Quote:
Originally Posted by MTUpower
How much energy does it take to conceive, design, build, market, transport, sell, "recycle" and register a new car? Why is this not taken into account when calculating a new car's impact on the earth vs. keeping a older car? I'm thinking that a new hybrid will last the average of all cars in the usa- 172K. My last wagon had over 300K. Let's say my current wagon will last to 344K. Help me figure how much impact I save by NOT buying a new car.
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Good question. I started trying to do just that in terms of energy -- how much energy is burned on average, per hour, by a human being? Then get the average wage. Divide calories/hr by wage/hr and cal/$$$.
How much does a car cost in terms of human energy? Take average auto cost multiplied by the above computed cal/$$$ and that's how much a car costs in terms of human energy.
Take-home assignment: What portion of a lifetime does an average new car cost in terms of human energy? 5 Pt Bonus: An average used car?