In a world of ever-increasing awareness of the footprint that cars leave on our planet, many are relying upon what car companies define as ecofriendly. But companies have taken advantage of the trust that their customers give them, and the truth about green cars is not all it appers to be.

The big kid on the block of the eco-friendly cars is the Toyota Prius. Driving around town in a in this car brightens its drivers’ moods because they feel like they are doing the world a favor and telling others that they do care about humankind and their planet. Also, the car that produces this friendly image comes with great craftsmanship and high gas mileage. Many are sold by these ideas, but sadly when the Prius is cross-examined, the truth that the car is not world-saving material is seen.

What Toyota has really done with their Prius is given it a unique drivetrain (way of getting power from the engine to the wheels). The car is really powered by a normal engine, just like that of any other car today. But instead of the engine turning lots of heavy, energy-reducing rods and gears to make the wheels move, it runs a generator, which then charges a battery. This battery then sends power to electric motors, which eventually make their way to spinning the wheels.

In other words, the engineers at Toyota have replaced the complex drivetrain of the traditional car with an even more complex one of their own. But as is the reality with anything, they have had to sacrifice something to get such a fuel-efficient car.

This, ironically, is eco friendliness. Batteries do not just grow on trees. Batteries are made up of many materials, and one of these is nickel. Nickel is found in the ground and therefore requires lots of energy to mine and extract. One of the plants that exports a significant share of this material is located in Sudbury, Ontario, and is known for its massive emissions.

After the nickel has been mined, it is shipped to more locations in order to make a battery with other materials. Transporting this nickel around the world emits even more pollution thanks to the help of airplanes and boats.

So there is the idea. While the Toyota Prius may seem eco friendly to drivers, a brand-new Prius on the showroom floor has already been responsible for a heavy dose of emissions.

Sadly, this reality applies to more cars than just the Toyota Prius. It also includes all-electric cars like the Chevy Volt, Nissan LEAF, and Fisker Karma, because they also have batteries. Even worse, when a Chevy Volt is plugged into the garage power socket, the chances are high that a coal plant is charging it! Coal plants produce so much pollution that their smoke stacks must be hundreds of feet tall in order to make sure that they do not ruin air quality for residents.

Unfortunately, the belief that one can benefit the world through hybrid and electric cars tends toward merely easing the conscience.

Average cars with normal engines and drivetrains that deliver high mileage rates that would meet the hybrid standard do exist. There are reasons someone would want to buy an electric car. Unfortunately, the green argument doesn’t hold up as one of the better ones.