Lowering your carbon footprint

[AFTT47]

Buying a hybrid or battery-powered vehicle allows one to move the pollution to those coal-fired plants in Utah.

Tesla did a study on this.

For starters, coal supplied just under half of the power in the US in 2008 and it's down to 30% (and falling) today.

Power plants are far more efficient than gasoline engines - typically double. Electric cars are > 80% efficient. Even if the electricity to charge an electric car is generated by a coal plant, there is still a net gain in emissions, albeit a very small one. In most cases, there is a very large advantage because ~32% of our power comes from natural gas and ~35% from zero-emission plants (nuclear, hydro,wind,solar).

Electric cars are definitely greener.

[Fireball]

Buying a hybrid or battery-powered vehicle allows one to move the pollution to those coal-fired plants in Utah.

Tesla did a study on this.

For starters, coal supplied just under half of the power in the US in 2008 and it's down to 30% (and falling) today.

Power plants are far more efficient than gasoline engines - typically double. Electric cars are > 80% efficient. Even if the electricity to charge an electric car is generated by a coal plant, there is still a net gain in emissions, albeit a very small one. In most cases, there is a very large advantage because ~32% of our power comes from natural gas and ~35% from zero-emission plants (nuclear, hydro,wind,solar).

Electric cars are definitely greener.

OK. Now go reclaim the rare earth elements out of the batteries. While you are at it, look up how much petrochemical energy is used getting the nuclear fuel ready for use in a reactor, without using fast breeder reactors as a possible source.

[ignoramus]

From what I read, no amount of "green" can offset the mining and refining of lithium. One of the dirtiest and most polluting jobs out there.

I don't think we can save us from ourselves before it's too late. I really don't.

The real simple answer is to get rid of 80% of the population Wholesale savings!

[The Valkyrie]

From what I read, no amount of "green" can offset the mining and refining of lithium. One of the dirtiest and most polluting jobs out there.

I don't think we can save us from ourselves before it's too late. I really don't.

The real simple answer is to get rid of 80% of the population Wholesale savings!

Working on it.

But my estimate is 90 to 95%.

Total if I get the measure wrong.

[Paleophyte]

Working on it.

But my estimate is 90 to 95%.

Total if I get the measure wrong.

Closer to 99.9%. The sustainable carrying capacity of Earth has been estimated at a few million humans.

Soylent green is green!

[ignoramus]

I'm imagining no more murders will ever be solved because we can all eat the evidence

Remember! I do not like sausages anymore! K?

[Rhizomorph13]

I used to think that EVs are dirtier because of the initial carbon cost to manufacture the batteries instead of just the one battery in a gas burning vehicle. According to these two articles:

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/19/ele...ions-myth/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/...2e3e960964

it appears that the cost is a bit higher (about 15%) and even really significant (up to 68%) in longer range EVs but along the lifetime of the car the efficiencies of power plants means that operating an EV greatly reduces your footprint over time. According to the Tesla article the batteries can be 70% reclaimed so that is encouraging.

[ignoramus]

And replaced with another shiny new set! (what if we factor that in to the total polluting cost?)

Don't get me wrong, our dependence on fossil fuels needs to stop, full stop.
I just don't think current tech batteries are the answer. Let's see where graphene/super capacitors takes us in the next few years.
I'm quietly confident.

[onlinebiker]

Buying a hybrid or battery-powered vehicle allows one to move the pollution to those coal-fired plants in Utah.

Tesla did a study on this.

For starters, coal supplied just under half of the power in the US in 2008 and it's down to 30% (and falling) today.

Power plants are far more efficient than gasoline engines - typically double. Electric cars are > 80% efficient. Even if the electricity to charge an electric car is generated by a coal plant, there is still a net gain in emissions, albeit a very small one. In most cases, there is a very large advantage because ~32% of our power comes from natural gas and ~35% from zero-emission plants (nuclear, hydro,wind,solar).

Electric cars are definitely greener.

R.J. Reynolds did a study too....

Guess what they found??



Extrapolate.

[ignoramus]

My mustang's much more environmentally friendly than a prius! You see, it's always broken and never goes anywhere! shhhh! (Don't tell Beccs!)