/sci/ - Science & Math

>>6534978
Do you think you're correcting me with those links?

>http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/clean_vehicles/electric-car-global-warming-emissions-report.pdf
I just took pic related from this link.

When you're driving it, the Nissan Leaf, a compact car, gets the CO2-emission-equivalent of 30 MPG if charged by coal-powered electricity. That doesn't account for the additional energy cost of its manufacture and disposal, charge loss while parked, or the non-CO2 pollution released by burning coal.

30 MPG is certainly respectable, but it's not better than other, less expensive, less energy-intensive to manufacture, more capable cars which run on gasoline.

54 MPG (if the power comes from natural gas) is considerably better, but still not a significant improvement on (non-plug-in) hybrids, which are less expensive, less energy-intensive to manufacture, and more capable than all-electrics with useful range.

Now, realistically, how is the additional load of your individual electric car going to be met, during its lifetime? They're not going to deploy more solar panels or windmills. They're not going to build a new nuclear plant for you. They're going to burn more coal, natural gas, or oil for each mile you drive your car.

Electric cars currently only represent a hope of reduced emissions, because our grid responds to additional load by burning more fossil fuels, often in a much dirtier way than cars do.