M80
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2006
- Messages
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- Derbyshire
- Your Mercedes
- 2014 639 Viano- 651, 5sp Auto. 2009 S211- 646, 5sp Auto.
Couldn't agree more but I'm not the only one in this household. The green solution in the vast majority of cases is to keep what you have.
The car we are buying probably generated around 12 tonnes of CO2 in its production and delivery. (these figures are never known but I believe 12t would be a reasonable and low ball park figure)
If our new car gets 60mpg as opposed to our last cars 45mpg
This would be a saving of 25.2 ml of diesel per mile
or equivalent to 66 grammes less of CO2 per mile
Therefor payback time would not be for 181,000 miles
Of course cars do eventually come to the end of their lives and need to be replaced, and the above figures do not take that into account, but undoubtedly the desire to have new, and the desire of economies to create demand and spending is the big producer of CO2 and global warming.
I feel fairly certain that it won't be a simple as that.
Craig not all cars are new and more efficient.
Not all vehicles are low, narrow and with a pointy end.
It doesn't matter how you rephrase it, put yer foot down you use more fuel, in fact your own statement of getting to speed uses more fuel than to maintain it is relevant. With today's congestion (feasibly blamed on increased population) it isn't often we can maintain a good cruising speed. The deceleration (and braking) followed by the desire to get back up to speed will happen.
Personally I really don't care who does what speed as long as it doesn't impact (as possible with some numpties) on my safety. I set cruise at 58 and I'm content.
Such new initiatives are usually derived from theorists who have recently been taught some earth shattering principles, that from behind a desk or in the likes of your pointless meetings sound to be planet saving.
Serious question, do palm tree plantations offer as much environmental advantages the jungles they are replacing at massive speed do?
For sure they mess with eco systems, and that might 'bite' us in ways unforeseen. A little example, years back in a part of India (sorry I can't offer the precision you do) they were sick of their farm workers getting bit by snakes (reasonably). So they set to eradicating snakes to protect the workers. Soon enough they were over run by rats, that still bite but also brought diseases that created a whole new problem.