‘Plug-in’ electric cars . . . pretty cool . . . but are they ‘green’?
September 12th, 2008 | by Fred |Uhhh . . . No. Not in a lot of the country anyway.
Before I get into this let me say again that I think plug-in cars are pretty cool. They are quick, quiet, and smooth. There’s not much range with current battery technology, but all the ones on the drawing boards are good for at least 50 miles. If that suits your needs and you like the ‘cool’ factor, a plug-in car could be a good choice.
Are they green? That depends on your definition. At the vehicle level a plug-in car emits virtually 0 emissions and in your community, that is probably a good thing . . . but what about the community near the powerplant that produces your electricity. Half the country gets power from coal fired power plants . . . a major source of CO2 emissions. The next biggest provider of electricity (at about 20%) is nuclear (what do they do with that radioactive waste!?).
Thanks for tuning in.
Fred Mangel