matter what?- to another pollution generating entity. According to carbonfund.org, 1 person generates an average of 4.68 tons of CO2/year. A vehicle getting 25 mpg (slightly less than my current gas mileage in my Element) driven 12500 miles per year generates 4.43 tons of CO2/year. With a lot more effort than I have time for at the moment, one could come up with a rough pollution profile for cars vs. people, but it's clear that pollution generation is an inherent feature of both cars and people.

I would like to know why is it popular to go after SUV drivers rather than parents on the pollution issue? We could instead focus on reducing emissions by reducing the number of children on the planet. I mean it's not like we're running out of people on the planet, so why shouldn't people start foregoing having kids? What would it harm to reduce human emissions no matter what?

The discussion afterwards is even more interesting.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Fri - February 3, 2006 at 04:35 AM  Tag


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