How Environmentally Friendly Are Electric Cars?

It depends. If you live in a part of the country that derives most of its electricity from relatively clean sources, an electric car can be far friendlier to the environment than a gas-powered car. But not so much where electricity is produced from a dirtier source like coal. In all cases, though, electric cars are better for the environment than gas-powered cars, according to a just-released report from the Union of Concerned Scientists:

Electric vehicles burn no gasoline and have no tailpipe emissions, but producing the electricity used to charge them does generate global warming emissions. The amount of these emissions, however, varies significantly based on the mix of energy sources used to power a region's electricity grid. For example, coal-fired power plants produce nearly twice the global warming emissions of natural gas-fired power plants, while renewable sources like wind and solar power produce virtually no emissions at all.

Read the executive summary and the full report.

Comments

[fl probate attorneys]

I hope that one day in very near future we will be able to see electric vehicles in our own city.
fl probate attorneys

[Linda]

I wonder how many years it will take before we regularly see electric cars on the streets and cities.

[Enterprise Used Trucks]

It seems like overall EV's are a lot cleaner than traditional cars. Not all the time but in general.

[BMW and Mercedes servicing]

Always nice to read your blog.
Different view and an own opinion about car maintenance. Thanks for suggestions.

[garage equipment]

Obviously, one of the most attractive features of an electric car is that it produces no emissions. An electric car does not run on gasoline at all, which means there is no byproduct from the internal combustion. Once electricity is more commonly produced by water or wind, getting clean power to run electric cars will leave an even smaller carbon footprint.