Besides, the article excerpt at the top of this page paints a misleading picture of what is said in the article. What is cut out, in the very next line is: “The key is where the source of the electricity [of] all-electric cars.”
Reading further, you will see that this article only applies to the absolute highest coal producing states: West Virginia, Wyoming, Ohio, North Dakota, and Illinois. Furthermore, it only applies to those states if you ignore all well-to-tank considerations of gasoline.
At the end of the article it says: “But if the power supply comes from natural gas, the all-electric car produces half as many air pollution health problems as gas-powered cars do. And if the power comes from wind, water or wave energy, it produces about one-quarter of the air pollution deaths.” (You could probably throw nuclear in there as well.)
Coal produces a minority of 39%, and falling, of our electricity. That leaves the majority of our electricity coming from much cleaner sources.
In summary, the article headline was click-bait, and it seems that most people fell for it without reading the article.
Electric cars require more energy to run them....the electricity comes from plants most of which are not geothermal nor solar
Unless and until there is a major, major, major (did I emphasize that enough?)
breakthrough in battery technology (storage and/or recharging),
electric cars will be limited to the marketplace
of urban, short distance drivers.
Health problems? CO2 is only a health problem at 1-2% or higher. Or are you referring to something else?
Let’s face it - In relative size of combined their power generation wind, solar, and wave are more of a national hobby than a serious component of the electrical generation industry.
At their present levels they are window dressing as a sop to greenies and to make politicians look good but not significant contributors.
And the cost per kilowatt generated is up to 10 or 20 times more than coal plants.
In fact, no other power source can match the economic efficiency and low cost of coal and no other single power source generates as much electrical power for the nation as coal.
And the same people who oppose coal fired electrical generation also oppose generation powered by petroleum and nuclear (especially nuclear) even though they are cleaner than coal.
I don’t think the average person is aware of how much of their life is powered by, and dependent upon, electrical power since so much of it is more or less hidden from their immediate view.
If (when) the sewage pumps and water pumps and electrical power for electronic devices, home heating, gasoline pumps and electric car battery chargers fail they will start to understand.