Electric cars .. Not all as Green as was reckoned;(..

tony sayer · 2012-10-05T07:13:57+00:00

The team looked at the life-cycle impact of conventional and electricvehicles.In essence, they considered how the production, the use and the end-of-life dismantling of a car affects the environment, explained co-authorProf Anders Hammer Stromman."The production phase of electric vehicles proved substantially moreenvironmentally intensive," the report said, comparing it to how petroland diesel cars are made."The global warming potential from electric vehicle production is abouttwice that of conventional vehicles."In addition, producing batteries and electric motors requires a lot oftoxic minerals such as nickel, copper and aluminium.Hence, the acidification impact is much greater than that ofconventional car production."Across the other impacts considered in the analysis including potentialfor effects related to acid rain, airborne particulate matter, smog,human toxicity, ecosystem toxicity and depletion of fossil fuel andmineral resources, electric vehicles consistently perform worse or onpar with modern internal combustion engine vehicles, despite virtuallyzero direct emissions during operation," according to Prof Stromman.'Counterproductive' effortsContinue reading the main story ?Start Quote A battery electric vehicle, with electricity produced by the powergeneration mix we currently have in Europe, compares favourably in themagnitude of 10% or so with diesel?Dieter Zetsche Chief executive, DaimlerWith electric car production being so damaging to the environment, thesecars 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 potentialfor substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and exposure totailpipe 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 reportsaid.

Oct 05, 2012 50 Replies

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Brian Gaff 13 years ago

Yes, I like the idea of uploadable vehicle sounds. We could hav David macaroon on blue cars.....

Brian

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Dave Plowman (News) 13 years ago

90% of the buses round your way run totally empty outside rush hour? Do you kill off all your OAPs with Freedom passes?

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The Natural Philosopher 13 years ago

They take taxis

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John Williamson 13 years ago

Round here, the buses between the rush hours, especially the ones just after the morning rush, are full to the brim with OAPs using their free passes and Mums with pre school-age kids using their special offer family tickets. They're often fuller than the rush hour ones. I very rarely see one of ours with fewer than half a dozen passengers on, and that's only at the start or finish of the route.

There are three operators on some of the busier routes, and no direct subsidies in sight.

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Tim Streater 13 years ago

Wait inside.

But that was the US of A, where only the *poor* people take the bus.

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charles 13 years ago

didn't MT or one of her cronies, say only life's failures take the bus?

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S Viemeister 13 years ago

Except for commuter travel into NYC from expensive bedroom communities.

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Dave Plowman (News) 13 years ago

But did rehab work?

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The Natural Philosopher 13 years ago

I dunno. I went to the dreary symposium

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Grimly Curmudgeon 13 years ago

Fellow drunks recognise each other.

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The Natural Philosopher 13 years ago

If there is one thing I have never ever been close to, its being a drunk. Sorry.

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