Don’t get me wrong—I’m very encouraged by the research and development being done on electric cars.
There’s so much to like about them; they’re quiet, don’t emit any greenhouse gases and are quickly attaining speeds and ranges that rival traditional gasoline-powered cars.
But there’s this one, nagging question that no one seems to be asking: where is all the electricity going to come from?
Power plants are notorious polluters. They burn prodigious amounts of coal, produce tons of nuclear waste and expel hydro-carbons like there’s no tomorrow. (Which, if electric cars ever achieve the market penetration internal combustion ones have, there may not be.)
Were our electric plants solar or wind or hydro-powered, all would be well. But this is far from true.
Before we commit to electric cars, shouldn’t we figure out where all the electricity is going to come from first?
There’s so much to like about them; they’re quiet, don’t emit any greenhouse gases and are quickly attaining speeds and ranges that rival traditional gasoline-powered cars.
But there’s this one, nagging question that no one seems to be asking: where is all the electricity going to come from?
Power plants are notorious polluters. They burn prodigious amounts of coal, produce tons of nuclear waste and expel hydro-carbons like there’s no tomorrow. (Which, if electric cars ever achieve the market penetration internal combustion ones have, there may not be.)
Were our electric plants solar or wind or hydro-powered, all would be well. But this is far from true.
Before we commit to electric cars, shouldn’t we figure out where all the electricity is going to come from first?
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