"Climate change is HOT!" -- Paris Hilton, or was it Obama Girl?

Often, advertising delivers the most entertainment. Those folks are so creative at getting through to us and getting us to buy. Jack you're the best. You think like I do but say it so much better. You can go by light rail instead of streetcar.

I cant stand those self-righteous commercials toyota runs with the dancing flowers and trees as the prius drives by. Guess what is more environmentally friendly than driving a prius? Not driving one and walking!

Anything in there about what mining the material for the batteries does to the "environment" in there? Not to mention all the battery materials are sent by cargo ship to about four different continents to manufacture the stupid things.

Can't we just accept that "eco" has nothing to do with ecological and everything to do with economics. The reality is that none of the "eco" friendly products out there are doing anything to help the environment. No, but they are enriching the bottom lines of many companies by convincing good intentioned folks like yourselves to pay more for a "green" product.

Aside from the mining for the batteries - let's not forget that it's coal-driven electricity that powers half the car, not one's own sense of self satisfaction.
Contrary to what the PC crowd thinks, electricity does not come from a hole in the wall.

Perhaps Toyota knows that privately funding a Portland "green ad" helps target health,fire and code violations. I'm sure that inspections are picking up the revenue slack for the reduced hour permit reviewers

Those industrial wind turbine complexes aren't as green as they've been made out to be either.

We need to figure out how to consume less electricity, not more. After all, thousands of years of "civilization" blossomed and flourished without it, in various ways. For example, Galen used solar energy -- and clean air! and clean water! and non-GM'd herbs! and no nano-junk! -- to heal with.

We're making ourselves sick and crazy as we myopically collide with every other established, well-functioning, living system on earth. The heck with the 21st century MadMen and their glossy car-consuming propaganda -- more "Iron Eyes Cody" kinda stuff is in order, for starters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OHG7tHrNM

To quote Big Suke on the Fan (AM 1080), "I don't know why, but I've had four teriyaki burgers from Carl's Junior in the last two days!". That bikini model could sell a lot of Priuses if they were so inclined.

"Open up this roadmap to see how we're currently doing as a society"!?#?@!!

No hubris in this statement. The Toyota Pious will not make one tiny bit of difference in regard to the so called environmental claims made for it.

Mojo, above, stated "We need to figure out how to consume less electricity, not more. After all, thousands of years of "civilization" blossomed and flourished without it, in various ways."

Sorry Mojo, but I don't see any evidence of flourishing before the 19th century. Life was short, brutish and painful. Wars, disease and ignorance kept the world population in check. I for one am not ready to return to the good old days.

Hey, just look at the fold-out made of heavy glossy paper, kinda hard to recycle. Great job so far.

Can't we just accept that "eco" has nothing to do with ecological and everything to do with economics. The reality is that none of the "eco" friendly products out there are doing anything to help the environment.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I was so turned off by this piece of drek that, after a brief glance, I tossed it into the recycling bin before sitting down with my Sunday Times and coffee.

It reminded me of the slick, annoying inserts for Qwest or Comcast that are always in the Tribune lately. When I open any Trib box, what I see is a pile of these inserts scattered over the top of the folded papers. EVERYBODY shakes them out before taking a paper.

Jon & D are right on. I've read that a Hummer is actually more "environmentally friendly" than a Prius.

Hey, just look at the fold-out made of heavy glossy paper, kinda hard to recycle.

That grabbed me right away.

I've read that a Hummer is actually more "environmentally friendly" than a Prius.

truth is, that depends on where the electricity comes from. often, a Prius has a "long tailpipe" that emits its exhaust at a coal-powered plant/dam/etc.

here's a site that does a fair job of trying to estimate energy impact (which is not quite the same as environmental impact, in my opinion):

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm

D and others:

Just a small correction: unless it's been modified to be a plug-in, the Prius doesn't use grid electricity, so the power's not actually coming from coal or hydro (or wind, for that matter). The car generates its own electric power from the brakes, etc. Most of the time it runs at least partially on gasoline. Granted, that doesn't necessarily make it greener--certainly electricity, probably coal-fired or nuclear electricity, was used to manufacture the car, the batteries, etc.

Just a small correction: unless it's been modified to be a plug-in, the Prius doesn't use grid electricity, so the power's not actually coming from coal or hydro

right you are. i wasn't very clear--i was talking about plugins. that's what I meant by "depends on where the electricity comes from".

Dean, you're blinded by shiny objects and run-of-the-mill U.S. schoolbook history tracts.

All of the things you reference as past bads also flourish today in the world, amplified. It's all relative, and depends on where you are, this very day -- Afghanistan, Iraq, Kurdistan, Gaza, Nogales, Darfur, Cairo, Irian Jaya, Pine Ridge, Xinjiang, Washington D.C....or the Hamptons, Malibu, Lake O., or any Whole Foods store, or....not too long ago: St. Petersburg, a coal mine, a diamond mine, an asbestos mine, a uranimum mine, a molybdenum plant, Berlin, Hiroshima, Guernica, Hue, Phnom Phen, El Salvador, Sand Creek, Wounded Knee, Hood River....

eco and others: truth is, that depends on where the electricity comes from. often, a Prius has a "long tailpipe" that emits its exhaust at a coal-powered plant/dam/etc.

I'm not talking about the source of the energy to drive it (as in a "plug-in). I'm referring to the ingredients that go into it, plus the cost of eventual disposal. Those "eco-friendly" battery packs are about as un-friendly as you can get, from production to disposal.

And recent studies indicate that hybrid owners in general negate fuel efficiency by driving more often. This is in complete agreement with my take on hybrid ownership: most owners buy them based upon emotion, rather than thought. They want to feel good about themselves, and show how much they "care".

It's a badge that indicates their deep concern. So they have to drive more. Nobody will see that badge if it's tucked away in a garage.

recent studies indicate that hybrid owners in general negate fuel efficiency by driving more often

Source?

I'm not talking about the source of the energy to drive it (as in a "plug-in). I'm referring to the ingredients that go into it, plus the cost of eventual disposal. Those "eco-friendly" battery packs are about as un-friendly as you can get, from production to disposal.

everything produced in a factory creates an environmental impact--including the computer you're typing on. that's fairly obvious, isn't it? I've yet to meet anyone who didn't get that.

And recent studies indicate that hybrid owners in general negate fuel efficiency by driving more often.

nice try. show me.

most owners buy them based upon emotion, rather than thought. They want to feel good about themselves, and show how much they "care".

hard to say. I know three different owners myself who agonized over the decision, did the research, know the impact, and went ahead and bought. none of them claimed to do it simply because they "care".

From the sampling if posts here, it appears to be common knowledge that:
- Prius batteries are made of materials whose mining is ecologically destructive;
- Prius batteries represent toxic waste at the end of their life cycle
- The Prius is more harmful to the environment than a Hummer
- The Prius is powered by electricity from the grid
- Prius owners drive more than they need to and more than owners of other cars
- Prius ownership is the result of deluded sentimentality
All of this is demonstrably false.

The Prius is powered by electricity from the grid

there are about 30,000 Priuses on the road that are plug-in hybrids--getting their electricity from the grid. more are on the way--Toyota's already tooled up for mass production. there are also about 40,000 other plug-in hybrids of other makes (and conversions).

in 2008, Toyota sold about 160,000 Priuses. Toyota itself estimates about 15% of those have been converted to plug-in.

in other words--plug-in's where hybrid and electric cars are headed. in droves.

Mojo,

Nice list of bad things that have happened in the last couple of centuries. What this has to do with the impact of electricity and modern technology on the life of the common man I am not sure.

I am sure that arguing about a marginal boost or lack thereof provided to the improvement of our environment by the Prious is probably not worth trying to measure.

I for one prefer to take my chances on the future than opine about how culture flourished before the industrial revolution. Let's hear it for the Inquisition...

Let's hear it for the Inquisition...

the world wasn't a dark, damp cave before the Industrial Revolution. and today, more people than ever die of hunger, malnutrition, disease, war, poisoning by byproducts, etc. than before the Revolution.

all this, despite having the means to end it all.

look: everything we've got at our disposal is built on the shoulders of those that came before. Edison didn't invent the light bulb--he invented one *type* of light bulb. the bulb had been already invented. indoor plumbing is over 2000 years old. electricity came along long before Ben Franklin and gang--it just didn't get used much.

and so on. perhaps the biggest mistake people make is to equate "invention" with "progress" or "improvement". We extract ridiculous amounts of finite resources to have our lifestyle, and we know it. given that those resources are finite, dwindling, and being used at higher rates every year, tell me:

is life now better than the "dark times", or have we just artificially propped ourselves up at a catastrophic cost?