Posted on 12/16/2014 6:32:44 AM PST by rktman
“...driving fat drunks around...”
Too late for Ted Kennedy to benefit.
Due to new regulations, including subsidies for wind and solar, the cost of electricity is going way up. Due to American innovation and private investment, the cost of gasoline is going way down. States are threatening to tax cars by the mile rather than by the gallon, so electric cars will be caught within the government web.
The economics of an electric car are way worse than they were a year ago.
And that doesn't even consider the increase in food prices because of arable land being diverted to feedstock for ethanol.
On a per-acre basis, corn only produces half the ethanol that can be produced from sugar cane. Economically, it's not viable without government subsidies and mandates.
My eyes!!!! Make it stop!
Down here in Fl we have lots of golf carts on the roads!
Electric vehicles are great for limited circumstances. I I lived in a city and didn't need to travel out much it would be great. No need to find gas stations.
Also, electric cars transfer the pollution from the city out to the country.
OTOH, I don't live in a crowded city and I enjoy my V8 beast. Looking to trade next year for ....
Here’s the problem: electric cars don’t have the range on a per charge basis compared to gasoline-fueled, let alone diesel-fueled, vehicles.
I drive a Honda Fit and get nearly 40 mpg on the freeway on 87 octane unleaded gasoline—and this is a regular drivetrain. Small wonder why Volkswagen has trouble keeping their diesel-powered Golf and Jetta models in stock.
Not to mention the corrosive nature and the increase in cost to us for some dang corn flakes for breakfast.
Study: Your All-Electric Car May Not Be So Green
That article has a typical click-bait headline, but it turns out the key word is “may”. It only applies to the states that use coal the most, like West Virginia, Wyoming, Ohio, North Dakota, and Illinois.
Since coal makes up only a minority of electricity production in the nation overall, and since the majority is produced by sources much cleaner than coal (like natural gas, nuclear, and hydro), the conclusions in this article do not apply to the vast majority of the country.
So yes, your electric car may not be so green, but only if you live in one of those six states.
Further reading: New Study Doesn't Say ‘Electric Cars Aren't Green’ (Headlines To The Contrary)
Study Finds All-Electric Cars Aren’t Very Green At All
...
Maybe I’ll get one then.
“Since coal makes up only a minority of electricity production in the nation overall”
Coal is still the major source of energy for electricity production at 39%.
http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=427&t=3
The other 60% are from energy sources that are much cleaner than coal: natural gas, nuclear, hydro, and a smidgen of renewables.
This article is based on the idea of getting all your electricity from coal, which is only comes close to being true in the six states I listed.
It should be noted that the entire eastern part of the country is interconnected into a single grid. There's also a Western interconnect, and a Texas interconnect, and even the three major grids should be connected soon by Tres Amigas.
My point: the electricity generator closest to you doesn't necessarily generate the "electrons" that you use. Even if you select a specific power generator (which is possible in Texas), all that generator does is "pour" power into the "river", which you use somewhere "downstream".
(Yes, that's a poor analogy. But, it's close enough for this discussion).
Maybe someone can find the proportions of power generation, by type of fuel, on each grid. But for all practical purposes, the entire US is a reasonable way to aggregate it. And as someone has already pointed out: only about 39% of total US electricity generation is from coal.
40% is a rather significant minority. Some might even call it a plurality.
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