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Johnny Rochat - NorCal's avatar

Good start Geoff.

Then there are what I call Deferred Emissions. You know that electric thingy from the post that people plug into their electric thingy, crank the A/C to take the kids to soccer practice and dance class then back to plug it in again? Do they ever think about where that electricity comes from? No? I didn't think so. A full 60% of America's electricity comes from fossil fuels (16% from coal!). Just over 20% comes from renewables. https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3

Do those emissions happen in wealthy areas? I know what you're thinking, and you're correct - absolutely fucking not. So yeah, wealthy areas may have better air quality as a result of BEVs. Poor folks? Enjoy your smog from your local retailer, and part of me hopes Loper Bright brings that pollution back to the wealthy folks who think they've shit on poor people, again.

We also had a RAV4, until it was stolen last year. Hey, it was a great car, I don't blame them. It was so economical, we would not have replaced it but last year we managed to squeak into solar before California let PG&E screw the middle and lower class out of the possibility, so it was logical to replace our RAV4 with a plug-in hybrid RAV4. I'm proud to say we do not have Deferred Emissions, but I do realize we're a minority -- and fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. Our retired Tesla-owning friends have indeed found distance to curtail the traveling plans they had envisioned. And this past month there is a new burnt spot on the highway where a Tesla burned up, giving our rural volunteer firefighters quite the challenge, and as you point out - no contribution to maintaining the roads they destroy.

Geoff, I have an idea you and others will be writing a lot more about the 3D mess that is BEV.

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SallyJG's avatar

Thanks for this informative article. After I semi-retired, we went down to 1 vehicle, which is fine most of the time. But a used Leaf sounds like a great idea for trips around town, at least to look into!

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