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Old 06-20-2011, 01:58 PM   #13 (permalink)
bennelson
EV test pilot
 
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Posts: 4,435

Electric Cycle - '81 Kawasaki KZ440
90 day: 334.6 mpg (US)

S10 - '95 Chevy S10
90 day: 30.48 mpg (US)

Electro-Metro - '96 Ben Nelson's "Electro-Metro"
90 day: 129.81 mpg (US)

The Wife's Car - Plug-in Prius - '04 Toyota Prius
90 day: 78.16 mpg (US)
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Thank you to the positive responses that EV drivers have given on this topic.

When I first saw the original post for this thread, I had considered deleting it, because is it obviously an intentionally negative, "you just can't win", statement and question.

However, I didn't delete it, because I believe that the underlaying questions of "Are you just moving your pollution somewhere else?", and "Is it really any better than just burning gasoline?", are legitimate questions that we really should ask.

I think most folks on this forum understand that burning fossil fuels is NOT the way to go. (Most members of Ecomodder are actively working to maximize fuel economy, and minimize fossil-fuel use.)

A typical EV usually around 4 times as efficient as its gasoline-burning counterpart. And as VpoppV stated, tongue-in-cheek, even in a worst-case scenario, EVs are STILL cleaner than a gasoline vehicle.

All that said, ANY waste of energy is still a bad thing. Even in electric vehicles, we should still try to minimize number of trips and number of miles we travel and carpool, use mass-transit, bike, and walk as much as possible.

Home-built EVer's realize that electric vehicles are NOT truely "Zero-Emission", but they are one of the best possible options currently available, and a great step in the right direction to reduce carbon footprint and energy use.

PS: I can't say for sure that Actwithclarity was just trying to stir up trouble with his comment. Text on the internet does not have "tone of voice" or body language, which is where most of our communication really happens.
Topics like this one are best debated in person with someone else, preferably over a good beer.
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Last edited by bennelson; 06-20-2011 at 02:02 PM.. Reason: PS
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