Electric Vehicles – What they’re selling ain’t what you’re buying.

Save the planet. Go green. Buy an electric vehicle.

I think I’ll pass. Here’s why.

The “environmentally woke crowd” claim electric vehicles will cut carbon emissions and help us avoid the end of the world as a result of global warming. Without thinking about it too much, you might say, “Yeah… they’re right.” But are they?

There’s one small problem with their theory. They ignore where the electricity comes from to recharge EVs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 62.7% of the electricity generated in the United States comes from fossil fuels. Of that, more than a third comes from power plants that use coal… the same thing that fired the boilers on the Titanic. Simply put, more electric cars equal a greater demand for electricity, which equals the need to burn more natural gas, coal, and other fossil fuels which in turn increases carbon emissions. It’s just pouring out of a smokestack instead of a tailpipe.

When confronted with that fact “the greenies” tend to throw the renewable energy mental stun grenade at you. The fact is wind and solar power combined account for only 9% of the electric power generated in the U.S. Add hydropower to that and the number is still less than 16%.

Nuclear power accounts for 19.7% of electricity generated in the U.S., but only one reactor has come online in the past 24 years. Obviously, there’s no big rush to split more atoms to keep the lights on your electric car rolling down the road.

We won’t even get into the fact that our antiquated power grid would probably go up in a smokey poof when everyone plugged in their EV to recharge. You also have to dismiss the panic of scrambling to find a charging station when you’re away from home and the time it takes to recharge a depleted battery. If your battery goes dead in the middle of nowhere, do you break out an emergency hand-crank generator that’s next to the spare tire?

Oh yeah… the battery that powers an EV is both extremely toxic and flammable. Not very green… or safe, eh?

I’m not falling for the go green EV spin. I’ll stick to burning dinosaur bones.

Rick