Charge of the electric light brigade
So Gordon Brown wants us all to whizz around in electric cars because they are 'green'. I see plenty of downsides but not many upsides, except reduced pollution in cities. Which from cars is miniscule compared with chuffy buses and diesel taxis. Will we see electric trolley-buses again? Am I alone in thinking it is not very green to lug about heavy batteries which will have required massive amounts of energy to produce (on the other side of the World) and whose energy efficiency (mostly from a non-renewable source of generated power) is pretty poor when power-line losses are considered. Range is also limited and the time taken for recharge limits the vehicle's availability and usefulness. 60 miles, then an overnight charge, what nonsense is that? Hybrids are not much better. The high-tech batteries required use precious and scarce natural resources, are expensive and have limited life. And if they are similar to those used in laptops we can expect them to fire-up at regular intervals with more catastrophic results. It will be a while before an electric car replaces my 40-year old Land Rover, which weighs no more than a BMW MINI and has preserved World resources by me not having to replace it with 6-8 new cars during its life. Now that is green. The trouble with politicians is they do not look at all the factors in the equation. They select those that make the most palatable sound-bite.
Asked on 9 May 2009 by
Answered by
Honest John
Politicians always have a different agenda from the spin they use to increase taxes on anything that moves. To me the real issue is very simple. Internal Combustion engines are at their most efficient (far more efficient in converting energy to motion than electric motors) when they do a lot of miles. They are at their least efficient and least
environmentally friendly on short runs, and especially short runs from
cold that cause all sorts of problems. Worst are diesel engined cars with advanced emissions control systems such as particulate filters.
Many people on the Disablilty Mobility allowance get themselves an
Internal Combustion engined car and use it for very short runs of up to 1,000 - 2,000 miles a year. Since recipients of Disability Allowance are on government money anyway, surely the way forward is for the government to use this to encourage use of electric cars among those of them who don't drive big distances. Electric cars are not practical for long distance use and never will be. They make the most sense for short runs, or use within confined areas, such as cities.
Prime Minister Brown and his Government should be concentrating on that instead of using the idea of electric cars as environmental 'spin' to inflict yet more draconian taxes on owners of cars with Internal Combustion engines.
environmentally friendly on short runs, and especially short runs from
cold that cause all sorts of problems. Worst are diesel engined cars with advanced emissions control systems such as particulate filters.
Many people on the Disablilty Mobility allowance get themselves an
Internal Combustion engined car and use it for very short runs of up to 1,000 - 2,000 miles a year. Since recipients of Disability Allowance are on government money anyway, surely the way forward is for the government to use this to encourage use of electric cars among those of them who don't drive big distances. Electric cars are not practical for long distance use and never will be. They make the most sense for short runs, or use within confined areas, such as cities.
Prime Minister Brown and his Government should be concentrating on that instead of using the idea of electric cars as environmental 'spin' to inflict yet more draconian taxes on owners of cars with Internal Combustion engines.
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