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Originally Posted by Toxarch  But you also assume that there is somewhere you can plug in once you get to work, or the mall, or wherever you are going. Not many places are willing to put in new outlets just for electric cars and share their electric with you for free.
Some people will try to call it a green car, but you also have to consider where that electric power comes from. 49% of the power in the US is generated from coal power plants. Those coal power plants account for 39% of all the carbon dioxide produced in the US. And if everyone starts plugging in cars at night, that means a lot more power plants need to be built. Not what we want to happen when you consider rolling blackouts already happening on the west coast and many areas nearing their electrical load limit. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't buy one or they won't be good. I'm all for clean electric cars and clean energy. I just think there are many out there who won't consider what the trade-off is when switching to an electric car. If they can use it, then go for it.
I think it is Seattle (might be a different city) that already has downtown parking for electric cars and they have for years. They have free street parking for electric cars only and you can plug into the city power for a free recharge. And it's prime downtown street parking too, not some side street somewhere. |
Electric vehicles will not be convenient for everyone, but certainly some folks will find them useful for most of their transportation needs. While it is true what you say about the emissions of coal fired electric plants, much of our electricity is from hydro, nuclear, and natural gas. Looking at the big picture, there will clearly be a significant environmental benefit if a large percentage of the vehicles we use were electric. Another major benefit we will realize from using EVs is that we will be less dependent on foreign oil.
Currently in this country we have an excess capacity to produce electricity in the off hours, when most EVs will be charged. Power companies could have different rates for off-peak charging as an incentive for people to wait until late evening to charge their vehicles. This will delay the need for new plants and when they are needed newer technologies such as wind and solar will be more mature and can be exploited to help fill our energy needs.