by aflurry » Tue 23 May 2006, 17:58:07
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jimmyz', 't')hat just like the cost of gas. heavy drivers use more gas than others and the price goes up for everyone.
I would say that the economic dynamic is the same, but in the electric car example, the effects of this dynamic discourage changing habits in favor of distibuting the burden of irresponsible behavior. If we're talking about the relative cost of driving different types of vehicles, I don't really care.
Private cars need to play less of a role in our lives. To whatever degree our energy crisis hits that discretionary segment of our usage spectrum more intensively, and less intensively on more critical areas like heat and food production, we benefit.
Driving should be priced to reflect its luxury. And I would personally prefer to see more poor people who can't afford to drive and fewer who can't afford their utility bills.
I am also suspect of the "greenness" of these cars. Hidden pollution is still pollution. Spent battery disposal would become a huge problem. Hybrids have the same issues.
Has anyone seen a full EROEI analysis on the electric car vs the ICE? If you factor in the losses from all of the energy state conversions, i expect you lose alot of useful energy along the way. (gas combustion > heat > mechanical > electricity > step up > transmission > step down > induction charging > battery storage > mechanical) Each of these steps is a lossy process. That in itself suggests that electricity just isn't the right energy source for this application.
I have always considered myself a "green," of some stripe. But I break ranks on this issue. This is an example of that "Save the Earth" bumpersticker on an SUV kind of mistake. It's a fundamentally flawed idea that you can buy your way into conservation.