Enjoy this new blog post from friend of the ACEER and author, Kim Henderson. Save the Rainforest, Drive an EV It’s that simple. The age of electric vehicles has finally arrived—and with it comes the potential to significantly reduce the world’s oil dependence. That’s excellent news for the rainforest, the planet, energy independence and even our own bank accounts. Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Nigeria all have substantial oil operations in rainforest areas. Yet historically oil drilling in the tropics has come at a devastatingly high price to biodiverse environments and sensitive native populations. Debt-ridden Third World governments, eager for economic growth, have frequently relaxed strict environmental standards for foreign oil operations. Oil is then often extracted irresponsibly and a wake of deforestation, degradation, disease and death ensues. Usually the oil companies and governments benefit financially while the rainforest and the people who live there are harmed irreparably, receiving very little or no financial gain at all. Chevron drilled in the Ecuadorian Amazon for thirty years, creating such an environmental that it has been termed “a rainforest Chernobyl.” Chevron was found guilty in the Ecuadorian courts and ordered to pay $19 billion, but hasn’t paid paid up. (You can learn more at chevrontoxico.) This needs to stop. WHAT YOU CAN DO With nearly 20 million barrels of oil being consumed in the U.S. a day, and 14 million a day consumed daily in the European Union, reducing your personal consumption of oil is one of the most dramatic ways you can lessen the demand that fuels oil drilling in the tropics. If you drive regularly, switching to an electric vehicle (EV) will greatly reduce your personal dependence on oil, save you money—and help rainforests in the long run. Every time a consumer purchases an EV, it adds to the world’s growing momentum away from oil dependence and toward a future of cleaner, renewable energy and energy independence. It’s good for the rainforest—and the planet. And let’s not overlook the fact that driving an electric vehicle is just, well, cool! The Skinny on Electric Vehicles An EV includes any vehicle that runs on electricity. There are several types. The Toyota Prius, a traditional hybrid, is currently the most popular electric vehicle in the United States. It essentially has two engines that work together—the internal combustion engine (ICE) combined with a battery-powered electric engine. The vehicle depends on them both and therefore uses less gas. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) differs from a regular hybrid in that it has a larger battery pack and has the ability to recharge from a standard outlet. It runs entirely on electricity for the first 30 to 100 miles or so, depending on the range of the battery. After the electric power is exhausted, the car is then powered by a backup gas tank. Of course, it has a plug to recharge the battery. PHEVs only recently became available to U.S. consumers. All-electric vehicles are also available. They do not have an ICE and run purely on a battery-powered electric engine. Advantages of PHEVs Engineers estimate that with a PHEV, an American driver could eliminate a whopping 85 percent of his or her gas consumption! The battery is recharged by plugging into the grid for roughly five to six hours. Charging at night while you sleep means reduced rates from utility companies—and with more and more renewable energy available from wind and solar sources, it holds the promise of being 100 percent renewable with no emissions at all. With most drivers rarely going beyond the range, this means that you could drive on electric power most of the time. Plugging into the electrical grid is a much more energy-efficient choice over gasoline—it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent—a figure that will improve as green electricity supplies increase. Yet oil will always be carbon-intensive and an environmental issue. Even with 50 percent of U.S. electrical power coming from coal, EVs still lessen greenhouse gas emissions compared with gas-motor vehicles due to tailpipe pollutants. Although coal power is “dirty,” coal plants are the better choice of two evils because they more efficiently convert fossil fuels to electricity than does petroleum. PHEVs are extremely energy efficient too. A gasoline vehicle or one powered by ethanol, biodiesel or hydrogen makes use of roughly 20 percent of the energy that it consumes compared to an EV, which can put more than 80 percent of the energy it consumes into operation. Also gas motor vehicles get dirtier as they age while EVs get cleaner as the electrical grid gets cleaner. Accenture forecasts 1.5 million electric vehicles in the United States by 2015 and potentially more than 10 million EVs by 2020. Some critics complain of the cost of electric vehicles. It’s true: they are more expensive. But many countries are offering tax credits as incentives. And some “green” corporations even offer their employees financial incentives to go electric. In the U.S., as part of the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, the law provides a tax credit of up to $7,500 for purchases of plug-in hybrid vehicles. (However, the credit begins to phase out for manufacturers after the first 200,000 are sold.) Add to the federal tax credit incentives offered by some states in the form of rebates, and the price comes down considerably. Moreover, EV engines do not require the maintenance an ICE does. Aside from a battery replacement, which can be financed, there are little to no maintenance costs involving the engine. That means no stopping at gas stations, no oil changes and no engine work. So you benefit, the environment benefits, and the rainforest benefits too. According to Paul Scott of Plug In America, the money you spend on powering your EV has another benefit—it stays in the local economy, whereas with a gas-powered vehicle, 60 to 90 percent of it goes to foreign oil companies. You help the rainforest and the economy at the same time. As electric vehicles become more commonplace, some of these initial incentives may go away, so take advantage now. EVs are becoming more affordable as technology improves and the market expands. And driving ranges are improving. The Tesla Model S and Roadster, Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf are leading the pack, but there are dozens more. Visit pluginamerica.org and evworld to learn more about electric vehicles. Be a vehicle of change by choosing to drive an electric car! RESOURCES Plug In America pluginamerica.org EV World evworld
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 16:38:57 +0000
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