The Toyota Prius, Project Better Place and Google Searching

[michiganfan51]

buy american! buy the chevy volt

[SonOfTerra92]

forgo the cheeseburger ,save the world . I'm down with that ....

[E11eAndRi55a]

Hank! I'm so curious as to what you think of the CNW Marketing Research report called "Dust to Dust: The Energy Cost of New Vehicles From Concept to Disposal." How much merit does this study have, or was it conducted by a bunch of naysayers?

[NickGreyden]

soooo like how many cheeseburgers do I have to forgo to offset my utility bill?

[thamerican1776]

fuck the prius buy a V12 V10 fuck if you got the cash get a V16 or you will look gay like your friend there

[quantumbits]

Now all I want is a cheeze burger. (not a cheese burger)

[Fralmunk]

I think that the better place, battery-swapping idea is excellent... but I think that it would be too expensive and people will, eventually, want to stop paying for it.

[justlifeasusual]

Wow, Hank, you get some long comments.

[MoDa87]

I think the better place concept is the way to go. It would actualy make electric cars a reality for a lot of people in a short periode of time. The power all comes from renewable 0 carbon sources and the batteries are 95% recycable. The whole point of this is that it is sustainable, otherwise lithium would just turn into the new oil. I will go to denmark later in the year to have a look at the swaping station they are building there. love it!!!

[LeSpork]

I'm intrigued by the idea of battery-swapping stations. In a lot of ways, an electric car would ideal for me because I live in a city, and rarely drive more than 20 miles at a time. So theoretically, I wouldn't have to worry much about running out of power. Except for one thing: I park in a communal parking lot, not a garage or personal driveway. I'd have no place to actually charge an electric car. So I'm trying to decide if battery swapping would be a practical solution to this problem.

[MoDa87]

In the first 2 years they will put a charging spot into every 5th parking spot, and that includes public parking spots where you park your car. Better place have it all worked out. look for the other better place videos on youtube, they expalin it all.

[DrQuijano]

I used to eat about three cheeseburgers a day. Now I only eat one. I'm an ecogeek.

[HogwartsGirl13]

I think that the battery swapping place is a good idea: first, you would have to build the place, and then second you would need people to work there. So that in itself creates hundereds of thousands of jobs all over the world. Also, it would reduce the use of gas, which we all know is a good thing to do.

[chillerkiller25f]

johns need his on channel

[ItsGoodToBeGreen]

I have a question. Is it better to buy a new car because it is more fuel efficient or to buy an old car that isn't efficient because it took no new material to make the old car?

[4jonah]

new car. an old car isnt just about fuel efficiency. its about reliability. My first car was a POS. i got it when it had 106k miles on it and it was constantly breaking, burning alot of oil, i had to fill up about every 4th day. I hated it. Plus it took me $400 just to pass the fucking inspection. So its not just about the energy wasted on mining and shipping the materials to make the car....a new car will last longer than the old one will. plus, its safer.

[charlottepoet]

having worked in insurance claims, it seems really iffy to do the battery switching..there would have to be a lot of accountability checks..like tracking the batteries etc....but interesting idea

[zippyr1]

but wouldn't swapping batteries be a little dangerous... its all very well if you look after your car and battery, but what if timmy-bad-driver swapped his battery before you and have given his car a bath in a lake! Or just used technical taps to start his car?

Why not put turbines in the front and also use the turning axles to create the energy to recharge, that way it would be renewable and then have battery swaps as well just in case...

That would be much more efficient.

[greendignews]

How do you talk so fast... I'm impressed.

[Redbie72]

<3 I send you love.

[panthera62]

woohoo!

[thelastgoodkiss21]

Using blackle instead of google is another way to be more energy efficient. (:

(Blackle is the same thing as google [as in, it's powered by google search] only the screen is black instead of white so it saves Watt hours.)

[CanadianSliwka]

wow! thanks for that info =)

[ciccarello]

15000 googles = 1 cheese burger

strange math lol

[CoolWWEMoves]

WHAT THE BUCK?

[HornsHoldUpMyHalo]

i love these!

[rileannas]

Great job. I look forward to future videos.

[Nephtys80]

Hmmmmm offsetting your googling impact by forgoing a cheeseburger... the people's version of carbon trading, I like it!

[itsbenJARmin]

oh dear..you really are an embarrassment to people.

[spongah]

rsn3rdz I think you're watching the wrong youtube channel heh this one isn't for you

[somonel]

You know, I was going to write a Shakespearean insult here... but I think itsbenJarmin has put it eloquently enough.

[kgzak]

Electricity isn't as efficient as some people think. Electricity has so much more potential. Gas engines actually generate more energy for the amount of pollution because they have to generate the electricity. You also have to make the batteries which the cars run on.

[cabobs2000]

that electric car model with the battery change station is answering the question what can we do know with today's tech not tomorrows. Israel and Denmark are using it and i think some other countries might use it too but i'm not sure. in Denmark i think there might be a 150% tax on gas gushing cars so i don't think many will buy gas cars after this.

[liz768]

...surely electricity is not solving the problem? how do you make the electricity? and aren't there many hazards involving batteries too?!

[spongah]

you make the electricity with solar and wind power! and the batteries are constantly getting better and greener

[Variaman]

ummm, k u do that

[StoneTemp1Pilot]

I skip lunch every day so i don't feel bad at all.

[REMsleeper428]

I'm glad I'm vegetarian for that. <_<

Not sure about the battery changes, because who is liable for the battery you get-- did you damage it or did they give you a damaged one? But it does seem like a very quick idea.

And paying a bit more for your car isn't as bad as paying so much for so long on gas, PLUS it's HELPS the environment, isn't that more important anyway?

[fakeadam19]

Lots of people are buying hybrids, but isn't it less efficient to run a car carrying essentially two engines instead of one? I say just buy much smaller cars. There are cars over here (Europe) that can get up to 70-80 miles per gallon from smaller more efficient engines.

Could you do a show on hydrogen powered cars maybe?

[GymnastS]

Being a vegetarian has made it so I am a huge stock of google searches piled up. Yay!

[ZFroggirl]

Cool stuff! That batterie operated car looks pretty spiffy!

Zoe

[ReikoSpazz]

The battery swapping idea is weak. 1st, EXPENSIVE to produce and to use. Also, I would be worried about the condition of battery I would receive. Damaged? Who knows.... o_o

And I'm anti-green movement so I'm going to eat 2 cheeseburgers now. MWAHAHAHA! FATMAN!

*~t3h C.

[redheadedbabydoll17]

At the beginning of this video, I kept thinking "Ze Frank!!! It's Ze Frank!!! (Just close your eyes)" Something about the way you were talking.

Anyhoo, I really like this idea, this site, and it's a great way to use your greenscreen. As long as the vlogbrothers keep being funny in other vids, this is a pretty enjoyable way to keep up in green news.

[rudyj2112]

that was pretty interesting, can't wait to see more.

DFTBA

[HoshiHikari]

I'm a little confused about the Google part. So, the carbon exerted from using up the electricity to power the searched is equal to the amount from a cheeseburger, right? Or...something like that?

[kjolana1993]

If what I got was correct. You need to do 15,000 google searches to make up the amount of carbon that goes into one cheesburger.

Or something

[mktranma]

The amount of carbon used to do 15000 Google Searches equals The amount of carbon in a cheeseburger.

[Cakevspie94]

The amount in a cheeseburger, or the amount of carbon it takes to create one?

[ShikoEYV]

It's actually more like if you eat one cheeseburger, it has the same amount of carbon impact as doing 15,000 searches on google.

[HoshiHikari]

Thanks everyone. =)

[madithekilljoy]

The media covered that Google story. REPEATEDLY?

[spot41414]

Being vegetarian, I don't eat cheeseburgers anyway. I'll go without fifteen glasses of orange juice, I guess.

By the way, does Blackle really save WATT hours? It's just a black version of Google.

[EndlessRingOfLight]

I just did mine and it came to something around 33, 993 dollars. Hmmm...now, haha, how will I EVER come up with that ;)

[meow0meow7]

I can see his face in his eye.

[asheyu]

hello fellow eco geek :) please checkout the ZENN MOTOR COMPANY! it's a canadian company who builds cars with zero emissions, and fully runs on electricity! i can't drive yet, but when i can i am totally getting one of those :D

[vlogbrothers]

We've written a bunch about Zenn at EcoGeek. I'm sure we'll cover it more as soon as we have a better idea of what to believe about EEStor.

[papalosopher]

ZENN:

Zero Emissions, No Noise.

I'm super psyched that Canada is building A CAR!  This is the best news since the Bricklin.

Also I predict I will die by being struck by a ZENN. I don't look when I cross the street, I listen. Which is dumb. Bicycles hit me all the time.

[SnivenMcLovin]

meh, my Jetta TDi gets the same or sometimes a better MPG rating compared to the Prius....

Jetta - 52 City / 44 Highway

Prius - 51 City / 48 Highway

...and think it looks better ;)

[JessicaTea]

,,,And my dad made cheeseburgers tonight for dinner, fantastic.

[aicfan85]

wouldn't the batteries that your exchanging cost like ALLOT of money? i mean regular car batteries are kind of pricey. a tank of gas is anywhere from 20-50 dollars.. i imagine a battery exchange would cost at least double that.. although maybe its something you would have to do way less frequently.

[JessicaTea]

Well, I don't see how it would. I mean, if all cars were bulit with these exchangable batteries, it would be a common thing. Batteries aren't really...an everyday thing for all people, so it's a high costing service. I think if it became like what gas is, then you'd be fine. Obviously, since you don't have to fill it up every chance you get, it would be more money to pay up front. look at it like this: one battery every month = how much money people spend on gas a month. It's probably equal.

[5botball]

i love the prius but I think that little bump in the front of the hood is kind of weird looking. it looks like a deformed nipple or something. The honda insight's design is nicer and looks more sporty / streamline.

[ImArielle]

I really want a prius! I think they are beautiful cars and being green is just a huge plus! Unfortunately I already have a car that my parents bought me last summer and have no reason to get rid of it. It's got great gas mileage...better than my old car so I feel less bad about the fact that it is not a hybrid. Hopefully my next car will be the beautiful prius!

[EndlessRingOfLight]

I absolutely love electric cars and want to have one when I get my first car. (Going green is a goal for me) However, I've noticed they have a warning on them that if you get in a crash and rescue crews don't have the right equiptment both of you could die. (The eletrical current) Have you seen this? Do you know how much of a danger it *truly* is?? I mean, I'm not planning on getting in any accidents anytime soon and I want to go green but, I want to be safe too. Has anyone else read about this?

[shawnmarie2004]

Good thing I never eat cheeseburgers. =-)

[lainrosier]

the orange juice and hamburger references at the end confused me a bit, but overall thanks for the information! As for installing new batteries into electric cars, what would they do to the old batteries?

[muffinman684]

um... they charge them?

[thatoneguyyouknow83]

i havent owned or driven a car in 5 years but im getting my license because of the insight---i love that car!

[brudus10]

i like the prius but the thing that is bad with it is acceleration from 0-60, it takes full throttle to merge or pass someone they should work on that.. try passing a F-250 on the highway in a prius its tough.

[jbbremerton]

the environment didn't provide us batteries. it provided oil. we should use the natural thing.

[mynameisyibble]

jbbremerton--but, the natural environment didn't provide us cars, either. It provided us feet. So I suppose we should use the natural thing?

[fly1on1the1wall]

Actually, it provided oil and we turned it into gasoline. Gasoline isn't from the environment either. Neither are cars or air conditioning. Or clothes. You want everything to come straight from the environment? Go join a nudist colony.

And besides all that, the environment doesn't always directly translate into a good thing. Malaria is from the environment. All natural Malaria-who doesn't want that?

And also, oil is running out. Should we use a "natural thing" just to kill it? No.

[JessicaTea]

Exactly, i don't think the world wanted us to use it. It was made with it, so it probably needs it. We have proof that we don't need to have gas and use oil. It just became a popluar demand. That's my view on the matter.

[jbbremerton]

smug alert!

[ilcyra]

I am personally enjoying the center screen shot of this video:-)

[valerie2776]

Excellent. I have stopped eating cheeseburgers recently. For the environment!

[ruri17]

have you heard of that honda that runs on H2O?

[slmallette]

Battery swapping stations are a wonderful idea, but I do have one problem with electric cars -Where do we get the electricity?

If you live in an area that uses renewable power, then electric cars are awesome. However in the US, 49% of our energy is from coal, 21% is nuclear, 18% is natural gas, 2% is petroleum, 7% is hydroelectric, and 3% is renewable.

A coal plant pollutes so you can drive your "clean" prius. I love the idea of 0-emision, but we need to fix your energy system first.

[mynameisyibble]

simallette--what you are saying is completely true. That is why we need to start making electric cars and investing in solar, wind, etc. energy at the same time: reduce emissions from cars AND coal.

[pyro5050]

FORGO A BURGER! heehee, it saddens me to see that the mainstream media has fearmongered people into wondering how much damage the internet is causing in greenhouse gasses, yet they refuse to attack the issues of aresol spray cans, tire tires, and the emmisions caused by various other activites.

[T5seconds]

the main thing i dont like bout the battery staion is how much will that cost me you know

[lindsaylou04]

I am so glad you made this channel! I'm learning so much! The battery swapping station sounds cool, depending on what they want to charge you to do it. If it's not more then the cost of the electricity that I would have to pay for when I plugged in my car, then I'm good.

[thebexperson]

Honestly, I don't google search all that much, but I will forgo cheeseburgers simply because it's better for the earth and my waistline! :D

[sweetlovesong]

i like the idea of switiching the batteries.

and the prius is sooooo beautiful. I can't wait for the day when all the hybrid cars are th norm, not the outrageously expensive new cars.

[SoxJohnny]

the battery gass station sounds sweet

[Cadwaladr]

Ah, now I understand the thing that Alan tweeted earlier about a cheeseburger. Thanks, Hank!

[Tungsten223]

Chevy Volt is also very nice

[autumnraina]

Ahhhhh, guilt-free Googling. Excellent.

[Emgorse]

Thanks again for the Information. I found the

Battery changer and the Google Energy numbers

to be the most interesting part of the Vlog. Keep

up the good work.

Eric

[kinginsanity1990]

I WILL NEVER GIVE UP CHEESEBURGERS EVERRRRRR!!!!!!! lol

[JorickHorn]

I like the ending. Great work, Hank!

[renglish225]

Hank, do you think the benefits of hybrid technology outweigh the negative impact of the nickel batteries?

Thanks!

[staticbb]

What if I were to tell you there is a solution right here in america.

A battery that has a range almost 3 times that of your typical ICE engine per full tank. And at a cost comparable to ICE engines so prices wouldn't change.

Man I can't wait.

[braggmac]

I think the idea of battery switching is pretty inventive. I am unsure of how they will market the reliability and security of it. I think they will have to combat the notice of 'my battery' vs 'someone else's battery' and the insecurity this may invite. But I do feel ideas like this will help move us in the right direction, especially if these station are recharging batteries using solar or wind power.

[IJethrobot]

Great show, once again.

I heard from someone that keeping your old car, despite its bad mileage is better than the impact of buying a new Prius (i.e. using new resources to make a new car, creating a new lithium-ion battery and having to replace it regularly).

I'm not sure what to think about this. I would think that buying a Prius and driving it enough would soon offset those costs.

~ Jethro.

[falletron]

This was very good! :D I liked how it was quite streamlined - you covered enough topics in enough detail, and it didn't feel too long.

[fallofautumndistro]

I wish I could deign my next Spectra.

[RoboFillet]

Hank you legend! These videos are great =)

[DukeofYar]

I don't eat cheeseburgers, so I'm good.

[wingnutamj]

So basically, you can run your house on 200 cheeseburgers a month (7 a day)?

[vlogbrothers]

I suspect you could. Foods like cheeseburgers have a crazy high carbon footprint, because meat and cheese are inherently inefficient. -John

[wingnutamj]

Yeah, becoming a vegetarian is on my to-do list. Really puts it in perspective. Yay for data!

[mldnathai]

Hank, you can use that new green screen toy of yours to show the difference in carbon output between driving to different places and cycling/taking public transportation. between the same two places.

You could do a split screen and show the clock and the cabonometer superimposed over the two videos; On one side, you driving there, and on the other side, you biking/ training there.

Or you could make it a race between you and John! Points are added for carbon emmissions spared!

[cookie4monster4]

That's a really good idea! Hank should do it :D

[Starlysh]

I like the battery changing stations. Initially, I thought it was cool. And it could provide jobs for building and running them. However, it sounds like it would be a pricey battery change. Would it be the price of a tank of gas?

The build-a-Prius sounds fun. If only there were a purple option. I like purple.

And Google should not be to blame. There are SO many search engines on the internet.

[AequitasVJ]

I could really go for a glass of oj about now.

[DeaconSnacks]

My initial reaction to these battery stations is the curiosity of what would happen to the batteries that would eventually die out. Would they be easy to recycle, or something that would take ages to decompose?

LOVE the channel Hank!

[randiriel]

I just wanted to know that while I was already doing things like composting and becoming a locavore, you, Hank Green, and ecogeek have made me significantly MORE aware of my envoironmental and carbon impact on the world. So I wanted to thank you for making me a more green person.

[SarahEZiegler]

Wow, three Hank videos in one day, awesome.

[ThisIsVictor]

I'm worried about the average persons patience. Two minutes isn't a long time when you're pumping gas. But it could be a really long time to just sit there doing nothing while the battery changes. Which the car off, so no radio.

Also, people driving their car into the big hole in the ground? And that system has a lot of moving parts that could break, rendering the whole changing station unusable.

I think it's a great idea, just playing devils advocate and thinking up flaws.

--Victor

[RachaelF27]

I guess, as a vegetarian, I can google search 24/7 for the rest of my life. Sweet!

I would so want the new prius, except that I freaking love my Honda Fit.

[frankodelic]

use the website blackle instead of google to save electricity.

it's a google search, the only difference is the screen is black. black screen means less energy spent powering your monitor :)

[GotZah]

Not completely true. Blackle helps more with CRT monitors, but with LCD monitors, it's not really much of a difference. In fact, LCD monitors still use energy to display the color black.

[frankodelic]

With current battery tech range is around 200 miles and charge time as low as ten minutes.

Why would you need battery swaping stations. Battery tech will surely advance further long before a nationwide grid of battery swapping stations could be developed.

[vulcanbirdbrain]

(completely irrelevant -for which I apologize- but...)

gotta love that video thumbnail!

xD

(I would find it kind of difficult to say anything particularly relevant anyways as I absolutely refuse to drive- terrified of it...guess that's my way of helping out the environment though :)

-riding a c.1970's yellow Schwinn Supersport I overhauled myself instead... much more pleasant)

oh! and happy belated birthday yOU! =P ...oi.I'm terribly off topic now :/

[WerewolfActivist]

My primary concern would be the availability of the changing stations across the country. Though other than that, it sounds pretty neat. That was the first major thing that came to mind.

[mldnathai]

The battery sucking thing is just an excuse to charge us more. Recharging a battery that remains intact would be much more efficient, both ecologically and economically.

The companies that are offering these options now are the same ones who killed the electric car 15 years ago. It's all about them. They need to control us.

Just ride a bycicle or take a train. It's really not that hard.

[mynameischrisyeah]

What the Buck - Eco Style! =]

[WerewolfActivist]

Exactly my thought!

[jsbrink21]

Hmmm...I'm going to have to say that keeping all that information on the net and providing an easy avenue to access that info is more carbon friendly than printing all the books the world would otherwise need; the actual books the info would be in, reference materials, etc.

[DontMindManda]

I'm so glad you're doing these vlogs now. This is the perfect way for me to keep up with green technology! By the end of the day all I want to do is curl up on the couch, not have to search the internet for news stories.  Now I can just check YouTube and be updated! So thank you, Hank. I appreciate it. I can always count on you to be educational AND entertaining.

[bummercucumber]

This channel has so much potential!

[GypsyCupcakes]

My cheeseburger has a lot of delicious carbon.

[mldnathai]

Doesn't Google have a plan to make all their datacenters seabourne abourd vessels that harness the waves to generate power to run them?

I eat cheeseburgers, but I make them myself from 93% lean beef that is local and organic.

I don't care about the caloric value. I ride a bycicle everywhere, so I'm still prety lean and mean at 43.

I really think bycicles are the solution to both of the issues presented here tonight, Hank.

Thanks!

DFTBA!

Bob

[punkedup88]

I'm amused that people JUST realized that, oh crap google searches take up electricity. Lame-ass story indeed.

[YamiChippy]

I think I'm going to like this ecogeek thing :D

In other news, I have been dying to own a prius since my mom when shopping for a highlander a few years ago and I discovered my soul mate vehicle on the lot. Since then, whenever I see one on the road, I give a small sigh of longing and continue on.

[balcombe426]

Okay so question... what is the deal with the manufacturing and disposal of the batteries of these new electric cars? I haven't had time time to dig through the eco-geek site lately so i'm curious if any anyone has written or found any articles about this whole deal. Lately i've been hearing so many people saying "oh hybrids and electric cars aren't the answer because the batteries are worse than oil" etc etc.. thoughts?

[crimsong19]

The design-a-Prius things looks really cool! Thanks, Hank!

[owlssayhooot]

My dad is turning in his Lexus for a Prius! :) I'm excited.

[8Tails]

Wow. Google really know how to make a comeback. :P

[superj0kes]

i need a car :(

and interesting about the google searching stuff. didn't know that. (i mean, obviously it takes energy, but i didn't know people were upset about it)

[RefusetoListen]

o awesome, i love these vids.

[KaylaCakes87]

way to put that new green screen to good use!

Its kinda weird to see Hank nonvlogbrothery but I still approve!

AWESOME! I'm a vegetarian! Google can't blame me! lol

[GoHiltyGo]

Hi Hank. I like Google. I like you. Do you like me?

[hybridserpent]

yaay more learning from Hank!

[mldnathai]

Dude, What are you doing new videos like, every 3 hours now?

Cool!

[superj0kes]

second :D

[reformedklepto]

I need to borrow 30,000 dollars. : D

[mldnathai]

HaHa!

Congratulations on making the first coment intelligent and witty.

But, you know our entire economic system is based on making ordinary folks like us go into debt. It's the only thing that gives our money any value.