Is 'Prius Hype' Completely Deserved?

Our family bought a Toyota Prius about two years ago. With it came a great feeling - we all thought we were getting a great-quality car which also had a lower environmental footprint. Although it was a bit more expensive up-front, and would take some time before our actual savings would appear, the Prius' direct impact on the environment while it is being driven is easily apparent.

But what's trickier to determine is the car's total impact, or net impact, on the environment. Is this technologically advanced, fuel-efficient, energy-recycling car really helping the environment any more than a regular old Ford coupe?

One journalist, Chris Demorro, seems to have a strong opinion on this matter. He's written an article comparing the environmental footprints of the Prius and the Hummer, cars perceived as being on completely opposite ends of the 'green' spectrum. He claims that the Prius is actually worse for the environment - not as a result of gas mileage, or size, but because of manufacturing. The Prius battery contains nickel, a highly toxic substance which is terrible for the environment when processed. And shipping parts back and forth across the world doesn't help matters either.

You can read the rest of the article yourself if you want all his details. I'm not sure how much I trust his facts, as he's cited no sources for the data. However, he is shedding an important light on the bigger picture, and has gotten me to think about green issues a bit differently. Sometimes the most environmentally friendly things to do aren't even quantifiable at the consumer level.

For example, I might choose to use a toilet paper with thinner sheets per role to save paper on my end, but if the manufacturing practices of that brand over another that makes thicker sheets is more environmentally detrimental, then ultimately I'm hurting the environment, not helping it. As I touched upon in my previous post, manufacturing design and practices are one of the largest contributors to environmental destruction. So looking at a product from this stage (before it gets to market) is where the change has to really start happening. The Prius may be environmentally beneficial to drive around, but Toyota should know it has a duty to make it safe to manufacture as well.