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Zero emissions? Not so fast...

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  • Description

    Author claims electric cars may not be as 'green' as you think

  • Duration 4:07
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Pack I hate to remind you about that but millions of Americans are preparing to pay Uncle Sam and of course are also looking for tax -- is about like the government tax credit as much as 7500.

Dollars.

For environmentally friendly electric cars.

But -- ads say these cars produce zero emissions our next guest says that may not actually be the case in fact he says.

Green cars have a dirty little secret.

And tax breaks for them.

May not be in the best interests at taxpayers be your mom -- is the author of cool it and the skeptical environmentalist he wrote an article on the Wall Street Journal just the other day.

The dirty secrets about electric -- -- with the dirty little secret about with simplicity clean car.

Well they don't emit CO2 when they're driving the road.

But they take up a lot of C -- to fossil fuels essentially when they're being produced so they take up as much as what it would take to drive eighty.

Thousand miles when they get parties because batteries are incredibly.

Energy.

Costly to produce and then at the same time for you actually -- charge him with the electricity that's also mostly produced with fossil fuel.

So is your problem with electric car continue -- mentioned that you're not against electric cars once they become more efficient perhaps that is the -- really in the building in manufacturing of the cars.

Or is it and -- how we drive them.

Minutes mostly in the production and it's the fact that we don't recognize.

We're actually emitting lots and lots of suits you even with -- electric cars now if you drive them for a very long white.

-- they are probably slightly less CO2.

Emitting then a regular gasoline driven car but it's only 24%.

-- it's not zero.

It's not a 100% less right so you've got to realize.

You still amid a lot of C -- two and if you don't -- -- a lot which there's a good evidence that we don't.

Then you actually could end up emitting more suited to with electrical.

-- you had your critics -- you know that probably one critic heavier -- article in the Wall Street Journal said this he said.

There is no region of the United States were driving an electric car is not cleaner than driving the average gasoline vehicle and almost half of Americans live in states were electric cars are by far.

The best option.

Available today the best option well.

He looked at the EPA when you just look at how much electricity do you use and how much -- -- producing proceeded to vs the gasoline that's absolutely church.

If you don't drive it just with coal fired power plant -- actually emit less C -- two.

The problem is.

You've already made a lot more -- -- to you when you produce the card that's what you're missing in the calculation that's what the BB article virus purchase period published scientific article that tells us.

We actually know that unless you drive your co.

A lot you do have to drive and I got 100000 miles or more of really you know you better by the -- -- 90000 miles yeah okay what kind of party drive and just hearing I don't have a car.

I'm -- Cristiano and then write -- family friendly -- -- argument for investing and it generally speaking in green technology.

Sure it's not necessarily the cleanest that it could be.

But were on the way there and that's -- tax breaks and subsidies are important for this industry because right now it's best -- available and it'll only get better.

Oh of course we should be investing in making better electric cars I would love to see a future what we have lots and lots of electric cars but we should focus on the research and development side.

Make better electric cars and then sell them -- right now -- just selling them to make people feel good about themselves but the honest answer is.

The net benefit even if you drive your electric car very long while.

The net benefit is about 44 dollars to the environment when it 44 dollars over the entire entire life -- -- and right if that might actually.

Have reduces emissions which is already a fairly optimistic assumption but let's assume that.

Forty -- -- yet we pay more than 7500 -- because we also subsidize a lot of the other come.

Companies producing best that doesn't make sense so what we should be doing is.

Make sure we invest in research and development.

Get better greener cars and then of course eventually everyone will be driving one also in China but don't necessarily give this tax break right now but not the -- -- -- department.

Okay feeling great -- is all right thanks for coming back visiting ass thing.

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