how are electric vehicles better for the environment when they pollute so much to make and still have to have the power created by polluting, and they pollute majorly when the massive battery has to be disposed of? I know it sounds loaded but I recently had my other big objection explained away by one of these and so want to revisit this.
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In terms of powering the vehicle itself, by using electricity we are able to use a combination of green power sources like solar, wind and hydro power, and where our power is generated with fossil fuels, it is created at a power plant level. Power plants have been designed to be as efficient as possible, so they waste less of the energy contained within the fuel to things like heat, and convert more of it directly into electricity.
The engine in a car is much less efficient in operation than a power plant, so wastes more of that energy.
We also gain other benefits like the ability to charge slowly overnight – because it takes time to adjust the output of a large power station, this means during off peak hours we can often be generating more electricity than we are using, and by charging using this surplus electricity we can make use of what would otherwise be waste.
In terms of the production of the vehicles themselves, the question is whether it is more environmentally friendly to produce a traditional engine and drivetrain, or an electric motor and batteries. Here traditionally the electric vehicle has been the worst option thanks to some of the (harder to produce) materials required to make the batteries, however there is still a significant environmental cost in producing a car using an internal combustion engine.
The gap has been narrowing as the electric market has grown and technology improved, and any loss during the production stage is normally recouped through the better (environmental and monetary) operating costs over the lifespan of the vehicle.
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