Posted on 02/14/2012 10:38:47 AM PST by jrg
Proof electric cars DO cause more pollution than normal ones: Study shows impact is worse than petrol-powered vehicles
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2100936/Study-shows-impact-electric-cars-worse-petrol-powered-vehicles.html#ixzz1mNkAhlSk
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
It really should be obvious because every conversion process is less than perfect,ergo the more conversion steps the less efficient.
Ping.
Here’s my analysis, for those who worship at the co2 altar:
The Volt has a 16kwh battery
but only 12kwh is used to charge it
its range is allegedly 40 miles
but most never see that.
The most common source of electricity is coal, which averages around 2.17 lb co2 per kwh.
So, a Volt produces 0.65 lbs co2 per mile.
A gallon of gasoline produces 19.4 pounds co2
so, a 30 mpg car would produce around 0.65 lb co2 per mile.
What can we learn from this? A Volt, which gets better than 30 mpg in gasoline mode, is better for the environment than a Volt in electric mode.
Thanks for posting. I put a comment on th Daily Mail Website, which I will paste in below. I am no fan of government mandated or subsidized electric cars but particulate pollution is not a good argument FOR gas engines. This study looks like they wanted to get a counter-intuitive result so they could get more publicity.
“Professor Cherry and his team focused on China because of the popularity of electric vehicles. “
Really? Let’s look at the facts:
China has:
1. Among the least efficient electricity production in the world (china’s coal consumption is 50g/KwH more than the world average);
2. Among the highest ratios of coal to other sources such as gas or nuclear;
3. Among the highest rate of transmission losses (7% compared to 2-3% in developed countries);
4. Among the most highly polluting coal plants (on average) in the world. Only half of china’s coal plants have any particulate emissions control equiptment and even those that have it often don’t use it.
So in summary, if you searched the world to find the one place where electirc cars would pollute more than gas ones, you would find it in China.
Try the same study in the US and then let’s start drawing policy implications from this kind of “research”.
Eelectric cars will only work if there is a constant regeneration type engine constantly re-charging the batteries.
Stirling engine in the short term, Sulfur-35 “Beta cell” in the long term.
The cool thing with a Sulfur-35 “Beta Cell” would be that you would plug it in, not to re-charge the batteries, but to feed the grid once the batteries are charged up.
But the Anti-Nuclear ninnies would flip a biscuit if they ever let use use Beta Cell tech in a consumer based product.
Does a study in China really apply anywhere else? In China, a factory just has to pay off the right people and they can pour out as much pollution as they want.
What the article says is no doubt true. But there is so much that it does not cover about the waist and the environmental impact of electric cars.
Think this helps salve my guilt that I don’t drive an electric car. /s
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