California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
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Re: California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
#2Serious question: unless all the electricity for these vehicles comes from completely renewable and environmentally friendly sources, won't banning fossil fuel emissions from motor vehicles just externalize this pollution onto electric power plants? Is there data to show that the environmental impact will be somehow lessened?
Re: California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
#3Serious question: unless all the electricity for these vehicles comes from completely renewable and environmentally friendly sources, won't banning fossil fuel emissions from motor vehicles just externalize this pollution onto electric power plants? Is there data to show that the environmental impact will be somehow lessened?
It is easier to monitor and maintain a few large sources of pollution than many many smaller sources.
Re: California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
#4Serious question: unless all the electricity for these vehicles comes from completely renewable and environmentally friendly sources, won't banning fossil fuel emissions from motor vehicles just externalize this pollution onto electric power plants? Is there data to show that the environmental impact will be somehow lessened?
Since charging of electric vehicles can be done intermittently and can also be time shifted, it could match with renewable energy sources relatively well, acting as virtual storage.
Re: California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
#5Serious question: unless all the electricity for these vehicles comes from completely renewable and environmentally friendly sources, won't banning fossil fuel emissions from motor vehicles just externalize this pollution onto electric power plants? Is there data to show that the environmental impact will be somehow lessened?
Generally, it's much easier to make a larger engine more efficient and pollute less than one that has to be small, light, mobile, and safe in an impact.
Re: California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
#6Serious question: unless all the electricity for these vehicles comes from completely renewable and environmentally friendly sources, won't banning fossil fuel emissions from motor vehicles just externalize this pollution onto electric power plants? Is there data to show that the environmental impact will be somehow lessened?
The keyword for the problem you're talking about is the "long tailpipe theory." [1] I was just reading Wait But Why's article [2], which concluded that the overall greenhouse impact will still be lessened by using electric cars over internal combustion.
I didn't dig into the sources enough to conclude that it's truly a better option, but those articles are a good place to start.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_long_tailpipe
[2] http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/06/how-tesla-will-change-your-lif...
Re: California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
#7Serious question: unless all the electricity for these vehicles comes from completely renewable and environmentally friendly sources, won't banning fossil fuel emissions from motor vehicles just externalize this pollution onto electric power plants? Is there data to show that the environmental impact will be somehow lessened?
Well, let's say you've got millions of classes that all perform the same operation. Now you refactor those millions of classes to rely on a handful of classes to perform those common operations. Now you've just made it easier to eventually refactor those few remaining classes into something nicer, cleaner, more efficient.
Sure, you're just shifting the source of pollution in the interim, but once cars are no longer polluting, changing the source they charge from is the last roadblock to removing those emissions from the system.
Re: California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
#8Serious question: unless all the electricity for these vehicles comes from completely renewable and environmentally friendly sources, won't banning fossil fuel emissions from motor vehicles just externalize this pollution onto electric power plants? Is there data to show that the environmental impact will be somehow lessened?
A quick googling produced:
The impact of coal-burning power plants and gasoline can be quantified. The EPA estimates that the average passenger vehicle emits 5.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. Coal-burning power plants, on the other hand, produce more than 4 million metric tons per power plant, per year. The overall carbon dioxide output of coal-fired electric power plants exceeded gasoline by more than 30 percent in 2010.
Re: California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
#9Serious question: unless all the electricity for these vehicles comes from completely renewable and environmentally friendly sources, won't banning fossil fuel emissions from motor vehicles just externalize this pollution onto electric power plants? Is there data to show that the environmental impact will be somehow lessened?
It is easier to monitor and maintain a few large sources of pollution than many many smaller sources.
Plus the large sources of pollution are typically further away from major population centers (i.e. fewer people directly breathing in the output from the smoke stacks), while the small sources of pollution are in the major population centers (i.e. more people directly breathing in the exhaust fumes).
Re: California Has a Plan to End the Auto Industry as We Know It
#10Serious question: unless all the electricity for these vehicles comes from completely renewable and environmentally friendly sources, won't banning fossil fuel emissions from motor vehicles just externalize this pollution onto electric power plants? Is there data to show that the environmental impact will be somehow lessened?
A quick googling produced: The impact of coal-burning power plants and gasoline can be quantified. The EPA estimates that the average passenger vehicle emits 5.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. Coal-burning power plants, on the other hand, produce more than 4 million metric tons per power plant, per year. The overall carbon dioxide output of coal-fired electric power plants exceeded gasoline by mo…
California doesn't burn coal. It's mostly natural gas and some oil. Natural gas is a very efficient fuel in terms of CO2 output.