Tachyon wrote:
> There's no such thing as an 'electric car'.
> In the US these are primarily coal powered cars. Hardly cleaner than diesel.
> Essentially electric cars are only as clean as whatever powers the
> outlet they are plugged in to.
> The US is notoriously behind in this area, with most of it's electric
> production coming from hydrocarbon burning power plants.
> Also, I like how the green types love yapping on about electric cars,
> but they totally forget about the hundreds of pounds of batteries in
> these cars. Batteries that will wear out and need replaced in less miles
> than a gasoline engine will provide. Batteries that must then be
> disposed of. Yet all the years of screaming by greens to reduce the
> amount of batteries we put in landfills seems to be forgotten when it
> comes to the electric car discussion.
> Also they are totally impractical for a large percentage of the
> population. It's usually these California bus pass types that think they
> are a great idea. But if they had to ever live in a rural environment
> like half the population, they'd find out pretty quick that the range of
> today's electric vehicles suck. Not to mention the amount of time spent
> recharging is effectively time you don't have a car. Also, these cars
> are less efficient in the colder climates that much of North America lie in.
>
>   

A common first-order approximation is that "IT'S A COAL CAR!", though 
many people who use their electric cars opt to use wind or hydro energy. 
You aren't the first person to realize that electricity has to come from 
somewhere. Nobody claims that electric cars are perfect for everyone. I 
certainly didn't.

--
Martin K


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