Electric cars 'pose environmental threat'

cnredd · #1 (**permalink**) 10-06-2012, 03:15 AM

Reminds me how a 'study" says how bad wine is for you, then the next day you see one saying how good it is, then the next day it's bad again...

Quote:

Electric cars might pollute much more than petrol or diesel-powered cars, according to new research.

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology study found greenhouse gas emissions rose dramatically if coal was used to produce the electricity.

Electric car factories also emitted more toxic waste than conventional car factories, their report in the Journal of Industrial Ecology said.

However, in some cases electric cars still made sense, the researchers said.

Big impact

The team looked at the life-cycle impact of conventional and electric vehicles.

In essence, they considered how the production, the use and the end-of-life dismantling of a car affects the environment, explained co-author Prof Anders Hammer Stromman.

"The production phase of electric vehicles proved substantially more environmentally intensive," the report said, comparing it to how petrol and diesel cars are made.

"The global warming potential from electric vehicle production is about twice that of conventional vehicles."

In addition, producing batteries and electric motors requires a lot of toxic minerals such as nickel, copper and aluminium.

Hence, the acidification impact is much greater than that of conventional car production.

"Across the other impacts considered in the analysis including potential for effects related to acid rain, airborne particulate matter, smog, human toxicity, ecosystem toxicity and depletion of fossil fuel and mineral resources, electric vehicles consistently perform worse or on par with modern internal combustion engine vehicles, despite virtually zero direct emissions during operation," according to Prof Stromman.

'Counterproductive' efforts

With electric car production being so damaging to the environment, these cars have already polluted a great deal by the time they hit the road, the report says.

However, if the cars were then powered by electricity made from low-carbon electricity sources, they could nevertheless offer "the potential for substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and exposure to tailpipe emissions" over time.

However, in regions where fossil fuels are the main sources of power, electric cars offer no benefits and may even cause more harm, the report said.

"It is counterproductive to promote electric vehicles in regions where electricity is primarily produced from lignite, coal or even heavy oil combustion."

Mikeyy · #2 (**permalink**) 10-06-2012, 07:28 AM

Always something

MrLiberty · #3 (**permalink**) 10-06-2012, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikeyy

Always something

Mikeyy · #4 (**permalink**) 10-06-2012, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrLiberty

It's OK man. You'll get an electric car someday.

762nato · #5 (**permalink**) 10-06-2012, 09:15 AM

The comical thing is the left wing environmentalist wacko position opposed any viable electrical generation namely coal. This while insisting everyone drive around in electric cars. Where do they suppose the power to charge the batteries on these vehicles is going to come from? Wind? Solar? Both are not capable of producing any significant amount of electrical power.

Furthermore there is no talk of how to dispose of spent batteries; no consideration of the waste produced by the manufacture of the batteries; and nothing with regard to the high voltage/high current discharge when an electric vehicle is in a collision. With regard to the first two issues it will greater a proliferation of superfund sites that will dwarf those resulting from dioxin. The second issue is electrocution of passengers and/or rescue workers in a collision.

faithful_servant · #6 (**permalink**) 10-06-2012, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikeyy

Always something

Like truth??? YOu'll blindly accept the findings of these environemental scientists when suits your bias, but as soon as they tell you something that doesn't line up with what you believe to be the truth, you'll ignore them altogether.

dabateman · #7 (**permalink**) 10-06-2012, 01:10 PM

CNG appears to be the most reasonable "next best thing" to traditional gasoline.

faithful_servant · #8 (**permalink**) 10-06-2012, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabateman

CNG appears to be the most reasonable "next best thing" to traditional gasoline.

Except that it produces a lot of the biggest greenhouse gas there is - H2O.

Mikeyy · #9 (**permalink**) 10-06-2012, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faithful_servant

Like truth??? YOu'll blindly accept the findings of these environemental scientists when suits your bias, but as soon as they tell you something that doesn't line up with what you believe to be the truth, you'll ignore them altogether.

Wow, All I said was it's always something. I didn't make a judgement call.

MrLiberty · #10 (**permalink**) 10-08-2012, 10:22 AM

Even with high gas prices, drivers question value of E85

From The Detroit News: Even with high gas prices, drivers question value of E85 | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

Quote:

With gasoline prices hovering near record highs, many of the millions of motorists who drive so-called "flex fuel" vehicles are wondering when it makes sense to switch to ethanol.

The answer is probably never.

While the price of ethanol, or E85, is lower than the price of regular unleaded — the average price in Michigan at the end of last week was $3.45 per gallon for E85 vs. $3.82 for regular gas — it provides less energy and, therefore, worse mileage than gas.

"Typically, it's hard to make an economic case for using E85," acknowledged Coleman Jones, head of alternative fuels for General Motors Co.

At least in the United States.

In Brazil, where most cars and trucks are capable of running on either gasoline or ethanol, it is often cheaper to fuel up with the latter.

That is because Brazilian ethanol is made from sugar cane, a far better source than the corn used in this country.

Automakers like GM ship a handy reference card with their cars in Brazil, a table that allows motorists to see at a glance which fuel they should use based on current prices.

I thought I would throw this in here instead of making another thread.

I have no problem with electric vehicles, ethanol, or alternative energy. What I do have a problem with is the government mandating this crap and then giving tax credits and loans to these companies. If the individual wants it fine, just don't expect daddy government to bail you out when it fails.

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