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Toyota Uses Green Thumb Techniques to Offset CO2 Emissions
Green cars have been taking the world by storm. There are: hybrids, electric, ethanol, hydrogen, solar, biodiesel and others, all with their own unique features. How many of these companies do you know of that actually give back to the environment, or rather, try to form a genuine give-and-take relationship with the environment? Well, you’ll soon be aware of one, and it’s certainly no surprise.
Used under license from Shutterstock.com
Toyota has taken another big, green step towards eco-friendliness. They may be the first car company ever to be involved with plant engineering. That’s right, Toyota has engineered not one, but two new species of plant; derived from cherry sage and gardenia. Why in the world would a car company be involved with plant engineering? I’ll tell you, and I don’t know why they didn’t think of this sooner.
The plants were created for one main purpose: to absorb nitrogen oxides and remove heat from the atmosphere, thus offsetting CO2 emissions. Of course, they don’t offset any old carbon emissions; these plants are specifically designed for the Prius production at Toyota’s Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan.
How can these plants do such a thing? Well, the leaves of the cherry sage derivative are able to absorb harmful gases, while the gardenia’s leaves can make water vapor to reduce surface temperatures of the factory. Anyone who follows the work of the Toyota company will certainly be aware that these plants or cars like the Prius are not their first attempts at “being green”. Over the years, they have used solar panels to generate electricity at their plants and photocatalytic paint to absorb harmful gases. They have reduced their CO2 emissions by 55% in the last two decades, and have even planted 50,000 trees to help offset carbon emissions even more.
I am an eternal pedestrian. I have no desire or intention to ever own or drive a car (or even to get a license); and I fully support campaigns like the World Carfree Network. But if I were to recommend a car, I’d probably start with Toyota. They’ve done more for the environment than a lot of their competitors. Now, if someone could figure out how to eliminate the issue of roadkill or deforestation, I may finally be swayed from my pedestrian ways; but I doubt that will happen in my lifetime.
By Heidi Marshall
Tags: green cars, offset CO2 emissions, Toyota
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