Do electric vehicles reduce total greenhouse gas emissions?

Question

This is actually a rhetorical question - the answer is that they do. However, I've seen a number of people in the Environment section say that electric vehicles simply move pollution and emissions around (to wherever the power plants are).

While it's certainly true that the greener our power grid is, the greener electric cars are, even with the current US electric grid mix, electric vehicles will produce a significant decrease in total emissions. See this report for further details:

http://www.pluginamerica.com/images/EmissionsSummary.pdf

Considering this information, shouldn't we be pushing for electric vehicle research and development?

Answer 1

In the US, the major "electric" vehicle is the Prius which doesn't actually connect to the grid normally.  I think this car certainly reduces emissions but of greater importance to me is that it reduces the need to export petroleum.  I would think that the supply of electricity on a small scale would not be as efficient as a large scale production.  Most electric cars are far smaller and less powerful than the typical SUV in the US which is clearly overpowered for the job at hand.  I would like to see more research.  Clearly the hybrids have advanced a long way.   Hybrids do offer more flexibility for long commutes.  I live close to work and could easily plug in my car for a short commute and so a plug in option on the Prius would be a good option for me.

Answer 2

My personal take is somewhere in between.

In order to be really effective in fighting global warming, I think electric cars need to be part of a system that includes power plants run by something other than fossil fuels.

That doesn't mean we should wait for those to develop and produce electric cars.

Answer 3

"greenhouse gases" do not contribute to global warming.  However, I still like to reduce the amount of mercury, sulfur dioxides, etc. in the atmosphere. So i would buy an electric car, and power it with either a natural gas generator or windmills and solar.  Natural Gas emits CO2 and H2O only, no mercury or anything like that.  Electric cars reduce mercury etc. only because of the fact that there are windmills etc. on the power grid.  However, There needs to be more powerplants on the grid in order to make up for the extra electricity required for the car.

There are manufacturers that make electric cars only (e.g. Tesla Motors, Phoenix Motorcars) but  I recommend that if you buy an  electric car and are serious about greenhouse gases or atmospheric poisons, that you buy a windmill or solar panels to install  that will make up for the running of the car plus some, and tie it to the grid so other people can too.

Answer 4

Well if you set out to make a horribly inefficient electric car you might be able to make produce as much pollution per distance as an I.C.E. car. You would have to try awfully hard though. It would need to be about 300% less efficient that the Tesla to be as bad as a Corolla.(178g/co2/km).

I understand that the U.S. grid averages around 540 grams/co2/ KWh.  Tesla claims their roadster at 110 watts/ km. So that's about 60 grams/ km. (makes even the Prius look shabby @ 106 grams/km.)

Yes electric cars will reduce green house gases and should be promoted,researched and promoted more actively.

There are many strange ideas that float around this forum.

While I will admit that an E.V. does transfer the pollution from the cars exhaust to the power station.  Most casual observers miss the fact that is likely to be about a third the pollution of a standard vehicle. Arguments about moving pollution from the city to the country are pretty moot since this world has only one atmosphere. (Less green house gases is the goal)

Then there are the other arguments about building power stations to run electric cars. Most battery cars are charged off peak. There is plenty of capacity in existing power stations at night to charge electric cars.

Others are trying to tell us fly ash from coal fired power stations is a greater radioactive hazard that nuclear waste despite it being used extensively in the production of;

·Portland cement and grout

·Embankments and structural fill;

·Waste stabilization and solidifaction;

·Raw feed for cement clinkers

·Mine reclamation

·Stabilization of soft soils

·Road subbase

·Aggregate

·Flowable fill

·Mineral filler in asphaltic concrete

Other applications include cellular concrete, roofing tiles, paints, metal castings, and filler in wood and plastic products

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_ash

And still others are trying to convince people that ethanol production requires gasoline.

Yes it is a difficult road to hoe , but if you keep chipping away at it people eventually wise up.

Answer 5

Yes we should be encouraging EV's furthermore we should be encouraging the charging of these EV's be done by solar PV electricity so that there arent any emissions during charging too.

We can also encourage businesses set up to charge EV's using PV panels, so like gas stations you could have charging stations allowing EV's to charge using PV electricity.

A PV + Ev combination is a best way to reduce vehicle emissions fast.

Answer 6

I would say between the two because an electric car like a prius is still semi fuelled by petrol or diesel.

Answer 7

Yes of course the overall emissions would be less. And plug in EV's are the future for commuting and running errands. And charging your Plug in EV at night is when the power companies are shunting the excess power generated so it is making even that power generation more efficient.

In the mean time higher fuel mileage vehicles are the way to go. If you drive in the city and are doing a lot of stop and go then a hybrid is good for you but if you drive the hi ways then a diesel is the smarter thing to do. A new diesel by VW gets over 50 mpg. That is better than a Hybrid. It all boils down to Parts Per Million per Mile of pollution.

Do your research then buy smart.

Answer 8

There are other source of electric power than coil, wind power, solar power, water power.

Answer 9

Of course they do!

They increase efficiency, so they provide more transport miles per unit of pollution emitted.

They centralize pollution so it can more effectively be dealt with.

They open the door for alternative energy sources like wind, tidal, geothermal, bio-gas, solar, and even (shudder) nuclear sources to be used to power our transportation system.