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Probably downvoted because there are a plethora of sources out there for you to easily do your own checking on. - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/el

by aae42 5y ago

Probably downvoted because there are a plethora of sources out there for you to easily do your own checking on. - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles-environment.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles... - https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/05/20/are-electric-vehicles-really-better-for-the-environment/?sh=549800da76d2 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/05/20/are-el... - https://www.wsj.com/graphics/are-electric-cars-really-better-for-the-environment/ https://www.wsj.com/graphics/are-electric-cars-really-better... There may be some articles from not as reputable sources that may find the answer to be a little more controversial... The TL;DR is generally: yes... electric is always greener, it's just a matter of how much. As they become more and more sustainably powered, the difference increases.

ashtonkem 5y ago
Also, this line of “EVs are worse for the environment because of coal powered grids” is literally oil industry propaganda.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- wwtrv 5y ago
  It depends, if all of the energy you use to charge your car is produced in states like Wyoming or West Virginia (both of which export several times more electricity than they consume) driving a hybrid or any small/efficient IC car is definitely better. I think banning coal is something that we should definitely do before even considering banning IC cars…
  - Tagbert 5y ago
    According the the study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an EV powered by 100% coal produces about the same CO2 as a 50mpg ICE car. Very few grids are that dirty. Once you get out of those areas, the EV is much cleaner.
    - ashtonkem 5y ago
      Even West Virginia isn’t 100% coal fired, most states are far cleaner than a hypothetical 100% coal fired grid.
      - wwtrv 5y ago
        It’s not 100% but not that far off https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=WV#tabs-4 https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=WV#tabs-4 and it exports enough energy to fully power Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey (just an example for scale, all of those states produce most of their energy locally). Not trying to imply that we shouldn’t replace IC as well, but getting rid of coal powered plants seems like fairly low hanging fruit to me.
        ashtonkem 5y ago
        A few years ago I would have been inclined to say that economics would kill coal. Now it’s fairly obvious that coal lives due to political reasons despite it being an economic loser. It seems to me that it will be necessary to ban coal and force power plants to decommission their coal fired plants.
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    Yeah but kicking out on its way out or some other low hanging fruit we can all mostly agree on doesn't get you brownie points (if you're a policy maker) or virtue points (if you're an internet commenter). Hence why everyone wants to push for extremist stuff that we know will upend the economy if done own and we don't know won't upend the economy if done 5/10/20yr from now.

by aae42 5y ago

ashtonkem 5y ago

Also, this line of “EVs are worse for the environment because of coal powered grids” is literally oil industry propaganda.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
wwtrv 5y ago
It depends, if all of the energy you use to charge your car is produced in states like Wyoming or West Virginia (both of which export several times more electricity than they consume) driving a hybrid or any small/efficient IC car is definitely better. I think banning coal is something that we should definitely do before even considering banning IC cars…
- Tagbert 5y ago
  According the the study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an EV powered by 100% coal produces about the same CO2 as a 50mpg ICE car. Very few grids are that dirty. Once you get out of those areas, the EV is much cleaner.
  - ashtonkem 5y ago
    Even West Virginia isn’t 100% coal fired, most states are far cleaner than a hypothetical 100% coal fired grid.
    - wwtrv 5y ago
      It’s not 100% but not that far off https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=WV#tabs-4 https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=WV#tabs-4 and it exports enough energy to fully power Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey (just an example for scale, all of those states produce most of their energy locally). Not trying to imply that we shouldn’t replace IC as well, but getting rid of coal powered plants seems like fairly low hanging fruit to me.
      - ashtonkem 5y ago
        A few years ago I would have been inclined to say that economics would kill coal. Now it’s fairly obvious that coal lives due to political reasons despite it being an economic loser. It seems to me that it will be necessary to ban coal and force power plants to decommission their coal fired plants.
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  Yeah but kicking out on its way out or some other low hanging fruit we can all mostly agree on doesn't get you brownie points (if you're a policy maker) or virtue points (if you're an internet commenter). Hence why everyone wants to push for extremist stuff that we know will upend the economy if done own and we don't know won't upend the economy if done 5/10/20yr from now.