Powering Electric Cars
My letter to the editor about electric cars and the Illinois Clean Car Bill received a response published in the State Journal-Register today. Steve McGrew writes that people should save gasoline by not slamming on the gas peddle. He's absolutely correct. That's another good way to use less gas and thereby reduce your carbon footprint.
I have to disagree with the other assertions in McGrew's letter. He suggests that electric cars won't reduce carbon emissions because most power generation comes from coal & natural gas, which also contribute to global warming. First, only about half of power generation in Illinois is from coal-fire power plants with most of the rest coming from nuclear plants.
Closer to home, McGrew should keep in mind that CWLP is now using some wind power and more is on the way, thanks to the clean energy agreement with the Sierra Club. In the near future, CWLP will add a green buy-in program that will allow people to pay an additional cost to ensure that more wind power is used to power their home (or their electric car). The agreement calls for several other measures that will result in CWLP reducing CO2 emissions to below 1990 levels for its native load.
Finally, electric cars produce less CO2 even when powered by coal plants because they use energy more efficiently. A study by Carnegie Mellon institute is one of several sources that tell us running an electric car powered by coal plants still produces less CO2 than driving a conventional car. So even someone who gets their power from coal plants shouldn't be discouraged from driving electric.
Of course, McGrew and anyone else concerned about where we get our power is welcome to join the Sierra Club's continuing efforts to promote renewable energies that will reduce emissions that cause global climate change.