Why is it not eco friendly to buy a new car?

I read that it's more eco friendly to keep your old car than to spring for the new eco car.

This entry was posted by largie on August 23, 2010 at 1:18 pm, and is filled under Eco friendly questions and answers. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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Comments (7)

#1 written by lolly494
about 1 year ago

just buy a hybrid
#2 written by Dhruva 4 Fraternity
about 1 year ago

Since we only have the technology to run cars through fuel…certain gases emitted are very harmful to us and our environment such as
carbon monoxide,unburnt sulphur particles…(hybrid cars are exceptional but not economical)wasting away our limited resources.Even the material used such as fibre,metal……are limited
thus,if you buy a new car more metal,more fuel is used and wasted.
#3 written by Permaculture bella
about 1 year ago

It is not eco friendly to buy new items even if the claim is that the product is green, it is actually greener not to buy anything. Eco friendly is not really eco friendly it is less unfriendly than conventional products. Green products are greenER than conventional products not really GREEN. The bes thing to do is keep using what you have until it falls to pieces, then if you can don’t replace it, or look to rent if it is one off use or buy second hand if you use it regularly.

Not having a car at all is much more environmentally friendly than any CLAIMED eco friendly car.

The issue is this, there are environmental costs in sourcing the materials, production of the equipment to manufacture the materials and buildings etc to manufacture them in, the manufacture of the product itself, transportation, use and disposal of the product and its wastes etc This is known as embodied energy (the cost of to the environment of everything that actually went into making that item).

So keep using what you have but try to use it less. Walk or cycle more and use public transport instead of your car, then you will be genuinely more eco friendly. Just because people want to sell you an eco friendly product does not mean it is really friendly to the environment, nor does it mean you should buy it.
#4 written by Bernie
about 1 year ago

Sell your gas guzzling car and buy a bicycle that’s the most eco friendly
#5 written by Randall E
about 1 year ago

It is eco-friendly actually – assuming the same make and model, the new car will be more fuel-efficient than the old one.
#6 written by Amy L
about 1 year ago

It’s got to be because of the associated costs in manufacturing and disposal. But if you are driving some of the older models, in particular, such as ones exempt from more modern regulations because they’re grandfathered in, then in my opinion you should upgrade to a newer, more fuel-efficient car.

But the fact is, many people have gotten in the habit of trading in their cars in a matter of a few years. This does create a problem. Part of this is due to the fact that manufacturer support for products seems to all but evaporate within a few years, part of it is because most people no longer know how to do even basic maintenance on their car.

It’s kind of an out of sight, out of mind situation. You don’t see the process of bringing that car to the showroom, you don’t see what happens to your car after you trade it in. Ignorance is bliss.

If people took better care of their cars and drove less, they could extend the life of their cars considerably.
#7 written by J S
about 1 year ago

The materials for the new car need to be mined, shipped, smelted, shipped, manufactured, shipped, assembled, shipped, stored and sold, and all of that has an energy and environmental cost.

The mine can destroy a local environemnt and produce toxic waste (even if, or especially if, it’s out of sight and out of mind in a third world country). The other activities contribute to pollution and global warming.

Keeping your used car in good shape prevents it from getting junked, with part goign to landfills, with possible toxic disposal issues for circuit boards, batteries, engine fluids, etc.

However the “goodness” of that argument leaves out the benefit if you junk a smoking old clunker with a V6 or V8 and replace it with a hybrid or electric car (plugged into non-coal power).

Looking across the entire economy as a system, as those much more efficient vehicles come on line and older gas pigs get retired, the emissions side fo the equation changes in favor of the new hybrids. There’s a still acost in terms of using natrual resources, but if climate change is threatening us as much as curerntly believed, it won’t matter much if we reduced mining if climate change results in challenges to human survival. Again, best to go with the new hybrids and reduce overall impact on greenhouse gases and black soot emissions.

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