汽车业严防死守的秘密

    推广电动车时，要呼吁客户“采取正确做法”可并不容易。威特金说，首先，汽车回收利用业不会为了公众利益而设法谋求进步；他们的所作所为都有明确的商业利益考虑。据汽车回收协会称，汽车回收业年净销售额高达320亿美元。威特金表示：“汽车业的废旧零部件市场总是兴旺发达的。各厂商之所以会用大量金属、玻璃和易回收材料纯属偶然。汽车其实太容易拆解了，让人难以置信。”他想补充说明的是，汽车业回收利用的做法绝非刻意为之，不是一种集体努力。

    并不是说汽车业需要具备拯救地球的高尚意图。钢铁要实现持续开采不是不可能，但难度很大，因此钢铁可以被回收利用再次牟利。美国地质调查局（The United States Geological Survey）1月称，汽车回收业从报废车上回收了1,550多万吨钢，大概相当于1,190万辆汽车的价值。

    但是，这个行业可能还是有不想自曝家丑的地方。据美国环保署（EPA）称，因为汽车回收企业的存在，有2,500万吨废旧汽车材料没倒进垃圾填埋场。也就是说，有500万吨被拆解捣碎了。被捣碎机处理过的这500万吨肥料包括各种无法重复利用的材料：纤维、塑料、玻璃、橡胶和各类金属。

    一旦汽车企业看起来有违环保目标，就有可能招致消费者的强烈抗议。比如，2002年福特汽车（Ford）为它位于底特律的胭脂河工厂建成了一个生态屋顶。可是，宣传这个屋顶却引来了大家一片反对声——因为福特同时还在与加州的燃油里程数法规大搞拉锯战，而这个法规本来是旨在控制温室气体排放的。奥尔森表示，环保团体因此认为福特言行不一，虚伪至极，因此对它大加抨击。

    从长远看，如果汽车企业能生产出油耗更低的车，同时美国消费者发现这些企业的环保作为更令人信服的话，那他们再推销自己的环保目标时就会容易些。

    麻烦在于，用来生产使用代用燃料汽车的各种新材料可能会使回收过程变得更为复杂。威特金称：“混合动力的燃料电池或任何使用非化石燃料的车回收利用起来都非常困难，而且可能含有更多的有毒物质。”

    不过，他补充道，欧盟正在通过一项法令，使汽车企业对产品的整个生命周期负责。因此汽车业需要不仅能生产出效率更高的车，还要能让汽车在送到报废场时保持环保。（财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    Appealing to "the right thing to do" is tough in this case. First of all, says Wertkin, the auto recycling industry didn't evolve for the public good; there was a solid business case for the effort. According to the Automotive Recycler's Association, the car recycling industry nets $32 billion in sales annually. "There's always been a thriving used part market in automotives," Wertkin says. "By happenstance, they use a ton of metal and glass and easily recyclable stuff. Cars are unbelievably dismantle-able," he adds, which is a coincidence, not a concerted effort.

    Not that the industry needs to have the best intentions to help the Earth. Steel, which is difficult if not impossible to mine sustainably, can be repurposed for a profit. The United States Geological Survey reported in January that the automotive recycling industry recycled more than 15.5 million tons of steel from junked cars, which is about 11.9 million vehicles' worth.

    But there is still a messy underbelly that the industry might not want to highlight. According to the EPA, auto recyclers prevent 25 million tons of materials from reaching landfills. That being said, 5 million tons still get trashed. Those 5 million tons consist of everything sent through the shredder that can't be reused: fabrics, plastics, glass, rubber, and various metals.

    Companies can invite consumer backlash when they seem to have conflicting green goals. For example, in 2002, Ford (F) completed a green roof for its River Rouge factory near Detroit. But efforts to promote its green roof generated negative responses -- the company was also, simultaneously, fighting gas mileage regulation in California, which was intended to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental groups came down hard on Ford for what they saw as hypocrisy, says Olson.

    Going forward, car companies will have an easier time promoting their green goals as they make cars that burn less fossil fuels, and the American consumer finds green efforts more compelling.

    The catch is that an influx of materials used to build cars that burn alternative fuel might complicate the recycling process. "Hybrid fuel cells or any non-fossil fuel vehicles are way more difficult to recycle and reuse and reclaim, and have many more potentially toxic substances," says Wertkin.

    But, he adds, as with consumer electronics, the European Union is passing regulation that holds car companies accountable for the entire lifecycle of the product. The industry will need to figure out not only how to make more efficient cars, but how to keep them green once they hit the junkyard.