Article 2: Cars

E = EC² ? (Electric = Efficient Cars)

With electric vehicles appearing to be the car of the future I can’t help but ask, are we ready for them? I was recently reading an article on CBS News which argues we aren’t. The article points out many well known facts which makes me worry about our compulsive bet on electric cars. The first being obvious but yet often ignored, electric cars are powered by the grid. It’s a simple fact that has many implications. For example what if the grid is powered by primarily Coal energy? Well according to the University of Minnesota electric cars, “produce 3.6 times more soot and smog deaths than those powered by gas” and “They also are greater producers of heat-trapping carbon dioxide that worsens global warming”. With countries such as Asia, China and India, focusing so heavily on coal energy and the demand of electric cars being stimulated by countries such as the US and Europe will we find ourselves doing more harm than good? Also here in the US we are still very dependent on coal as an energy source, according the EIA, in 2013 39% of the country’s electricity was produced using coal power. What this means is 39% of the cars that where powered by coal in the US where doing more harm to the environment than good. This also makes me wonder just how sustainable the product life cycle for electric cars is but I’m sure that’s a topic for another post!

Now I’m not trying to say electric cars are going to doom us all, in-fact they could very well be our transportation savior (Which I’m sure Elon Musk would agree on). It just that I’m hesitant about the possible impacts of everyone driving electric cars because they presume they are more sustainable when in fact a clean diesel might serve a better purpose for the time being (until we utilize more green energy). I should point out that the study also says that when power from the grid is supplied by natural gases the electric car only produces half has much pollution and even less when it is produced from wind, water or wave energy. Consumers could also take actions into their own hand and take the electric cars off the grid using their own solar panels or other sources. What do you think?

Link love

Main article

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/think-electric-cars-are-truly-green-not-if-their-power-comes-from-coal/#postComments

US coal consumption 2013

http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_1_01

Great Top Gear short on emissions (normal cars)