Replacing all your old stuff with new green products scratches the consumer’s itch and makes them want to do something good for the environment. But “replace” is not one of the 3Rs of environmentalism. When you’re trying to reduce, reuse and recycle, getting used to your old stuff as long as possible is usually part of the equation. That’s fine for items like clothing, but the equation gets trickier for items that continue to pollute every time you use them, like cars. Fortunately, the math isn’t too difficult, and you have plenty of options for getting rid of your old vehicle when it’s time to go electric.
Carbon incorporated vs carbon footprint
When people decide to buy a new car to be more efficient, they are thinking about their carbon footprint. The carbon footprint is a simple way of expressing the environmental impact of an activity. It is usually based on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the activity, which are measured in CO2-eq. Driving a new car will have lower carbon emissions than driving an old one because newer cars are built to higher emissions standards, tend to be more fuel efficient, and are less likely to leak oil or other pollutants.
But before a new vehicle makes its first mile, it has already generated significant environmental impacts. Manufacturing new cars requires a lot of energy, uses a lot of materials and often generates significant amounts of waste and pollution. The carbon footprint of everything that precedes the use of the vehicle is its embodied carbon (or sometimes, embodied energy). Materials production accounts for around 20% of a fossil fuel car’s life cycle emissions. It is closer to 40% for an electric vehicle.
Doing the math
Whether it makes sense to upgrade depends a lot on what you drive now and how much more efficient your new vehicle will be. It also depends on the source of electricity. An electric vehicle that runs entirely on coal electricity will not reduce emissions as much as one that runs on renewable energy. Replacing your three-year-old Honda Civic with a new GMC Hummer EV isn’t doing the environment any favors.
Reuters used a model from Argonne National Laboratory to determine the point at which an electric vehicle becomes cleaner than an equivalent gasoline car in terms of its lifetime carbon footprint. For a mid-size vehicle, they determined the break-even point to be 13,500 miles. Another study indicated that most electric vehicles will offset manufacturing emissions in 19,000 miles. These studies compare new vehicles: it would take longer to “pay off” the carbon debt of a new electric vehicle compared to a used vehicle.
Ars Technica compared the impacts of a new EV with those of a combustion engine car from 2010. They concluded that the environmental impact of the electric vehicle would equal that of the old car after two years. Beyond two years, the EV would be an improvement over the old car.
You can do a similar calculation to estimate emissions for your own situation:
- Find or calculate the gas mileage of your current vehicle.
- Estimate the number of miles you drive in a year.
- Multiply 8,887 grams of CO2 by the number of gallons of fuel you burn in a year.
- Check the EPA emissions estimates for the electric vehicle you’re considering.
- Multiply the results by your annual mileage.
- Look for data on the embodied carbon of the EV you are considering. If you can’t find it, use the Union of Concerned Scientists estimate of 12,000 pounds of CO2.
- Add the value from steps 5 and 6 to calculate the EV’s first year emissions. Compare this with the value in step 3 for your current car.
- Continue adding the values from steps 3 and 5 to their respective vehicles until the electric vehicle result is equal to or less than your current car result. This is the number of years before the footprint of the old car exceeds that of the new EV.
Get rid of your old car
Whether it makes sense to upgrade now or not, you will eventually have to get rid of your old car. If you are simply upgrading it, the obvious choice is to trade or sell it. You can help someone replace their old gas station with your relatively efficient car.
But if your car is the devourer, or if it gives up the ghost entirely, how do you get rid of it? You can donate it to a charity. Some charities repair drivable vehicles and donate them to people in need. Others will tow unusable vehicles to remove salable parts. Make sure you find out what happens to the vehicle and how the charity disposes of unusable parts before donating.
By weight, vehicles are approximately 75% metal, both ferrous and non-ferrous, which is recyclable. The remaining 25% includes tires (which can be a challenge to recycle), fluids such as used oil, antifreeze, lubricants, gasoline or diesel, and other materials. These other materials include glass, plastic, fabric, rubber, and electronic components. Many of these materials are recyclable. Others are toxic and must be handled with care. Some materials are both toxic and recyclable. Disposing of your car requires a responsible recycler. Salvage yards are important for recycling every material found in motor vehicles. But they can also be a source of pollution and endanger the health of nearby communities without proper maintenance and regulation. Many responsible salvage yards require you to remove and dispose of auto fluids before they will accept your vehicle for junk. You can find charities and recyclers using Earth911’s recycling directory.
If you buy
Consider buying a more efficient used vehicle. Any used car that gets better mileage than your old one is a step in the right direction, without incurring additional embodied carbon costs. Also consider carefully whether you really need a pickup truck or an SUV: weight and aerodynamics still affect the efficiency of electric vehicles. Whatever size vehicle you decide on, it’s always better to go for the electric version.
If you don’t choose an electric vehicle (for example, because your home’s electrical system won’t support it without expensive upgrades or your electricity comes entirely from coal plants), choose the car with the best gas mileage you can get. Look for vehicles with a continuously variable transmission (CVT): they are 10% more efficient than the same model with an automatic transmission. Whatever car you own, you can reduce the carbon footprint of your transport by keeping it well maintained, never idling and driving less.
Featured Image: Grandbrothers – stock.adobe.com
