Archives

Mother Earth News article "Why EV's are Cleaner".
http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-transportation/electric-cars-zm0z11zsto.aspx

Chart from article comparing EV carbon footprint by region of country.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/multimedia/image-gallery.aspx?id=2147492318&seq=1

Chart from article comparing carbon footprints of EV's, hybrids, and conventional cars.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/multimedia/image-gallery.aspx?id=2147492318&seq=2

From the charts, it looks like any gasoline car that gets over 50mpg in the Mid-west or South will have a smaller carbon footprint than a Leaf-sized EV operating in that region. In California, the gas car would have to get over 75mpg to reach carbon foot print equivalency.

Something that gets left out of the picture is the origination of the carbon.

ie: Middle East crude versus natural gas and coal from America or at least North America. And factor in how much of the charging electricity will be allocated from wind and solar?

That's what that regional chart shows. The parts of the country with higher CO2 poundages generate more of their power with coal, those with lower poundages have more hydro, wind, and solar.

And remember that the regional chart just shows the average carbon footprint for each region. If your utility offers a renewable-power option (as ours does, for a relatively modest surcharge), you may be able to cut your BEV's carbon footprint to a fraction of that figure.