GM Spokesperson admits energy to charge cars comes from coal

thomas201 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:


If a highway has coils installed there would be no reason to stop to refuel an electric vehicle at all.

Currently at the 5 year mark, a Bev uses less energy from the cradle to the grave than an Ice.

I am glad pianotuna made the point that at the 5 year mark, you break even on carbon dioxide. I think it is closer to 8 years. But, lets accept 5. The conclusion that most people miss is that to change to EVs you must front load the carbon dioxide levels of good old mother earth. Translation, you will push up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to make the transition. Want to cut carbon dioxide in the air? Then keep whatever is in your driveway right now.

The break even point depends on a lot of factors, but the WSJ and the University of Toronto have a pretty cool infographic to visualize this:
WSJ EV vs ICE CO2


In their analysis (Tesla vs RAV4) the breakeven point is ~20,000 miles, or less than 2 years for most drivers.

I agree that you shouldn't dump your current vehicle to go buy an EV if you are otherwise happy with the current vehicle, but if you are planning on buying a new vehicle anyway, consider whether an EV works for you. For some people they won't work (at least not yet) and for others they will meet their needs just fine. There does seem to be a tendency to think that all EVs are some how useless because they may not currently meet your needs. But you rarely hear the same thing said about Corvettes and Porsches, which also won't tow your 5th wheel.