Are you really saving the planet by driving an electric car?

Hello, electric car drivers. I know you’re saving the earth, but you might not be doing as much good as you think you are.

Now, I drive a hybrid, because I like it. Everyone is excited about the new electric car — Tesla. And it only costs $35,000 grand! But in all likelihood its a coal-powered electric car subsidized by taxpayers. So you’re driving a big steel chunk of corporate welfare that is more harmful to the planet than a traditional car.   

About 68 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. comes from fossil fuels. And a third of the electricity in the United States comes from coal. 

So the amazing hat trick that Elon Musk and others have done with the EV batteries is that they have traded carbon emissions you see for carbon emissions you don’t see. It’s like a little kid hiding their eyes to not be able to see something that scares them.

If the electric vehicle you drive is charged from an coal-powered electricity plant, it’s estimated to emit 15 ounces of carbon per mile which is 3 ounces more per mile than a gasoline powered vehicle. And the EPA says that the lithium batteries in the Tesla have high potential for environmental impact, including greenhouse gas emissions, environmental pollution and human health impacts.

So, if you’re EV battery electricity is powered by coal, the environmental impacts of it are 17-27 percent higher than compared to a conventional car.  And conventional cars are not based on corporate welfare. The Democrats in office have sold you what their clients want you to buy.