Social media posts that pretend to offer true facts about electric vehicles often do not attribute the information they present to credible sources. The initial expense of electric vehicles (EV) needs to be compared to how their ongoing performance compares with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
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Bill Turpin discusses the energy efficiency and GHG emissions of his typical EV that uses the Nova Scotia electric grid for charging. His calculations indicate that using an EV in Nova Scotia produces less GHG emissions than internal combustion vehicles even as Nova Scotia Power Inc. burns coal to generate electricity.
According to Nova Scotia Power’s 2020 emission intensity report, the utility emitted 629.7 grams of carbon (strictly speaking, carbon dioxide) for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) it sold me. This means my car indirectly emits 11,020 grams of carbon per 100 km (17.5 X 629.7). On average, a Canadian car burns nine litres of gasoline per 100 km and each burned litre creates 2,300 grams of human habitat-killing carbon dioxide. This means the average fossil-burner directly emits 20,700 grams of carbon every 100 km (9 X 2,300). Put another way, my average EV emits just 53% of the carbon emitted by a fossil-burner. Yep, right here in Nova Scotia. And that number will get better as more hydro from Muskrat Falls gets into the energy mix. Nova Scotia Power has cut its emissions intensity by 30 per cent over the past 15 years and electric motors are about two and a half times more efficient than internal combustion engines. The same amount of energy that moves an ICEV 100 km drives my EV for 250 km.1
Graham Readfearn writes, in the Guardian, about a cut-and-paste attack on electric vehicle batteries and renewables that is spanning the globe. Unattributed extracts from an essay decrying renewables and electric vehicles are being used to undermine their environmental credentials.
Across social media, internet forums and some climate science denier blogs, there has been furious cutting-and-pasting of chunks of common text attacking the environmental credentials of electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines. "About 200 tonnes of the “Earth’s crust” needs to be mined for each electric vehicle battery, and 11 tonnes of brine are needed just for the lithium, claims the text, which also says solar panels and wind turbine blades can’t be recycled." Some claims are made definitively and without context, and don’t try to compare electric vehicle batteries to the fossil fuelled cars they are replacing. Solar panels can be recycled and fully recyclable turbine blades are now being produced. The former resources minister and Queensland senator Matt Canavan was another to share some of the text that sat above a picture of a hollowed-out landscape. It took a few seconds to discover the scary but irrelevant image was of a diamond mine in Canada.2
PumpTalk, a blog created by Petro-Canada, a Suncor business, shares information and engages in discussion about a number of topics, such as fuel efficiency and product responsibility.
In November 2021, it published an Interview with Paul Raszewski, a realtor and the co-founder of TEVA – the Toronto Electric Vehicle Association, and David Bennetta, Suncor employee in Fort McMurray and an EV enthusiast, about making the EV Switch. Pump Talk asked for tips for drivers who are considering making the switch to an EV.
First, don’t be scared off by the cost. Even though the up-front cost is more expensive, the long-term cost is much better. Gasoline vs. electricity – you’ll save. No oil change, not as frequent brake service – the long term servicing costs are better. And second, look for an EV community who can give you support – they’re out there.3
As we consider the need to reduce our carbon footprint by moving to electric vehicles, it is important to look for information from credible sources published in recognised media.
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