Scooters Vs. Hummers: Which Pollutes More?

usnews.com:

Corrected 4/13/09: The Chicago Reader article cited in this blog overstated the prevalence of two-stroke engines in scooters. Four-stroke engines, which are more prevalent, run cleaner.

SUVs are bad, etc. etc.: this much we know. But could downgrading to a sleek scooter be worse for the environment than an SUV? This was a question posed to the Chicago Reader's Straight Dope column, on the basis that a two-stroke engine pollutes more in an hour than a car does all week. So should the smug Vespa-riding friend of the author give up and get a 4Runner? Not so fast.

Scooters do pollute more than cars. Straight Dope's Cecil Adams says they can legally emit "5.7 times more CO than cars, nearly 24 times more unburned hydrocarbons, and infinitely more NOx [Nitrogen oxides]--and real-world testing suggests they do run pretty dirty."

Read the whole story: usnews.com

Comments

[Roger Sun]

Just because you quote another newspaper doesn't mean your assertion has any value. Freshman wannabe plagiarists learn this lesson the hard way. How do they even measure pollution? Emissions by mile? Per gallon? Per ton?

[plantguy]

This article is a waste of time.

[DRaymond]

Oh, and then of course there are 4 stroke scooters and motorcycles with catalytic converters and pollution controls. But that wouldn't make for a pithy article, would it?

[xstevejx]

If I really didn't like scooters w/ a passion, I'd write a negative article about them too! ;-)

[forpeace]

*

That is not true, another misleading article.

*

[MikeDu]

I recall 2-stroke motorcycles being pretty much banned in the U.S. during the Reagan administration due to pollution. That being said, those nasty little 2-stroke motors on leaf blowers do produce more pollution than several diesel trucks. So bad that L.A. had to take measures to limit their use.

But 'pollution is not the same as CO2. A Vespa can go 70 miles(?) on a gallon of 'hydrocarbons', a Hummeer closer to 7.

[BearsLeft]

Crap article written by a lazy woman who didn't even bother to leave the house for a second source.

[Snuffleupagus]

Yes. As if there is only one type of gas powered scooter.
There are hundreds of scooters around the world. And yes, some made for China and Vietnam are super cheap and big polluters. But there are numerous advanced gas, hybrid and electric which are a huge change from cars, and a big move to the green side of life.

A simplistic negative article like this smells way worse than bio diesel made from poop.

[quiviran]

Vacuous and poorly researched.

[PlayTOE]

Taking the worst scooter and pretending it is typical is disingenuous.

Yes, there are some 2 stroke scooters but there are also 4 stroke scoots .. the article should have given the reader a heads up on the differences.

Also, and more important, there are ELECTRIC scooters (I have one) that are great but which could be much much better if the regulations on them were changed and upgraded to take advantage of technology.

[dengal]

There are a few 2 strokes being produced but as of 2008 they had to meet much higher emission standards to get their epa/dot approvals. Most importers went to a 4 stroke engine.
How old is this info? Did the author research anything?

Most have also changed from air cooled to water cooled, carb to fuel injection. Scooters have changed a lot recently and are no longer the slow polluters they are accused of being.

In addition, a Hummer gets what 7 mpg, a typical 49cc scooter gets 80 or more. Is the cost to the environment of refining and processing and transporting all that gas considered? This isnt really a fair or accurate comparison. Its incomplete and misleading

[mathme]

As a two-stroke vespa rider, I know that it pollutes like mad (a bit worse than a bus), but I love it. However, 4-stroke scoots do NOT pollute like this and I know only a handfull of 2 stroke vespa riders. Hell, there are way more 2 stroke dirt bikes out there that get worse mileage and don't even get anyone anywhere (around and around a track nets you 0).

[SFTor]

I might be interesting to point out that a Prius, as it sits on the showroom floor, has a carbon footprint in excess of a same-size gasoline cars equal to 1,000 gallons of gasoline. It's the production of the battery that causes this additional carbon overhead.

[prius04]

Do you have a source for this? Because if it's from the CNW Marketing study that came out a few years ago, that study was shown to be full of bunk.

[JohnPlayerSpecial]

Yes, two-stroke engines do emit more pollutants; however, the great majority of the two-stroke models have already been phased out in favor of the cleaner-burning four-strokes. For any of you who want to learn more about scooters, try this link:

http://www.bloggernews.net/117235

Please note: the link to Tiddlerosis in the above mentioned article is outdated. This site has been moved here:

http://tiddlerosis.blogspot.com/

Tiddlerosis is all about the history and restoration of small motorcycles and scooters from 1955-75 and The Cheap Chinese Scooter Phenomenon is about the low-priced transportation modules of today. Thank you.

[humble liberty]

Pfft, everybody knows that creation energy only makes up... most of the energy an item uses... oops, too true.

Everybody go buy a new hybrid, don't drive old 2003 cars! Blech! Oh buy an SUV hybrid, yeaaaa.

[DoverCam]

This whole story is based on a false premise.*All* Vespas sold today have 4 stroke motors. You'll need to find another justification for your SUV obsessions...

[mathme]

Do you mean 2 stroke?