The stimulus package designed to bail out the auto industry is still alive and well. Now the administration is bent on giving the electric car industry, in this case Nissan, a hefty boost in order to sell its very expensive Leaf, listed at $32,780, clearly out of the range of most consumers. A $7,500 tax credit would help bring down the cost to a more manageable level but at a cost to everyone. The stated reason for this largesse is to lower our dependence on foreign oil, a highly questionable premise at best.
If we really want to reduce our foreign oil dependence, start with a carbon tax. I know “tax” is a bad word but it is the surefire way of reducing our use of oil. It makes everyone aware of just how much carbon we create and therefore encourages personal conservation of all activities that send carbon into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, according to one estimate, it would take 17 years to make the changeover to electric cars. A carbon tax would be way more efficient and immediate in its effectiveness.
Now let”™s look at the real hurdles to this latest desperate effort to keep our car culture alive and safe for posterity.
Cars need roads, bridges and parking lots and asphalt needs lots of oil. That being the case, roads in some remote areas are being allowed to go back to gravel. This trend is sure to gain momentum as local governments continue to run short of road-maintenance money.
Then there is the staggering cost of creating a new infrastructure for the plug-ins. This is a big country, friends, and such a grandiose proposal cannot possibly fly in a time when money for really essential services, such as health care, education and mass transit is being wacked. Oh, and let us not forget the money needed to support the wars needed to protect the oil reserves in distant countries. One has to wonder how the electric car got to the top of the list for support.
Since the electric car obviously runs on electricity has anyone figured out where that electricity is going to come from? The car may run cleanly but its fuel is likely to be produced by coal, nuclear (definitely not clean if you check with the yellow cake processors) and gas. On top of that the production of any car is a polluting process but the electric car involves an even more polluting component ”“ a large battery that requires increasingly scarce metals to produce. Don”™t forget the battery needs to be replaced after a certain period, not a small expense.
Forget how the electricity is made, is there enough electricity for a large fleet of EVs? We have blackouts now during the hottest summer days. The grid is an antique structure, the nuclear power generators in the U.S. are nearly 40 years old and cannot go on forever and there is still no solid interest in renewables.
In an environmental science class at SUNY Purchase (late 1980s) we discussed the matter of ROI ”“ return on investment with regard to the various ways electricity can be generated. To my dismay, the most efficient way to create electricity was to use less of it. In other words, make what you have go further. Unfortunately, making do with less is not the American way. And so we fall prey to gargantuan enterprises that wind up wasting more energy than the project was supposed to save. Nuclear and ethanol come to mind. The electric car is yet another example.
Only when our leaders start backing initiatives that benefit the greater good rather than initiatives that merely raise the profits of certain corporations will we be able to confront the very uncertain future with equanimity. The electric car does not cut it under any objective criteria.
Surviving the Future explores a wide range of subjects to assist businesses in adapting to a new energy age. Reach Maureen Morgan at maureenmorgan10@verizon.net.
You said a lot and said nothing. Just words without any teeth. We have to start somewhere and this is a good start. During a rolling black out I could just connect my Leaf to the house and it could give me power for a day or two. Since cars are mainly charged at night, they are just using power that would normally go to waste anyway, so light companies are loving this because they will now turn a profit on what used to be wasted. It will be a long time before there are enough EV’s out there to put a strain on power plants. By then they would have worked out the smart grid. Tired of hearing people cry about the credit and how they don’t want there money funding my Leaf. Understand the word CREDIT. I not taking a dime from you to pay for my car. I am just able to keep more of what I have already paid for myself and if I don’t have a $7500 tax bill I don’t get a $7500 refund. It is not for the rich which I am not, but I do spend over $500 on gas a month, now with Leaf I only pay Less than $100 and saving $400/month on gas and if you consider a $350 lease and $50 unlimited home charges with eVgo. This car is virtually FREE! Just moving my gas budget to car and electric budget and monthly budget does not change and get to drive a new Leaf to boot. Chew on them apples OIL.
Oh yeah, gas stations also run on electricity. so during a black out, gas stations stop working. this was seen during hurricane katrina.
once again. don’t be misleading.
I agree with your assertion that we need a carbon tax. Everything else you wrote is way out of date. You make comments about EVs that have been covered ad nauseam thousands of times. For a reality check, go to http://www.pluginamerica.org.
The author agrees that Electric cars run cleanly. Which means that it moves the pollution away from the crowded streets. This in itself is a big acheivement. This will help improve the health of people who live in big cities and save huge sums of money on health care.
Please, before you write about a topic, research it. Pretty much the totality of this piece is typical knee-jerk uninformed opinion.
Here are some facts you might have stumbled across had you made use of Google. First, it was the previous administration that set up the $7,500 tax credit. Second, the average purchase price of a car last year was $29,217, making the Leaf closer to average than “very expensive.” Also, the Leaf comes with 2 trim levels and with typical optional features as standard equipment.
Regarding roads turning to rubble because governments couldn’t possibly figure out a way to raise revenue from electric car drivers is laughable on its face.
The largest necessary component of infrastructure (ie. the grid) is already in place. The vast majority of charging is done at home. Unfortunately, I can not address your circular argument about needing money to protect oil in foreign countries and so can not afford to pay for additional infrastructure costs. At least, not without swearing until I bleed from my eyeballs, so I will refrain.
Believe it or not, people actually have put thought into where the electricity to charge electric cars come from. A lot of it. If you had employed the aforementioned Google you might be aware that even when produced 100% by coal, electrically-powered vehicles are still cleaner than those burning gasoline. It also bears mentioning that as your electric car ages, the source of the electricity gets cleaner, whereas a car dependent on a gasoline engine only becomes more and more polluting.
The grid is indeed old but it is constantly being upgraded as a matter of necessity as is quite capable of handling many millions of electric vehicles being plugged into it, mostly at night when there is excess capacity.
Look, electric vehicles are a better, more efficient, less polluting means of transport than the fossil fuel paradigm. The changeover will take several decades and I’m quite sure that if you’d like to continue driving the old way, you’ll be able to do that for some time. Don’t panic.
I would encourage you, just for kicks, to try driving an electric when you get the opportunity. You might be surprised how much you like the experience. Also, if you’d like to load up on more detailed information about electric vehicles, please allow me to suggest the Plug-In America website. It’s a pretty decent resource that’s free to access. You can even find it with Google.
This analysis rambles in so many different directions its hard to follow. I am looking for a better alternative to gasoline cars, which I think electric vehicles offer, and I can’t find one being offered by the author. The closest is “start with a carbon tax”. It would be nice to have better alternatives that have a remote chance to be implemented.
The author then asks basic questions,’has anyone bothered to find out where the electricity comes from, do we have enough electricity?’. My question for the author,”have you done any research in this area?” Please Google the exhaustive analysis done by the The Natural Resource Defense Council, LowCVP, DOE Argonne National Lab and others. The answers aren’t always perfect but the conclusion is that the electrification of transportation has meaningful improvements to our economy, environment, and national security. (Quick answers: Our nation has enough OFF PEAK electricity to power 73% of our passenger and light duty truck fleet today without building one more power plant (Argonne). It will take a lot of planning but technology will help us shift and balance the load. On average, electric vehicles are anywhere from 20 – 50% cleaner than comparable gas vehicles in regards to emissions depending on how the electricity is generated (NRDC). And yes, even when production is included, all electric vehicles are 20% cleaner than gas vehicles and extended range electric vehicles are 15% cleaner than gas vehicles (LowCVP).
If you are unhappy that it won’t be easy or will require planning or will take too long, well, offer a realistic, better alternative. Offering rambling complaints solves nothing.
“The stated reason for this largesse is to lower our dependence on foreign oil, a highly questionable premise at best.”
Well, that’s not entirely true. If we switched from gasoline to electric, the demand reduction would greatly reduce our need for foreign oil. We could probably get by on domestically production only, if we didn’t have such a huge demand in the transportation sector.
“If we really want to reduce our foreign oil dependence, start with a carbon tax.”
Why do solutions have to be either / or? Why not both? Why not cut subsidies to big oil companies and close tax loop-holes while we’re at it? If we did all of the above, we could almost afford to give the average commuter a free electric car.
“Cars need roads, bridges and parking lots and asphalt needs lots of oil.”
True! But how is that an argument against electric cars? Sure, houses use asphalt for shingles but implementing electric cars, to reduce use of oil, doesn’t mean that the electric is touted as a means to eliminate all oil demand. It’s just a start. Sure, asphalt is used for roads primarily because it’s cheap and quick. Concrete and other building materials will eventually replace asphalt where there is no oil left.
“Then there is the staggering cost of creating a new infrastructure for the plug-ins.”
It’s not that staggering and there are plug-in locations announced every day. In fact, it’s so easy to create a charging station that lots of business can build their own charging station, right in their parking lots. This is a benefit as it adds more “features” to a businesses offerings. Where, in the past, you could only get gas a a convenient station. How many Starbucks or public libraries do you see offering the “gasoline fill-up” option? I’m guessing none!
“… the electric car obviously runs on electricity has anyone figured out where that electricity is going to come from?”
Sure, just think of all of the electricity that goes into making gasoline and diesel, needed to transport gasoline and diesel; and use gasoline and diesel. Think about all of the jets, tanks, cars and dones needed to fight wars over oil. Think about the houses with solar panels and the states that use natural gas rather than relying on coal or gasoline. Unfortunately, people forget that gasoline has a huge supply chain of pollution. They also forget that most drivers live in states that have other options besides coal and oil for electricity production. I think, and I could be mistaking, but California accounts for 1 in 6 drivers alone. And, only 1% of our electricity production is from coal. This is an example where you should look at the extremes… not the average. Sure, the average is around 47% production from coal. But, that’s because a lot of states could use something else but, do to cost and lack of regulation, they use coal for 58% or more of their electricity production.
“Forget how the electricity is made, is there enough electricity for a large fleet of EVs?”
Good point! There are areas where electricity production could be impacted. Most areas, however, have a surplus of electricity after work hours (8am-5pm). But, there have been studies that have shown that electricity demand has declined over the years due to better insulation in homes and CFL light bulbs. This doesn’t mean that all areas will be unaffected and better energy planning should be considered.
“To my dismay, the most efficient way to create electricity was to use less of it.”
Is that supposed to be a paradox? Because, it makes absolutely no logical sense.
“Only when our leaders start backing initiatives that benefit the greater good rather than initiatives that merely raise the profits of certain corporations will we be able to confront the very uncertain future with equanimity.”
True, and we’ve been doing that for generations when it comes to oil companies. And, as it would appear by the EV smear campaign by bloggers and the media, we continue to work toward the same goal. No matter how much they charge, no matter how dependent we are, no matter have much environment damage (i.e. oil spills) they create, we always seem to use the media to try to bolster their existence.