• 0110010001100010@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Not to mention (at least here in the US) roughly 60% of our power generation is fossil fuels. So you just shift the tailpipe emissions somewhere else. Assuming you don’t charge at home with a solar setup or something.

    • CurtAdams@urbanists.social
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      8 months ago

      @0110010001100010 @PowerCrazy Even if it runs off fossil fuel produced electricity, an EV produces about 1/3 as much emissions because it’s so much more efficient. With 40% renewable, it’s only producing 1/5 as much, and dropping as the % of electricity from renewables continues to soar in the US.

      • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca
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        8 months ago

        And some of us live in Jurisdictions with 90%+ renewable electricity. My EV emissions are practically non-existent.

          • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca
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            8 months ago

            They’re really the only option in rural areas like where I live at this point. I’d like to see more busses (we have hourly service along a nearby main road to only a single destination) but until we make them self driving and electric to reduce operating costs, there’s simply no way the district could afford to run them frequently enough to be a viable alternative to cars.

            I did use busses extensively while I lived in the city though. I wish they were cheaper (or free) though.

        • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          Your EV still had manufacturing emissions for raw materials and building the car, transport emissions getting the car to the dealer, shares a portion of road maintaince emissions, and will have “end of life” emissions when the car is scrapped.

          Your EV emissions are not “non-existent”.

          • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca
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            8 months ago

            See, the problem with that math, is that it ignores the fact that I would own a car regardless. A gas vehicle would have similar (yes EVs have slightly higher manufacturing emissions) base emissions, in addition to the tailpipe. They cancel out when you compare car to car. My emissions, compared to driving a gas model, are non-existent, which I guess is a clarification that you need.

            Unfortunately for my total emissions, I live in a rural area, there isn’t even a bus that would get my kids to hockey practice, let alone games in a 2 hour driving radius.

    • thefartographer@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      As power generation scales up, so does efficiency across individual applications. On the scale of cars, DC motors are far more efficient than ICEs. It’s not by design, but EVs do work out to be more efficient than ICEs in this example.

      But the same point about power generation still holds true with transportation, which is why mass transit is a better investment overall, but good luck to us convincing anyone of that.