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Do EV's actually do anything beneficial for the planet? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by helpmyusernamewontfi to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I've seen a lot of posts here on Lemmy, specifically in the "fuck cars" communities as to how Electric Vehicles do pretty much nothing for the Climate, but I continue to see Climate activists everywhere try pushing so, so hard for Electric Vehicles.

Are they actually beneficial to the planet other than limiting exhaust, or is that it? or maybe exhaust is a way bigger problem?

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[–] ShellMonkey@lemmy.socdojo.com 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

How does one convert MPG to KWh? Electricity generation takes numerous forms with notably different efficiencies converting input to output...

[–] maynarkh@feddit.nl 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, it should be miles-per-kilowatt-hour, or kilowatt-hours / litres per hundred kilometers, like most of the world uses it.

[–] GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I kinda agree, lots of different formats in every direction, lots of dividing 1 by numbers to compare things.
One site lists Wh/mi, another Mi/KWh, manufacturer site only lists the range based on speed.
Then comparing it to figures for countries using metric distance, customary sized gallons for ICE, and L/100KM...It gets fiddly to make direct comparisons!

On the efficiency of generation, I guess it's open to the reader to apply their own modifier.
I'd be aiming to charge the car using private solar as much as possible which would drive it down.
National Grid emissions in the UK last year were about 217g/KWh on average. Even using grid the whole time, the emissions would be easily halved for me.

Edit: There is a suitably lengthy wikipedia page on MPGe. Having skimmed it, MPGe doesn't take into account upstream efficiency. While well-to-wheel gives a clearer picture, I can understand why for a simple metric MPGe does not. Especially since the primary function will be users gauging cost, and the electricity source should gradually improve over time.