Of course there is. First off, having an electric car will be cheaper than having a gasoline-based vehicle. Even though gas prices are dropping, an average tank runs around $4.00, while its only $1.00 to recharge an electric car for the same amount of energy. Not only that, but car batteries are getting 10% cheaper by the year, while gas prices are only going to get worse. (http://cleantalk.org/2008/09/in-2020-your-ride-will-be-electric/). Auto makers know that electric cars will become more popular as people will want cars that are cheaper to power in the long-term. Chrysler promised last month that they will be releasing three of their popular models in electric mode within a decade. (http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4284293.html)
Each of us is only able to do our part. If all of us try every day to do something to save the earth, the air and our fellow man, than the future is all the better for it. Eventually there will be no coal plants, but the will still determine if our efforts now are fruitful or if we are just spinning our wheels.
It is a good transistional solution---the shift from petroleum-based energy to truly clean fuels and other energies which reduce greenhouse emissions and energy consumption is a process with inevitable ineffeiciencies. Clean coal and safe nuclear energy production, fuel-cell (hydrogen), and bio-based energy sources will require time, $ and brains to fully realize, and the electic car as it now runs is I think worth the contribution.
An electric car is one of the few options that will just get cleaner and greener as the grid decreases reliance on coal and relies more on renewable energy. The answer also depends on where you live. If you live in California you already have little reliance on coal, while in other places the story is often quite different.
Without considering the full impact of "green" alternatives, we risk the ever present spate of unintended consequences. In many areas, one can subscribe to electric providers that use most or all renewable energy. This rewards those providers and encourages further development of green energy sources. While I won't go so far as to say that electric car owners that use coal powered electricity are duplicitous, I think we need to consider the full consequences of our decisions.
Having said all that, I do have one beef with the "green energy" companies. In Texas, we have full choice of quite a number of providers; but the "green" producers seem to outpace their coal and gas competitors in terms of rates - we always seem to pay a premium for green energy. I've never thought very much of the renewable energy producers that keep their rates above the rates of the carbon based providers just because they can.
OK - electric vehicles-good; green electric power for them-better.
One other concern, when we all get electic cars, how will the transmission infrastructure handle the load? Will there be enough capacity during off (evening) hours to handle all of the vehicle battery recharging?
This is just one more example of the need to consider all of the effects.
The bottom line is this. We all need to start doing our share. We all need to ride our bikes more, walk more, recycle more, read more, drive less. We need to start living in homes that are environmentally friendly and that are not so far from work, school and other needs. We can't expect one solution to be the answer for all our needs. We did that with coal and look where that got us. It took millions of years of vegetation and decaying matter to get the coal that we have and we have used up most of it in mere decades. We need to stop complaining that we are bored when we have television, movies and video games to keep us entertained. Some people don't even have water to drink or food to eat, and here we are complaining that we don't have enough leg room when we fly the "unfriendly" skies. Live more, use less. Start becoming aware of your surroundings and lets all try and do our part instead of blaming it on one another.
Yes, if you live in countries that are reducing the amount of electricity they generate from coal and other fossil fuels and even more so if you are smart enough to add solar to your house and charge the car using that.
Is there any study on the amount of CO2 emitted by a gasolene car over the same distance vs. the amount of CO2 emitted by the coal plant the electricity the electric car uses?
Like Jeffrey Garten, I think we are close to another "strategic inflection point" (a moment when the basis for strategy changes, requiring a fundamental course correction.) Few argue against further investment in renewable energy. Buying an electric car helps us inch ever closer that goal by utilizing proven technologies. While moving from gas cars to electric cars is a good first step, it’s not enough. We need a fundamental course correction. Individuals need to get caught up in wanting to solve the problems of the world. The question is how do we get there? I believe it needs to start in our school system. We need the next batch of great engineers and business leaders to rise up to the challenge and help solve the problems we face. What if the race to produce clean, renewable energy took off like the dot-com boom? Not only would it help spur the global economy and help lift us out of our current economic crisis, but also it would move us one step closer to reducing our damaging impact on the environment.
Of course. The coal fired plants aren't in the town and city centres, cars are. If you can't help save the world, you can at least help the air in your part of it.
of course there is. Coal and oil fired plants take days to shutdown and restart, so they are cut back at night to idle status. Electric cars capture that otherwise wasted energy and store it in batteries.
Generally, all energy generated at night is wasted: coal, nuclear, wind, hydro. However, the Germans are experimenting with using wind power to lift water into a lake behind a dam. While lossy, the system allows them to use the lake as a battery to store energy and then recapture it when that water is released through a hydro electric plant.
You might want to note that Europe is totally bypassing hybrids in favor of electric and their biggest energy resource is coal. There is no getting rid of coal but at least we can reduce our dependence on it. Think of all the resources that small electric cars will save. They all add up to a cleaner environment and a smaller cost to the consumer.
Not many fact based answers here. "do your share" and "make the world a better place" seem to be the consensus response, with perhaps a "motivate big companies to do the right thing". This is certainly not how business decisions are made. If your car is plugged up to a windmill. then it will likely improve the environment.. well as long as you take care of disposing of all of those batteries.
As coal fired electricity will be with us for the next 200 years.. you are not making any impact if you are hooked up to a coal fired plant. So the net is your car type is not as important as the generation and your travel habits.
So what is the new green religion called where I don't have to live by facts, but by green faith?
15 Total
October 9, 2008 at 9:50am by Rachel King
Of course there is. First off, having an electric car will be cheaper than having a gasoline-based vehicle. Even though gas prices are dropping, an average tank runs around $4.00, while its only $1.00 to recharge an electric car for the same amount of energy. Not only that, but car batteries are getting 10% cheaper by the year, while gas prices are only going to get worse. (http://cleantalk.org/2008/09/in-2020-your-ride-will-be-electric/). Auto makers know that electric cars will become more popular as people will want cars that are cheaper to power in the long-term. Chrysler promised last month that they will be releasing three of their popular models in electric mode within a decade. (http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4284293.html)
October 9, 2008 at 9:54am by david wayne osedach
One good reason is economy. Another, what is the alternative?
October 9, 2008 at 11:19am by Megan DaGata
Each of us is only able to do our part. If all of us try every day to do something to save the earth, the air and our fellow man, than the future is all the better for it. Eventually there will be no coal plants, but the will still determine if our efforts now are fruitful or if we are just spinning our wheels.
October 9, 2008 at 1:07pm by Bailey King
It is a good transistional solution---the shift from petroleum-based energy to truly clean fuels and other energies which reduce greenhouse emissions and energy consumption is a process with inevitable ineffeiciencies. Clean coal and safe nuclear energy production, fuel-cell (hydrogen), and bio-based energy sources will require time, $ and brains to fully realize, and the electic car as it now runs is I think worth the contribution.
October 9, 2008 at 1:34pm by Glenn Croston
An electric car is one of the few options that will just get cleaner and greener as the grid decreases reliance on coal and relies more on renewable energy. The answer also depends on where you live. If you live in California you already have little reliance on coal, while in other places the story is often quite different.
October 9, 2008 at 1:35pm by Durwin Sharp
Without considering the full impact of "green" alternatives, we risk the ever present spate of unintended consequences. In many areas, one can subscribe to electric providers that use most or all renewable energy. This rewards those providers and encourages further development of green energy sources. While I won't go so far as to say that electric car owners that use coal powered electricity are duplicitous, I think we need to consider the full consequences of our decisions.
Having said all that, I do have one beef with the "green energy" companies. In Texas, we have full choice of quite a number of providers; but the "green" producers seem to outpace their coal and gas competitors in terms of rates - we always seem to pay a premium for green energy. I've never thought very much of the renewable energy producers that keep their rates above the rates of the carbon based providers just because they can.
OK - electric vehicles-good; green electric power for them-better.
One other concern, when we all get electic cars, how will the transmission infrastructure handle the load? Will there be enough capacity during off (evening) hours to handle all of the vehicle battery recharging?
This is just one more example of the need to consider all of the effects.
October 9, 2008 at 2:24pm by aejaz ahmed
no,
October 9, 2008 at 3:15pm by Jennifer Marsh
The bottom line is this. We all need to start doing our share. We all need to ride our bikes more, walk more, recycle more, read more, drive less. We need to start living in homes that are environmentally friendly and that are not so far from work, school and other needs. We can't expect one solution to be the answer for all our needs. We did that with coal and look where that got us. It took millions of years of vegetation and decaying matter to get the coal that we have and we have used up most of it in mere decades. We need to stop complaining that we are bored when we have television, movies and video games to keep us entertained. Some people don't even have water to drink or food to eat, and here we are complaining that we don't have enough leg room when we fly the "unfriendly" skies. Live more, use less. Start becoming aware of your surroundings and lets all try and do our part instead of blaming it on one another.
October 9, 2008 at 3:34pm by David Mullings
Yes, if you live in countries that are reducing the amount of electricity they generate from coal and other fossil fuels and even more so if you are smart enough to add solar to your house and charge the car using that.
Is there any study on the amount of CO2 emitted by a gasolene car over the same distance vs. the amount of CO2 emitted by the coal plant the electricity the electric car uses?
October 10, 2008 at 1:21am by Jonathan Fry
Like Jeffrey Garten, I think we are close to another "strategic inflection point" (a moment when the basis for strategy changes, requiring a fundamental course correction.) Few argue against further investment in renewable energy. Buying an electric car helps us inch ever closer that goal by utilizing proven technologies. While moving from gas cars to electric cars is a good first step, it’s not enough. We need a fundamental course correction. Individuals need to get caught up in wanting to solve the problems of the world. The question is how do we get there? I believe it needs to start in our school system. We need the next batch of great engineers and business leaders to rise up to the challenge and help solve the problems we face. What if the race to produce clean, renewable energy took off like the dot-com boom? Not only would it help spur the global economy and help lift us out of our current economic crisis, but also it would move us one step closer to reducing our damaging impact on the environment.
October 10, 2008 at 3:29am by Raymond Durrant
Of course. The coal fired plants aren't in the town and city centres, cars are. If you can't help save the world, you can at least help the air in your part of it.
October 10, 2008 at 8:27am by Rick Kennerly
of course there is. Coal and oil fired plants take days to shutdown and restart, so they are cut back at night to idle status. Electric cars capture that otherwise wasted energy and store it in batteries.
Generally, all energy generated at night is wasted: coal, nuclear, wind, hydro. However, the Germans are experimenting with using wind power to lift water into a lake behind a dam. While lossy, the system allows them to use the lake as a battery to store energy and then recapture it when that water is released through a hydro electric plant.
October 10, 2008 at 5:32pm by Paul Svec
Durwin,
Duh! Clean energy costs more than dirty energy! Higer costs, higher rates. Make sense?
October 15, 2008 at 9:03pm by Gordon Steen
You might want to note that Europe is totally bypassing hybrids in favor of electric and their biggest energy resource is coal. There is no getting rid of coal but at least we can reduce our dependence on it. Think of all the resources that small electric cars will save. They all add up to a cleaner environment and a smaller cost to the consumer.
October 16, 2008 at 7:07am by joe shmoe
Not many fact based answers here. "do your share" and "make the world a better place" seem to be the consensus response, with perhaps a "motivate big companies to do the right thing". This is certainly not how business decisions are made. If your car is plugged up to a windmill. then it will likely improve the environment.. well as long as you take care of disposing of all of those batteries.
As coal fired electricity will be with us for the next 200 years.. you are not making any impact if you are hooked up to a coal fired plant. So the net is your car type is not as important as the generation and your travel habits.
So what is the new green religion called where I don't have to live by facts, but by green faith?