[Vision2020] Mega-loads Ultimate Impact: Geological Society of America Oct. 2011 Meeting: Archean to Anthropocene

[Ted Moffett]

On 5/18/11, Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> People also forget that most cars that run off electricity are pulling power
> from outlets that run off the burning of coal.
>
> There is no such thing as free clean energy. I would try to use the Sun
> more and reduction of usage.  Some neighborhood communities are starting to
> go off the grid by setting up locally run solar power farms that power the
> houses.
>

Coal fired electricity generation is arguably the most serious problem
regarding reducing fossil fuel related anthropogenic impacts on
climate, considering world coal reserves compared to oil and natural
gas (unless methane hydrates become exploitable on a massive scale for
energy) and the future potential for CO2 emissions from coal.  Massive
CO2 sequestration from coal power generation, often presented as a
practial solution, presents serious problems.  Maybe future technology
will address this, but I currently do not think CO2 sequestration from
coal has been demonstrated to be practical and affordable on the scale
of the hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 that would be sequestered.
Economically beneficial CO2 re-use technology would be a major
breakthrough.

There are numerous alternatives to coal (solar, wind, geothermal,
biofuels, tidal, wave, 4th generation fast nuclear reactors, etc.) and
energy effciency and lifestyle changes (fewer long daily work
commutes, for example) of course are part of the solution, along with
slowing or stopping world population growth.

But electric cars even when charged from coal generated electricity
can emit less CO2 considering entire car/energy lifecycle than
gasoline powered cars, depending on the type of vechicle, etc.:

This study reveals the effciency gains of electric vehicles:

http://www.stanford.edu/group/greendorm/participate/cee124/TeslaReading.pdf
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http://www.electric-cars-are-for-girls.com/electric-powered-cars.html

>From website above:

Many electric vehicle (EV) critics claim that charging thousands of
EVs from aging coal plants will increase greenhouse gases such as CO2
significantly. The overall mix of power plants in the U.S. is 55
percent coal, 9 percent natural gas, and 4 percent oil. The other 32
percent include nuclear power and renewable energy sources such as
hydroelectric, solar, wind, and geothermal. However, although half the
country uses coal-fired plants, EVs recharging from these facilities
are predicted to produce dramatically less CO2 than internal
combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. According to the World Resources
Institute, EVs recharging from coal-fired plants will reduce CO2
emissions by at least 17 to 22 percent.

Furthermore, in a study conducted by the Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power, EVs were significantly cleaner over the course of
100,000 miles than ICE cars. The electricity generation process
produces less than 100 pounds of pollutants for EVs compared to 3000
pounds for ICE vehicles.

Why?

Because EVs are significantly more efficient in converting their
energy into mechanical power.

Even though there are emissions associated with coal- and oil-fired
power plants, smokestack emissions associated with charging EVs are
extremely low, and in fact, EVs can charge from zero emission sources
such as nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, and wind power.
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett