Posted by
Andrews on Saturday, March 28, 2009 6:43:15 PM
Top Gear already won my affection by pointing out all the exotic and polluting materials that went into producing hybrids, but they have gone one better on their show about electric cars. Besides pointing out that a Tesla takes 16 hours to recharge, meaning that the 200 mile range means it takes nearly two days to drive 500 miles, they also pointed out one fact that many forget when discussing "green" electric cars. Electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels! Unless we go to a completely nuclear electric grid, electric cars will be no less polluting than internal combustion engines. If there is any savings in pollution it will be because of the needless delays caused by that 16 hour recharge time.
So, once again, hurrah for
Top Gear. Amazing that the BBC could actually point out something that most commercial channels here have not bothered to mention.
POSTSCRIPT
I have obviously written quite a bit on environmentalism, and linking to all of them would create yet another tedious list, so I will list only a few of my essays on green energy:
One For All You Greenies
G-d Save Us From Simple Solutions
A Thought On Solar Energy
The Problem With Solar Energy
A Question For Those Worried About Climate Change
Honest Environmentalists?
Running an Economy on Compost, Saw Grass and Solar Cells
If you want to find my remaining items on environmentalism, I am sure the links in those posts will help you find them.