Things That Make You Go Hmm...
Q: What about hydrogen fuel cell cars?
A: Currently, they cost $1,000,000 each and are 4 times less efficient than EVs if the hydrogen is produced from electricity, 1.4 times less efficient from natural gas. They are emissions free and many years away from a commercial market. The electricity that propels a fuel cell vehicle is generated from the combustion of hydrogen in its onboard fuel cell. Currently, there is no infrastructure for dispensing hydrogen into vehicles. Promising technology to look forward to? Absolutely!
Q: What about hybrids?
A: They use both a battery-powered electric motor and a conventional gasoline-powered engine for propulsion. They generate tailpipe emissions, but less than their gasoline counterparts and offer better mileage and longer range than pure battery EVs. The battery in a hybrid is charged internally by electricity generated by the gasoline engine and electricity captured by regenerative braking. These vehicles can be ‘filled-up’ at gas stations.
Q: How does EV technology compare to the above technologies?
A: EVs draw electricity from batteries to power an electric motor to propel the vehicle, generating zero emissions. The big difference between EVs and hybrids & fuel cells is the method used to generate the electricity that powers them. The batteries in an EV are charged using standard household electricity and electricity captured by regenerative braking. EVs can be ‘filled-up’ at home.
Q: Do batteries pollute landfills?
A: The Battery Council International reports that 93% of all battery lead is recycled. This is a higher recycling rate than newspapers (55%) or aluminum cans (42%). Typical new lead-acid batteries contain 60%-80% recycled lead and plastic.
“By 2015, we will need to find, de- velop and produce a volume of new oil and gas that is equal to 8 out of every 10 barrels being produced today.”
Jon Thompson, President Exxon Mobil
“Even if 10,000 EVs are plugged in at the same time, they would only need 50 megawatts, less than 0.06% of CA’s total power demand.”
California Air Resources Board
With 4% of the Earth’s population, the US consumes 25% of the world’s total oil production.
According to “Peak Oil: An Outlook on Crude Oil Depletion”: - Oil discovery peaked in the 1960s
- We now find 1 barrel of oil for every 4 we consume
- Middle East share of production is set to rise (short-term)
- The rest of the world peaked in 1997, and is therefore in terminal decline. This decline of global petroleum is not a re-run of the oil shocks of the 1970s. This decline in production is driven by resource constraints, not politics, and is a permanent (not temporary) condition.
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