Green, electric cars
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There has been a lot of hype in the past few years about “zero emission” green electric cars. However, just because an electric car isn’t spouting out puffs of exhaust fumes, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are much better than traditional cars running on gas.
People seem to forget that the power for electric cars has to come from somewhere. Other than the small percentage of power coming from solar panels and other alternative energy sources, electricity for “green cars” comes from generators. These generators burn coal, oil or diesel and also may be fueled by heat from nuclear power plants. So, even though the green electric cars appear clean, their emissions are just being burned somewhere else.
Manufacturers of green electric cars have recently changed the way that they rate their vehicles in relation to gas mileage. However, the EPA still hasn’t decided on a final standard to be used in rating the efficiency of electric cars. The rating will be a way for consumers to understand how much their electric car emits per mile. Even with the EPA guidelines, it will be almost impossible for drivers to assess the actual emissions of their electric cars because every area gets its power for different sources. States such as Kentucky and Indiana get a minimum of 90% of their electric power from coal plants which are notoriously high polluters. On the other hand, California gets just 1% of all their power from coal plants and almost half of their total power from low or no-emission sources.
It takes more than just a trend in green electric cars to make an eco-friendly world and prevent global warming. Governments need to push towards alternative energy sources so that electric cars can actually live up to their “no emissions” promises.