Posted on 06/27/2015 7:21:39 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Is that electric car in the driveway — yes, that one with the long cord tethering it to the inside of the garage — a sign of deep environmental concern and human goodness? Or is it an indication that someone has been duped?
A growing body of evidence shows that electric cars are more harmful to the environment than comparable fossil-fuel burners. The latest is a study — "Environmental Benefits From Driving Electric Vehicles?" — out this month from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The study's authors — economics and business professors — say that "rather than simply accepting the assertion of environmental benefits from electric vehicle use," they conducted "a rigorous comparison of the environmental consequences of gasoline and electric powered vehicles, specifically by quantifying the externalities (both greenhouse gases and local air pollution) generated by driving these vehicles."
This rigorous comparison determined that electric cars, despite the hype, aren't as environmentally clean as gasoline-powered cars.
This shouldn't be a complete surprise, given that much of the electricity used to charge electric cars is generated by coal plants, which produce 39% of the nation's electricity. The next biggest producer is natural gas, another fossil fuel, which churns out 27% of our power. Nor is this the first time electric cars' dirty little secret has been uncovered.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
You did not include the CO2 required to mine and transport the coal to the power plant.
Head winds and water on the pavement also reduce range. In my part of the country, I suspect a Tesla S is a 2nd or 3rd car. When they need to go on a trip, they jump into their Mercedes S class.
Plus whatever spew is necessary for fabrication in the first place.
“Did you read Oath of Fealty?”
I’m pretty sure I’ve read it and that I’ve seen a copy of it around here, but I don’t specifically remember it. I won’t say I’ve read all of Niven’s writing, but I’ve read a lot of it over the years. My paperback copy of “Ringworld” has a price of 95 cents from when I bought it new.
And then there’s the fact that I’ve been known to buy multiple copies of something, not remembering that I’ve read it till I get started on the new copy :)
O of F was Niven/Pournelle.
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