After Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders vowed to end all fossil fuel use during the Sunday night Democratic debate, the reality of an all-electric lifestyle must be considered.
The idea of eliminating fossil fuel use in the U.S. is obviously an effort aimed at reducing emissions and greenhouse gasses considered harmful to the environment and propelling the effects of climate change.
But are battery-operated vehicles a truly green, clean alternative to traditional fuel operated vehicles?
There is a lot of incomplete information about electric vehicles that is commonly accepted by environmentalists as fact and touted as a badge of sacrifice on the altar of climate activism.
The truth, however inconvenient, is that battery-operated vehicles aren’t so clean and offer their own set of resource-depleting problems.
Do Electric Vehicles really give off zero emissions?
While electric vehicles (EVs) do not emit CO2 like traditional combustion engine cars, they actually do still have particulate emissions that pose a substantial threat to clean air.
Batteries required to power cars with no assistance from a traditional engine are quite heavy and place a much larger burden on tires than traditional cars.
As the EVs rack up miles, particulates from tires, brake dust, and re-agitated roadway pollutants are all mixed into the environment, creating potentially harmful air quality.
As the increased workload on braking systems of EVs became a known problem, however, some electric cars have developed regenerative braking systems to curb the increase of air pollutants.
Where does all that recharging power come from?
While there are public charging stations scattered all over the world that tout a variety of renewable energy sources, the majority of EV charging is done at home by the vehicle owner.
A single overnight charge for the car can equate to running a large appliance for over a month, depending on the size of the vehicle and the intended battery range.
While renewable energy sources have increased in recent years, solar power still accounts for less than 2% of the total U.S. energy production.
Wind and hydropower account for about 14% of total energy output and nuclear power represents just under 20%.
But it is fossil fuels like coal and natural gas that power the majority of American homes and businesses with nearly 63% of all energy generation in the United States.
This means that the overnight charge for your environmentally friendly car is actually very likely dependent on fossil fuels, increasing emissions as the battery “fills up,” even though no fuel is going into a gas tank.
Producing and disposing of large, powerful batteries for EVs has a huge environmental impact
While the tailpipe emissions from EVs are non-existent, the effort to achieve the green-friendly ride requires a much heftier CO2 output than traditional cars.
In fact, a battery-only (nonhybrid) vehicle uses 8.8 CO2 tons on average to produce which is over 2 tons greater that of a traditional fuel or diesel-consuming vehicle.
Forty-six percent of all emissions generated by a battery-operated vehicle occurs at the time of production before the EV has even traveled to the dealership.
According to a report by Ricardo, this emissions-heavy production process poses a significant threat to the climate.
Batteries for EVs also have a limited life, which poses another set of problems for the future of clean energy cars.
For larger vehicles like vans and buses, batteries are estimated to need replacement every few years. Smaller cars may use their batteries for 7-10 years, depending on a variety of factors.
But disposing of old batteries is no simple task and is one that most countries are ill-prepared to deal with.
As they cannot be taken to landfills because of their toxic acid components, they must be recycled, which is an expensive, labor-intensive process.
Currently, regulations are being considered by the United States and the European Union for battery disposal. China places the burden of disposal on the car manufacturers.
The future of energy in the United States
While Biden may get a round of applause when he suggests the end of fossil fuels, the reality of enacting such a plan is not only unrealistic, it implicates an elimination of millions of jobs and a near-halt to domestic energy production.
Biden may not have been connecting the dots, but to run a battery-powered “clean-energy” nation, you need power.
The United States is already behind in production vs. consumption of energy and as more cities, like NYC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles vow to bring more electric vehicles into the fold and purge the gas-guzzling cars of old, power will need to increase quickly.
The technology behind making renewable energy sources a reality for the power needs of the U.S. is woefully behind.
It is currently estimated that, based on our current rate of increased energy needs, America will be 79% reliant on fossil fuels by 2050.
Apart from banning fracking and saying “no” to drilling, Biden failed to suggest an alternative to a desperately needed source of power.
Read more at Townhall
Lets make all the Global Warming/Climate Change Nit-Wits wal to their far far away meetings and pow wows so they don’t use all that Fossil Fuels they want to ban
Amen. And if they get tired of walking, they should p!ss in their shoes and float.
“There is a lot of incomplete information about electric vehicles that is commonly accepted by environmentalists as fact and touted as a badge of sacrifice on the altar of climate activism.”
There is ALSO A LOT of incomplete information about how an all electric energy source dependent exclusively upon “clean energy” will be able to support current energy needs now supplied exclusively through fossil fuels.
Truth is… an all electric energy source dependent upon “clean energy sources” will be hard pressed to produce enough energy to sustain the current “mass quantities” of basic necessary modern human needs such as public water and the flush toilet or even thermostatic temperature control. Anything as frivolous as electric transportation will have to wait on discovery of some other clean energy source.
Truth is…. all the potential “Clean Energy” available ain’t got the joules to match mankinds current energy needs.
From the article, “Smaller cars may use their batteries for 7-10 years.” I will again speak for the middle middle class and lower income groups. The majority of the vehicles these people purchase are 10 years or older. Now add the cost of a replacement $12,000 battery and it becomes infeasible to buy a car, even at half of that cost. Liberals would say don’t own a car but use public transportation (which has a high potential to spread infectious agents). This doesn’t work well because commute times double or triple in many locations. Many people, such as my family, live in remote places that will never be served by public transportation.
Gerry, your “flush toilet” comment hit home. The house I inherited from my father in Oregon had the power source to the well completely destroyed. The well also supplies water to a neighbor. My wife and I were down there as I ran power from another location which took a few days. It was extremely inconvenient living in a house with no water. Most people don’t even think about water, or how it gets to them. It takes power.
David, I have a photograph of my house from 1898. There’s a windmill beside the house. I have purchased an old windmill, just for fun. Indoor plumbing was high tech back then.
My Oregon house originally had a windmill. That was replaced with a gasoline pump that had to be started and stopped manually. By the time I was born it was electric. I lived in that house from the age of 6 to 8. When we first moved the only plumbing was cold water at a kitchen sink. It was cold using the outhouses in the winter. Bathes were done in a washtub. Water was heated for this on both the electric and wood stoves. It was good to be a little kid. My sister and I were small enough that we could sit in the washtub. This is part of what going back to a simpler time means.
David, my older Camry hybrid is now 12 years old, and the batteries are just fine. But to your point, they won’t last forever. I will have to get “rid” of the car when the batteries need replacing, because new batteries will cost more than the car is worth. Wonder where all those metals will end up?