Quote:
Originally Posted by eekowarrior
1. It is generally accepted that the carbon footprint of manufacturing a car is roughly equivalent to the CO2 emitted during it's driving lifetime.
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No, that isn't generally accepted. Every study I've seen has driving the vehicle as the primary source of carbon emissions. The only "study" I've seen that had anything close to manufacturing as the primary emission source was the debunked Dust to Dust study that claimed a Jeep Wrangler was more energy efficient than a Prius by claiming a Prius only had a useful life of 109,000 miles.
This study by the Union of Concerned Scientist has manufacturing accounting for about 10% of total carbon emissions for a large gasoline powered car like an Audi A8
Quote:
Originally Posted by eekowarrior
2. The CO2 emitted during manufacture is higher with all-electric/hybrids and then there are also additional toxicity concerns regarding lithium battery production.
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Yes, EVs have more manufacturing emissions - which are quickly offset by the much lower emissions per mile of driving. Manufacturing is a much larger percentage of a EV's total carbon emissions but that is mostly due to the much lower emissions per mile of driving.
https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default...ull-report.pdf
I'll buy that driving an old gas-guzzler that you own free and clear is the economical choice but don't kid yourself that it is good for the environment.
You didn't bring up local emissions like HC, CO, NOx, and PM but those are also many times greater per mile for an 40 year old car than a modern car.