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To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (169460)	12/6/2008 9:54:03 AM
From: Dan3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Re: still the efficiency of an electric vehicle, even if the generator utilizes oil or fossil fuels, is 10x that of a gasoline powered vehicle Nope. A car is typically about 20% to 25% efficient but can range up 35%. Stationary diesels can be up to 50% efficiency but electric distribution and charging losses use up about 30% of the power generated. You're most likely looking at real world net difference of, at best, 35% vs. 25% and I'm assuming a very, very, efficient distribution and charging process. If you just switch to hybrids, it's probably a wash. Now if you were to build a Nuke on one of the islands, you'd have a zero emission source for the electricity and it would used domestic fuel, but I'm not sure a Volcanic island is a good place for a Nuke. If she wants to do something less idiotic, she should build an LNG terminal on one of the islands.

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (169460)	12/6/2008 10:55:49 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Respond to of 306849

really? you can get more energy from the plug than from the generator? or is your theory that the electric vehicle creates its own energy?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (169460)	12/6/2008 11:27:05 PM
From: Think4Yourself	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

While I am not against electric cars, and they have a place for city commuting, in the grand scheme of things the electric vehicle is really not significantly better than gas powered vehicles. Unless your electricity is hydro, wind, solar, or maybe nuclear, you are generating a lot of pollution and waste that you don't see. One note of caution: Do not confuse electric with hybrid. There is a big difference between the two. Hybrids ARE efficient because the engineers can finely tune the engine, which makes a huge difference in efficiency. A lot of the electric car's efficiency is also simple regenerative braking, which a hybrid can easily do. Power plant efficiencies are high, but not 100%. Most power comes from coal, and coal fired power plants are quite possibly THE biggest air polluters in the USA. The transmission of power over the grid loses 10+% of the power, and that percentage will rise significantly if electric cars become popular. The battery is not 100% efficient. The battery has toxic and corrosive chemicals. Morons dumping them in fields and otherwise disposing of them improperly poison the groundwater. Many people get suckered in by the initial high mileage claims, which assume a fully charged battery. Unless you can get large quantities of electricity for free, you need to add that cost in. poof, there go the savings. The proponents of the electric vehicle, and hybrids, count on people being too uninformed to figure that out. Almost every owner will also need to install a new electric circuit in their garage to handle the monster power needs of the battery.