Besides cost, what are the major issues and concerns people have with hybrid cars and SUVs?
Like any technological advancement, hybrid technology has its detractors. Like the cell-phone-induced brain tumors that everyone feared in the early 90s or carpal tunnel from excessive typing, critics can even find fault with hybrids. Arguably the biggest leap forward in transportation in the past 15 years, the hybrid technology that is used in today’s SUVs and cars has given birth to three main fears among critics:
1. Magnetic fields that cause cancer and other ailments
2. Electric shock from a battery
3. Toxic battery materials that can harm the environment, erasing any good the battery did while still in the car
An article in the New York Times titled Fear, but Few Facts, on Hybrid Risk explains that much like living near high-voltage power lines, spending hours each day surrounded by the electromagnetic fields caused by a hybrid SUV’s battery could potentially be harmful for your health. Most of this speculation is based on amateur readings of a person’s hybrid, not from scientific studies. And with no set safety levels in place in the U.S., it is difficult to determine just how potentially dangerous the fields may be.
Shocking but true. When hybrids first came on the market, a fear of being electrocuted in a crash was a common one; though unfounded. Hybrid SUVs are equipped with a safety mechanism that disconnects the battery from power if the SUV is in a severe accident, thus ensuring that passengers and first-responders are safe from electrocution. Despite this safety mechanism, however, this article outlines how mechanics must be sure to disconnect power to the hybrid SUV they are working on to avoid a serious shock.
What about the environmental issues with building hybrid cars? Right now, the battery sitting in your hybrid SUV is made of a nickel-metal hydride, which is considered a possible carcinogen. While not as environmentally harmful as the lead which has been making up conventional SUV batteries, it still has a negative impact. As hybrid SUVs become more and more popular, the batteries from them, if not properly recycled, could find their way to our landfills and the cancer-causing agents within, into our waterways. However, with auto manufacturers offering long-term warranties and pushing battery recycling programs, the hope is that hybrid battery disposal issues will be negligible.
Sport Utility Vehicles in general have been touted by some as being politically incorrect due to their larger size and historically poor gas mileage. At the same time, the majority of people (including scientists) agree that hybrids are better for the planet. It’s hard to argue that a hybrid suv is worse for the environment than almost any gas-only vehicle. Politics aside, it seems we are moving in the right direction.
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