The newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act expands tax credits for buyers of electric vehicles, even used ones. To qualify, the bill requires at least some of the assembly in North America. Thus, some reasonably priced imports won’t get the tax credit.
This incentive for electrics will bring out the skeptics with their persistent and wrong arguments against electric transportation. Climate deniers, unrestrained by facts or ethics, have been claiming for decades that electric vehicles (EVs) are as bad or worse for the environment than internal combustion engines (ICEs) when you factor in all the manufacturing and powering elements.
The subject caught my eye with an Aug. 12, 2022, article in Motor Trend magazine headlined, “Electric Vehicles Are Way, Way More Efficient Than Internal Combustion Vehicles.” The piece is surprising because Motor Trend has long been all about celebrating gasoline cars.
The article says of the almost 9 million barrels of gasoline the US uses every day, about 80% is wasted in heat loss and parasitic auxiliary components that draw energy away. The energy loss with electric vehicles is only about 31-35%, and often even less because of recovery by regenerative braking.
Motor Trend cited the excellent Yale Climate Connection: “Even if the grid were entirely fueled by coal, 31% less energy would be needed to charge EVs than to fuel gasoline cars. If EVs were charged by natural gas, the total energy demand for highway transportation would fall by nearly half. Add in hydropower or other renewables, and the result gets even better, saving up to three-fourths of the energy currently used by gasoline-powered vehicles.”
Bear in mind that these figures just address energy demands. When comparing emissions, the difference grows even more pronounced.
A 2021 study by the International Council on Clean Energy found that EVs, which have zero emissions to operate, produce 60-68% fewer carbon emissions than gas vehicles over their lifecycle when factoring in the manufacturing process for the EVs and their batteries.
That point is confirmed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, www.epa.gov. The site addresses six myths about EVs, with power plant emissions being No. 1.
It’s no surprise that climate deniers spread disinformation about EVs. Exxon, for instance, lied for decades about its own research that predicted bad climate effects from its products. The oil companies are strictly out to protect their profits, which surprise, surprise, rose much higher during their recent gouging of consumers with record gas prices.
These days it’s fairly easy for folks to do their own research into myths and disinformation. The internet is a great fountain of knowledge, and some of it is even true. Ask and an abundance of answers appears.
The car companies, unlike their old buddies in the gas biz, are going all in on electric. Ford’s Lightning pick-up EV starts at about $40K and demand is high. Hyundai, Kia, Chevy, Nissan, Volkswagen, Audi and others have EVs for sale and they’re stepping up production. And charging stations are about to multiply.
So that’s where we consumers come in. If you don’t drive much, maybe it’s OK to keep your old gas car. A case could be made that all the materials needed in any new car, including rare Earth minerals, should give us pause before a purchase. But if you’re filling up at the gouge station two or three times a month, you might be a candidate for an electric vehicle.
You’d be doing some good for the Earth. You’d stop supporting bad companies and murderous states like Saudi Arabia by being a gashole. Tax credits make the price competitive, especially when you consider the low maintenance of EVs.
And one thing you’ll discover is it’s not really a sacrifice. Electric cars are a whole lot of fun to drive.
Frank Lingo, based in Lawrence, Kansas, is a former columnist for the Kansas City Star and author of the novel “Earth Vote.” Email: lingofrank@gmail.com. See greenbeat.world
From The Progressive Populist, September 15, 2022
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