[Lil bastard]

Electric vehicles are currently all the rage, but if you look closely, it's not the panacea many in government or the media are making it out to be.

First, it's really gonna tax an already, and increasingly, overworked and underbuilt grid. A grid which is currently more than 85% coal powered. Coal is the highest carbon emitter of all hydrocarbon fossil fuels. While centrally producing power from coal pollutes less, it's still (at it's current 85% level) going to keep us above pre-1990 carbon emmission levels. And this ratio cannot be changed for nearly 45 years given the time to build and bring a new electric plant online - remember we're not talking one or two, we're talking thousands of them. And that's just to replace the current capacity which is already insufficient.

No one wants Nukes (particularly the unknowledgeable and the scare-mongering Press). France produces 50% of it's power from nukes and Japan 85%, they're laughing at us over here and our 'No-Nukers'.

And there isn't a reliable, or efficient means of storing wind and solar generated power (for when the Sun's not shining or the Wind's not blowing). Add to this that the only efficient ways to use Wind or Solar is by commercial scale Wind or Solar Farms. These by necessity are located far out in rural and desert areas. People are all for these farms, but then oppose the transmission lines going through their own areas to gain access back to the Grid - NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), significantly slowing (by an average of 6 years in each contested case) the conversion to these methods.

Finally, the supply/demand pressure on electricity is gonna skyrocket once it also assumes the burden of transportation energy, and the price per killowatt Hr. right along with it. Suppose you're now paying $200/mo. on fuel and $200/mo. on electricity. If only 35% of the cars on today's roads convert to all-electric, your combined fuel/electricity bill is gonna exceed $700/mo. And that burden is going to be subsidized equally by all electric users, including your employer (who may furlough you to maintain the same margins) and those who do not operate a car.

Electric cars play well to the Press, Politicians and the Simpletons amongst us. But, if you run the numbers it becomes crystal clear that this is the wrong way to go. The current Technology, Public Sentiment and Time Lag prevent overcoming the obstacles an all-electric transportation system will pose.

Cheers!