What Pollutes More, A SUV or a Computer? The Answer Will Suprise You

But the enviromental hypocrites need to stop moaning about SUVs and dont forget, not every country has paved roads everywhere.

Unfortunately it seems the world runs better with out humans.

TheSailor

Im not giving an excuse for buying an X5, and I still have another SUV (Tahoe) to do the offroading. They dont sell wagons over here, and I want something luxury, with space, what do I buy? A minivan?! I cant live with a 4 cylinder engine, I ll kill myself before I reach my destination.

A 5er, E class, GS, etc.. are all too small. I need to fit 6 kids in the car every morning. Even an S-Class, 7er, LS, etc.. dont fit. I CANT live with a minivan. Its very noisey at high speeds (4 cylinders). I think I made the right choice.

What minivan has 4 cylinders? I want one!

M53R... the X5's third row is absolutely useless. I hope you use the Tahoe to ferry your kids, because the X5 would crush whoever is in the back.

I love our X5, but I didn't need the third row, and didn't get it. If I needed a third row it would not be in our garage right now.

Environment bull shit.

All you people that don't like SUV's need to get over to China and Russia and tell them they need to clean up their acts.

Just want to add that the problem we have right now was NOT created overnight, it was the industrial age and technology used there after that has caused the problems we see today. So, we can't blame others' for our problems. We need to sort it out.

I believe China, along with most other countries, have higher mpg standards than the US.

But admittedly they must control their carbon outputs in other areas. Hey, why dont we lead by example, or maybe stop buying all those Wal-Mart toys if they dont clean up their act. Nah, sacrifice is no longer in the American vocabulary.

A server and it's environment use a lot of energy compared to a pen and paper. Not every household has a server operating. Also, for my home PC, we don't alter the temp or the environment for it's benefit, therefore you cannot add this to it's carbon foot print.

Computers are necessary for the airline industry, as well as nearly all industries, so in each of these instances, it's foot print should be divided up and added directly to each of these industrie's foot prints. It should not be a foot print all it's own.

SUVs are often useless. More often than not there is a much better vehicle built for all of the tasks the typical SUV is used for. Rarely is the SUV truely necessary.

Besides the necessity of computers that have been pointed out here. Computers can already run on many different types of energy (solar, wind, gas, coal, nuclear, etc.) How many cars out there can run on that many different types of fuel?

I agree

once again
the truest comment posted in this thread was by
theoptimisticpessimist :


Unfortunately it seems the world runs better with out humans.

SUVs are just unnecessary, as they can usually be easily replaced by an estate car or a mini-van.

America should stick it to the world and threaten it with nuclear arms in order to save it from itself!!!

Most developing countries dont give a hoot about greenhouse gases.

America can demand global "green" just as well as it demands global "peace" and punish the biggest polluters the way we do to terrorists. They are only hurting all of us and our children in the long run.

I do know what Im talking about. I do realize we are the biggest polluters because of the high industrialization rate we have here in America and the large amount of land we take up. However, we dont allow pollution and factories to go unregulated when it comes to emissions like the Chinese do and many other countries.

In many third world or "developing nations" whatever you want to call them, the governments are too busy worrying about civil wars, political instability and a rebellious popullation to worry about the environment. They let factories go unregulated, greenhouse gases and hazardous wastes spew into out plante.

And I do know what Im talking about, maybe you should get off your cloud and take a course in sociology and the environment you shmuck. Youre obviously the one that doesnt know what they are talking about.

That being said, Its no wonder that many people like you resent the United states because we have been an all powerful nation for almost a century now, and we do get our ways most of the time and feel responsible for the world although our leaders dont make the best decisions 100% of the time. I would love to see just how Europe would have turned out if the United States wouldnt have existed or been powerful enough to defeat the Axis powers. You would be singing a different tune, probably at a concentration camp or maybe not even existed.

Just something to think about.

I might add that my original comment was a bit radical but completely logical. Industrialized powerful nations should hold sanctions against or penalize those countries that have no environmentl policy. We all have to take part in clening up the world. What use is it when one side of the world goes green and the other increases pollution? We all breathe the same air and drink the same water.

"But since then, you guys haven't had that much success have you?"

If you say so. Lets ignore the fact that for the past 50 years after WWII we have maintaining a good economy and the highest standard of living per capita of any country in the world.

"As to the developing countries not giving a "hoot" about the environment, that might be true for most african countries, but those countries are still at a very early stage in becomming industrialized."

Not only Africa but Latin America. Have you traveled there recently? I have and its disturbing how much pollution is in abundance.

"The asian nations, however, are actually trying to do something about their emmisions"

Only a couple Asian nations (China notably thanks to international pressure) are doing something. The rest are doing something on paper and on the public relations front but not taking the action necessary to help out the sitution.

When Chinas population reaches the level of the US they will be more than 5 times more polluting than we are if they keep the rate they are going, 7.25 times more polluting to be exact based on your own statistics.

Dont forget Europe buys just as much from China, Its getting ridiculously expensive for you guys there. I have close friends and family members that have been and come back with stories on how such basic things as food and clothes are so much costlier in comparison than they are here.

Your statistics, if examined closely prove nothing, Those coutries consume more than the US relatively speaking and based on their industrialization rates.

If was saying in my own "rabid and deragned way" that we have to be proactive instead of reactive as A WHOLE.

Why is it up to the U.S. Soley to solve everything?

I love how u guys criticize us for not taking action in some fronts but start to bash us once once we do and then all of a sudden we become the "selfish imperialists" that think we own the world. We contribute A HUGE amount of funds to help victims world wide during economic disasters (more than any other country) but it seems that that is always overlooked.

@w209w114

It's people like you who give this sad country a bad image.

The only way we can create is to destroy.

save the planet. destroy humankind: The only animal which kills for sheer pleasure, entertainment, and accessories.

Its a good thing I drive a Prius home to make up for this huge carbon footprint as I argue on Autospies all day, running my computer.

The fact that you put "The Answer Will Surprise You" in the title made sure of the fact that I already knew what the answer was before I clicked on the article.

well arent you smart...doink!

Here's one for ya... They say a Great Blue Whale on an annual basis will do more harm to the environment of the sea than an oil tanker will. Whales shit out 70% of the food they consume which is in the amount of thousands of tons, & therefore polluting the ocean more than man.

People the sky isn’t falling, but what I love most is people who say it’s already to late to turn back & that we’ve already F’d the environment past the point, & yet they’re still trying to save it. The planet has endured so much that I’m sure it can handle the presence of mankind.

The environmental discussion & mantra are so one-sided due to the strong Liberal influence found throughout the media & Hollywood, & high profile figures such as Al Gore trying to cash in a buck off of it.

The environmental lobby is a profit organization, the more they scare us the more money they’re bound to make. There are way bigger issues in the world today than Global Warming.

LOL!

That's the most stupidest thing I've heard! Sure, whale's may shit out 70% of what they eat. But, do you know what happens after that? Other smaller creatures clean up the mess. And the whale eats those smaller creatures. And the cycle continues. And that's known as the Circle of Life. Spilling millions of gallons of oil that doesn't belong in the ocean that the smaller creatures can't clean up is NOT part of the Circle of Life! And on top of that, the whale's aren't the only ones taking shit in the ocean and the entire planet!

Munich,

The same could be said about omiting you from the planet. I know my automobile probably pollutes 1/100th of what you do annually, so does that mean it is a more acceptable occupant of the planet than you?

I agree the sky isn't falling, but now is a better time to begin to care about the planet, rather than once it is convenient for you. It is only getting worse out there.

Think about it.

How much CO2 computers save with people no longer having to show up personally everywhere, but are able to do things like banking from their home couch?

However, I'd like to see more specific results to this: How much CO2 does spam mailing cause? Or, the office or OS applications I'm using today are about million times bigger than the ones I was using in the late 90's, although I'm still mainly doing the same things with them. How much natural resources are wasted on storing all this?

My comment continues below as well.

"RealitySmack" you have to consider than an oil tanker obviously isn't spilling it's oil into the sea on every trip it makes. Besides I read that study in a magazine, it's not my own, I thought I'd just throw it out there for discussion.

"Shredmo" caring about the environment is one thing, but if Green Peace & other corrupt/over-the-top environmental corporations (Because that's what they are) had it there way, so many luxuries in our lives would be taken away to the point that, I think everyone would just say F*ck it..."I'd rather live on this Earth for however long is left, & do it the way we used too.”

Green Peace & other extreme environmental groups or figures such as David Suzuki, tend to contradict themselves a lot of the time. How much C02 emissions do you think Green Peace releases into the air annually to fight for their causes? How many laws do they break & how many lives do they potentially endanger to save the life of a chicken? Get me?

It’s hard to get into it on an internet forum, but just know that I will continue driving my V-8 powered vehicles until technology & industry (Another thing environmentalists hate) provide a more economical substitute.

Yea, I figured that you must have read it somewhere. But, people who write this stuff need to get a smack of reality!

I didnt ignore what you wrote. But its easy to take 1 example out of an entire nation like China and assume they are doing that everywhere throught the country. It doesnt work that way. I dont think they are doing enough, certainly much less that Europe and the US.

Anyway, you missed my point too about the statistics.

"China will probably never get to a level where they pollute nearly as much, per capita, as you do in the US today!"

How did you come up with that assumption? What you believe isnt necessarily whats going to happen. Lets hope they are 7.25 times more effiecient than the US. Until I see that happen IM not believeing it.

Correction: "What we see in the WORLD today should (and hopefully will be) the absolute top!"

The standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people, and the way these goods and services are distributed within a population. It is generally measured by standards such as income inequality, poverty rate, real income per person. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, educational standards and social rights are often used too.

"Some people say it is meassureable in consumer prices... If that is so, then Europe is certainly a better place to live!"

What are you talking about? Europe is ridiculously expensive to live in, you guys have less purchasing power than we do here (look up GDP per Capita) I think a can of Coca Cola is like the equivalent of $4 verus 60 cents here, I mean come on.

"the world doesn't revolve around the dollar anymore."

While that may be true in part, it is still the main currency worldwide. Europe was smart to follow our example by creating the Euro, I dont even know the name of the currency you'd be using in Denmark right now if it wasnt the Euro, and neither does anyone else unless they had been there or researched it.

Europe should be worried about the dollar as well. The EU economy is strongly tied to America. German behemoths such as Volkswagen BMW and Mercedes will have no choice but to eventually rise prices (they are making less profit now per car due to the fact they have maintained prices more or less the same) The rise in prices will give other companies such as Lexus and even American auto makers the advantage which will in turn hurt the European community. You should know that.