Dickster's Random Thoughts: The Electric Car Part Deaux

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Electric Car Part Deaux

Image via WikipediaLast month, I posted my thoughts regarding The Electric Car. While I am not necessarily opposed to the idea of the electric car, I did question the benefits of the car in terms of the benefit that is most touted; that of zero carbon dioxide emissions. I wondered whether or not the zero emissions of the vehicle would be countered by the increased emissions in higher demand for electricity to recharge the car.

Monday afternoon, while driving home from work and listening to The Mark Levin Show, Levin highlighted a story that gave the answer to my pondering. Levin read directly from the Yid with Lid blog the results of a study conducted by Britain's Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership which is funded jointly by the British government and the car industry.

You can read the entire analysis at The Lid, but the gist of the article is this; by the time you add in the entire production and operation of the electric vehicle will emit more carbon dioxide than a similar sized gasoline powered vehicle. The increased emissions come primarily from the increased demand for electricity and the production and disposal of the batteries used in electric cars.

Normally I take published studies with a grain of salt. So often, the data is manipulated to get the desired results by those who sponsored the study. However, with a group such as the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership conduction the study, one would think that they would have a vested interest in producing a study with the opposite results.

As I said in my original post on the subject, I tend to be a big picture kind of guy. Unfortunately those that are pushing the green agenda will continue to only see one side of the equation and not the whole picture. They will continue to push the virtues of the electric car in spite of the evidence that it really isn't going to accomplish what they claim it will.