Quote:
Originally Posted by tomonomics
Oil is only burned for 1% of our electric...however coal/natural gas generate almost 70%. Do we really want to triple our coal consumption so that we can have 'cleaner' cars?
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We are headed there regardless of whether we consume crude or not to run our vehicles. Simple consequence of population growth, increasing standards of living and the inherently high degree of uncertainty in nuclear power from an investment standpoint -- one miscalculation and that nuclear plant is a financial loser before it's even operational. Which basically means coal power will see a tremendous increase in the decades to come.
The question is do you want to continue relying exclusively on a gasoline powered cars that are subject to the whims of speculative oil demand or do you want to finally have greater diversity in our vehicle fleet? I'm not sure why its always argued that electric vehicles will never get to the level where they can replace the gas-burning car because that's not at all the point. If the consumer can wake up one day and say "both of these cars cost $25K, let me consider my needs to determine which is better for me" then we'll create greater diversity in our domestic economy and less reliance on the volatile and uncertain nature of the oil market.
As far as a greener planet, good luck with that mother Earth. The cleanest energy is rarely the cheapest.
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