I'm not looking for an "electric is great", just trying to understand the problem and see if there is something I would consider a fair comparison. Yes, saying electric motors are %80 efficient doesn't tell the whole story, nor does comparing prius to hummer or any other half baked comparison (i.e. cost).
Coal puts out more co2 per BTU,
about %30 more than gasoline. and almost twice as much as natural gas. So I don't know if CO2/mile is any better a reference point for comparison than cost/mile.
There is a graph on page 25 though that lists BTU/mile, and has the ICE at 5300 and the EV at 3000, but that ratio is "suspiciously" close to the CO2 numbers(400/230). Could be coincidence I suppose.