How EVs Ride Clean

How much do electric cars really pollute, even without tailpipes?

John Briggs, August 3, 2016 (Green Car Reports)

“…Over the last five years, electric vehicles have become a target for some who are not convinced that they will lead to less pollution…[the carbon dioxide (CO2), a climate-change gas. and criteria pollutants, the other toxic substances that come out of the tailpipes of vehicles with combustion engines and out of the smokestacks of any electric power plant that burns hydrocarbons…[A Union of Concerned Scientists map of the full ‘wells-to-wheels’ carbon footprint of electric vehicles]…makes it very clear that electric vehicles emit significantly less CO2 than gasoline-powered vehicles…[unless the electric car is charged on the increasingly rare grids with a heavy mix of coal. In places where most electric cars are sold, the] electric car wins no matter what you compare it to…

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“Other studies show different numbers, but come to roughly the same conclusion…[Similarly, in] regions that operate a very clean grid and purchase lots of electric cars, like California, their environmental damage is predicted to be lower than that produced by cars powered by fossil-fuel gasoline or diesel…As the grid gets cleaner—and that is exactly what it's doing, due to a transition from coal to natural gas and renewable sources—electric cars get cleaner…From a CO2 perspective, electric cars are already significantly better—with a few exceptions…California can be a model for pressuring states with dirty grids to make the same effort…The Life Cycle Analysis presented here necessarily involves a lot of assumptions that leave it open to debate, which is entirely fair…” click here for more

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