Does the image address the real reason EVs make sense? No way. There are lots of positives about EVs including being more fun to drive, cheaper to operate, more reliable and perform much better. All those and more items are important. But, let’s talk about what the image.
It is suggesting that EV chargers are powered by coal-fired power plants. Clearly some are. Few but some. Let’s call that the worst case. How bad is it?
Generally, coal-fired power plants are located far from the centers of cities. They are bad creating acid rain and other air pollution. But, at least they tend to be “in the middle of nowhere”. Thus, the pollution from the worst case EV charging is not where the EV is driving.
I grew up in Los Angeles California. I rode a bicycle to high school. Sometimes the pollution was so bad I would stop at Sears on the way home to breath some air conditioned air until I felt well enough to ride the rest of the way home. There is a street in Pasadena called “Foothill Blvd.” On some holidays — when there was little car and truck traffic — you could sometimes see why that was it’s name. It ran along the base of a mountain.
I don’t have the statistics but I expect the percentage of people with respiratory issues is much higher in Los Angeles than in Santa Barbara or San Juan Capistrano. Think about it.
