Trying to decide if you should buy a hybrid to do your bit for the environment? The decision just got more complicated.
A new study shows that over the lifetime of a vehicle-from the moment it is conceptualized at a design studio until it ends up in the scrap heap-hybrids actually consume a lot more energy than even big SUVs. One reason is that hybrids contain more moving parts than conventional vehicles, which require more energy to manufacture and process. In addition to an internal combustion engine, for instance, hybrids also have an electric motor and a sizable battery pack. That adds to disposal costs, too, once the car has run its last mile-especially for the lead-acid batteries.
Earth Changes
Click here to see the cartoon.
Geneva - Ethiopian children are facing a new threat after two years of drought because recent rainfall has increased the risk of lethal disease, the United Nations children's aid agency UNICEF said Friday.
Brujerd, Iran - Iranian authorities were battling Saturday to provide shelter and aid for thousands of people left homeless by a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in the west of the country that killed 70 people.
Amid fears of aftershocks, survivors of Friday's pre-dawn earthquake in the west of Lorestan province -- which also injured at least 1,265 -- spent the night in the cold open air as they awaited the distribution of relief items.
Amid fears of aftershocks, survivors of Friday's pre-dawn earthquake in the west of Lorestan province -- which also injured at least 1,265 -- spent the night in the cold open air as they awaited the distribution of relief items.
PRAGUE - Swollen rivers and floodwaters forced thousands of people across Central Europe to leave their homes and there were fears melting snow could make matter worse.
In the Czech Republic the death toll from the floods rose to at least four after police announced Sunday they had found the body of a drowned pensioner in the centre of the country. A further two people have lost their lives in neighbouring Slovakia.
In the Czech Republic the death toll from the floods rose to at least four after police announced Sunday they had found the body of a drowned pensioner in the centre of the country. A further two people have lost their lives in neighbouring Slovakia.
HONOLULU - Hawaii residents awoke to sun this weekend after more than 40 days of downpours that left a wake of havoc across the islands and broke records for rain at the wettest place on Earth.
Nearly 92 inches - or about 7 1/2 feet - of rain were recorded during March at Mount Waialeale, considered the rainiest spot on the planet. The previous record was about 90 inches in April 1971, according to the National Weather Service.
Nearly 92 inches - or about 7 1/2 feet - of rain were recorded during March at Mount Waialeale, considered the rainiest spot on the planet. The previous record was about 90 inches in April 1971, according to the National Weather Service.
DYERSBURG, Tenn. - Severe storms swept across the Midwest on Sunday, killing at least 14 people in Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois, officials said.
Local emergency officials reported eight deaths in west Tennessee's Dyer County, and three in neighboring Gibson County, said Kurt Pickering, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Details on the deaths weren't immediately available.
Local emergency officials reported eight deaths in west Tennessee's Dyer County, and three in neighboring Gibson County, said Kurt Pickering, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Details on the deaths weren't immediately available.
FARGO, N.D. - Heavy rains combined with snowmelt around the Red River sparked flooding that endangered homes, washed out roadways and killed at least one woman, officials said. In Indiana, storms dropped golfball-sized hail and residents reported seeing tornadoes.
HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. - The body of a melon-headed whale, rarely found in Florida waters, washed ashore this week hours after four others were found dead or had to be euthanized because scientists determined they were too sick to be saved.
Prague - Authorities across eastern Europe declared flood alerts on Thursday amid fears that rivers swollen by a sudden spring thaw could spill over in a repetition of the disastrous east European inundation of 2002.
Six people in the region, including two children, were reported killed by the raging waters and a teenager was reported missing in Romania. In Eastern Slovakia, a four-year old Roma boy fell into a stream and drowned and a 61-year-old man was found drowned at Modra in the southwest, the authorities said.
Six people in the region, including two children, were reported killed by the raging waters and a teenager was reported missing in Romania. In Eastern Slovakia, a four-year old Roma boy fell into a stream and drowned and a 61-year-old man was found drowned at Modra in the southwest, the authorities said.
