I have not done rigorous due diligence on the true value of this electric vehicle issue. If basic physics is correctly recalled, whenever energy is converted from one form to another form high-efficiency losses happen... this process of transduction is inefficient basically due to friction (in heat losses). Just an old retired guy with another rant -- can't personally do anything to resolve the issue anyway. Got to admit I do wonder about the electric vehicle solution. What is the truth in the entire "energy efficiency cycle" as applied to the gas/oil/propane-powered vehicles vs electric vehicles question? Where does the electricity come from used to charge batteries and do the future recharges? Those sparks come from thin air I guess. Who does these total electric justification calculations anyway – is this authority an independent body (non-political)? Seems a significant percent of power grid electricity production comes from burning fossil fuels, and certainly a substantial majority percentage of electricity production is fossil related when nuclear is included. How is transduction inefficiency factored into electricity production/delivery estimates of the true cost of electric vehicles? Additional demands on the national power grid are a certainty with a growing number of electric vehicles – no genius here, it's simply common sense. The power grid is already there, so there is no cost for the increased electrical demand associated with necessary and frequent electric vehicle battery recharge. Is it correct that increased national electrical grid expenses are not passed on to the electric vehicle owner who is directly responsible for the aggregate national electrical demand increase? And who among electric vehicle owners will pay for the upkeep of American roads and highways currently funded by taxes on petroleum fuel products?
And too, the entire issue of what is done with the occasional non-functional new batteries or older non-functional batteries, or those older battery replacements that are past their mean-time-between-failure? Old batteries are toxic waste. Are battery manufacturers being held accountable and responsible NOW for the eventual disposal of old or non-functioning batteries? Probably a small portion of old batteries can be recycled (but at what cost?) -- is that unknown cost reasonably estimated and factored into the true cost of charging electric vehicles? Sure hope the battery manufacturers and those who use them are planning to dig a giant hole somewhere (hopefully in China) to bury these old battery toxins. Are those disposal funds now being set aside in an untouchable lockbox somewhere to cover these future non-functional battery disposal costs? Planning for the future is required now -- and setting requirements aside to cover predictable future costs is necessary now. Oh well, we will all be dust in a few years -- why be concerned? Or is it the future general population's tax-base responsibility for toxic waste disposal -- no doubt paid by federal grants authorized by the public-sector Politically Correct clean energy enablers -- spending now our descendant's future dollars?
Granted, at some point, it may make sense to buy a small electric vehicle to make short runs to the shop, for entertainment, etc. But when that 400+ mile trip is in the cards, travelers might need good old petroleum-fired vehicles to reach that final destination. The same related questions exist on the worth of those rides equipped with both electric & gas capability. Just what are the true electric vehicle savings and associated impact on future environmental costs?
