Okay, so I’m sick of this.  GM is notoriously bad.  But now even the high-end auto manufacturers are getting in on the stupidity.  I’ve just got to rant.  So let me make this one thing clear:

MAKING A CAR A HYBRID DOES NOT MAKE IT GREEN!!!!!

Say what?

Yes, you read that right.  Just because it has a hybrid logo on it, just because it has part electric power, does NOT make it green.  It does not by default make it fuel efficient.  It does not by default mean it has low emissions.

For example, here are some average gas mileage ratings of cars that actually get a high enough efficiency rating to be considered green:

Now, these cars all get above 30MPG in real-world driving, according to hybridCARS.  It is by no means an extensive list.  There are many others as well.  (And then there are the super-green cars like plug-in hybrids and electrics.)  And you’ll note that there are even diesel and normal everyday fuel cars in that list.  They don’t have to be hybrid to have a good fuel efficiency.

Now, here are some hybrids which are not green:

So I say again, just because it has a hybrid logo on it, does not make it green.

What makes a car green is that it does something for the environment.  It uses less gas.  It puts out less emissions.  There is no “in its class” beating around the bush.  Either it is green, or it isn’t.  The term “hybrid” is not some carte blanche to feel good about yourself by pretending that you care about the environment.  Slapping a “hybrid” logo onto a car does not suddenly make everything okay.

Yes, it’s Earth Day again. Time to celebrate all things making our world a better place, for us and our kids and our grandkids and so on. And what better way to make the world a better place than to reduce our dependency on dirty nasty oil consumption by using biofuels.

Maybe.

It sounds good on paper. Grow some corn. Make some moonshine hootch ethanol fuel. Mix it in with your gasoline. Now you’re less dependent on oil and saving the planet from evil CO2 emissions.

Well, that’s at least half right. You are using less oil. But while the emissions from your exhaust pipe may be a bit cleaner, and the corn grown may have absorbed all sorts of nasty carbon from the air as it grew, it may not be quite that simple. You see, the process of producing the ethanol also releases CO2 back into the air. It doesn’t make itself. So there’s that amount that has to be counted too. And on top of that, some farmers use artificial fertilizers that are full of carbon, which muck up the Earth-friendly theme just a tad more. And then there’s transporting the ethanol, and so on. The closer you look, the less clean ethanol really is.

But ethanol also has another down side: It’s food! If we had a great surplus of food in the world and no one ever went hungry, then there’d be no arguments. Unfortunately we do not live in such a utopia. And in fact the concern over how biofuel effects food prices is so great that the European Union may even postpone or drop their plans for biosource quotas in motor fuel.

All is not so bleak however. Right now ethanol is produced mostly from corn and sugar. But it need not be so. Algae may provide another, more efficient, means of producing any number of biofuels, ethanol included. Also, while ethanol might be the most thought of and talked about biofuel, we do have others. Biodiesel for example is basically just vegetable oil. It’s much easier to produce and thus better for our environment. And then there’s methanol, or wood grain alcohol, which isn’t made with food crops.

We need to stop overlooking these other alternative fuels and start putting as much research and support into their production as we do into ethanol. Because we really can make the world a better place. If we try.

I thought it might be nice to put a positive note into my blog lately, so I’m going to mention a product that so far has been absolutely loverly for me, my allergies, and my hamster. That product would be Kaytee’s Total Comfort Bedding.

What is it? As far as I can tell, it’s simply soft fluffy puffs of recycled paper products.

Why is it so good for my hamster, Goose? Because it’s softer than wood chips it makes for better nesting material. As was evinced by Goose carrying every little scrap of it into one big pile for his nest, something he has never done with wood chips. Goose loves it!

Also it’s said (though I have seen no definitive proof) that various wood beddings, especially pine, may be harmful to small animals by:

• Splintering, causing slivers in the feet.
• Being poisonous to consume.
• Releasing a poisonous gas when urinated upon.

Where as recycled paper products seem safer by comparison. Puffs of paper have no splinters at the very least, and they probably have been processed and reprocessed so many times that any poisons in the wood pulp have been removed.

But then, I have also used various wood chips (pine, aspen, cedar) for hamster bedding over the years and seen no ill effects. So your mileage and/or paranoia may vary.

But most importantly (in my opinion) why is it good for me? I have allergies. Mold, mildew, dander, and dust. Now a lot of people say they’re allergic to dust, because dust pretty much causes a reaction in anyone and everyone. But take that baseline reaction, multiply it several fold, and that’s how I react to dust. Whenever I’d clean a cage, I thought my constant sneezing, watering eyes, irritated skin, et cetera were all from the concentration of small animal dander contained by the aquarium. (Because most of my hamsters have lived in aquariums.) However, after having used Kaytee Total Comfort Bedding, I’ve found my allergic reaction during cage cleanings to be much less severe. Why? I’d have to say because this new bedding has no dust. Where as wood chips are chock full of sawdust. And dust is chock full of dust mites and other equally allergy-inducing irritants. So get rid of the dust, get rid of an awful lot of irritation. It’s great!

And why is it good for the environment? There is one other good reason to use Kaytee Total Comfort Bedding over wood chips. It’s recycled paper! It’s like totally green, dude! You’re using a recycled product. And it biodegrades easily. Compost already laced with hamster fertilizer? How can that really go wrong? So not only is it better for your pet and better for you, it’s also better for the world.

Frankly, I can’t think of a good reason not to switch to Kaytee Total Comfort Bedding as bedding for your small animal this very instant. It’s just that good. Finally, technology is making a real difference in the life of your pet!