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"Oh sure, you're just replacing tailpipe emissions with
power plant emissions at another location"
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This is a common retort by fossil-fuel advocates
when confronted with a vehicle which leaves no pollutants in it's wake.
Well, my answer from now on is "NOT FROM THIS CAR, SUCKAH!!!!". My local
utility is forward thinking enough to offer renewable Wind power to
it's customers as an option in the household energy mix.. Currently,
I am signed up for 50% of my grid supplied power being generated by a large-scale
wind power facility located in Wyoming. This means that 100% of the power
that my electric vehicles consume comes from a renewable source.
Modern wind power facilities have negligible environmental effects and
have been proven to be of no threat to wildlife.
Additionally, my home photovoltaic array produces
a significant quantity of electrical power. As this is written, it is Memorial
Day weekend, and I am averaging 7 Kilowatt hours per day, enough
to drive the VW Rabbit over 14 miles. There is NO environmental impact
from the continued operation of these solar panels.
Of course, it does cost more to consume renewable
energy. My utility's standard rate for 'regular' power generated primarily
by hydroelectric plants costs $0.049 per Kwh. Wind power purchased through
the same utility is $0.084 per Kwh. In practical terms, this means my
bill goes up an average of about $5.00 per month. Attempting to place a
price on the power I generate myself from photovoltaics is meaningless,
even if I could figure it out. It is so incredibly expensive as to be unfathomable.
The only reasonable way to think about it is as a hobbyist. Some guys have
jet skis, others motorcycles, or giant hopped up 4x4's. I happen to spend
my disposable cash on products that create energy, not consume it. When
was the last time you produced some fuel to run your car?
As for the quote from the uninformed, get a clue!
Even if I did purchase my power from a coal, oil, or natural gas fired
generation facility, such power plants are magnitudes more efficient
than any vehicle's internal combustion engine. These electrical generation facilities are subject to
stringent pollution standards which are constantly under review and
revision (or at least they were, before passage of Bush's
"Clear Skies Initiative"). Any upgrading of the pollution
controls on this type of plant means that electric vehicles charged with electricity from such a plant are automatically consuming cleaner power! Try this retro-cleanup with internal combustion engines. Even taking into account
transmission losses from the generation plant, losses in the battery charging
system, and the inherent losses present in the electro-chemical reactions
inside the car's storage batteries, an electric car is much, much
cleaner than any well-tuned and maintained car or truck. They are
also LOTS more fun to drive, quieter, and require less maintenance!
For a more "in-depth" look at this topic, including
comparisons of EV and ICE efficiencies, here are some links to web pages
that discuss the issue:
http://www.electroauto.com/info/pollmyth.shtml
http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Samples/policy/voytishlong.html
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/advanced_vehicles/page.cfm?pageID=203#3
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