Energy Efficiency Matters

An interesting article on electric cars and net greenhouse gas emissions (during operation) can be found at EnergyDSM.com.

What I don’t see them taking into consideration, is the manufacturing costs of the car. So, as long as you’re comparing the gas-only new car versus an electric version you’re OK. But, I think you’re still better off just running your existing car for another 100k miles, even if it gets pretty poor gas mileage.

The article includes some interesting charts on the regions mix of power generation across the US. I was surprised to see that TVA’s Hydro production does not have an appreciable impact on the SE generation mix. Here in Washington, BPA’s hydro is still the main source of electricity in the region.

Another note of interest was the amount of power still generated with oil in New York and Florida.

This isn’t exactly about power plants, but it does go to show what good warranties and thoughtful maintenance practices can accomplish.

See the video: Rachael’s Comet, “Chariot”

From the GlobalSpec Newsletter:

Amid all the hand-wringing over Toyota’s recalls, one 90-year-old woman proves that a car can last almost indefinitely if you take care of it, reports Growing Bolder. Rachel bought her 1964 Mercury Comet new and has put every one of the 540,000 miles on the vehicle. She wisely purchased lifetime warranties on many of the parts, which has yielded no-cost replacement of three sets of shocks, seven mufflers, and 16 batteries.
(www.globalspec.com)