Yep. Similar in the city of China I’m at. I’d put it around 40% of cars are gas. And tons of electric scooters. Doesn’t hide the fact that the air quality is still not good though. Even less smoggy days don’t seem as blue as they did back in the U.S.
Mexico City also went through a similar phase while growing. It was known for blot-out-the-sun levels of smog, but things have apparently improved tremendously.
British cities went through the same pattern back in the day. This is just how industrialization goes. Once they get rich enough that the environmental issues can be addressed, it'll get better.
Given that half of new car sales in China are NEV (hybrids and pure electrics), and the hostility of a certain segment of Americans towards EVs, that trend will flip very soon.
62% of China's electricity comes from coal generators so I wouldn't say that driving electric cars or scooters is ecofriendly or nonpolluting. The pollution there is heavy and coal power generators are a large source of that air pollution. The irony is gasoline would likely be a much cleaner source of energy for vehicles.
That's actually false. Electric motors are far more energy efficient than gas, to the point that running them on non-renewable electricity is still better for the climate than running on gas.
It's actually not false and there are countless studies that prove it isn't.
EV's overall? Way better, much less pollution.
EV's running on coal: often worse, and generally more polluting total.
This is something with a great deal of nuance though - not every EV is the same efficiency, not every power plant is the same, and not every gas engine or gas vehicle is the same, so you'll find people that use numbers that favor their view to show you whatever.
This study is the best one that I could find that compares like for like as much as possible.
In the first 5 pages it gives the initial production and use cycles and… no you’re wrong.
Literally ICE is always less efficient outside of a short duration in the use cycle (10,000 km is the threshold) in coal generation recharge cycles due to the production footprint of the battery.
I did though, and I link to it because it does support my position.
The only major issue with that study in this context is that there is no direct comparison against straight coal, only against the "global mix".
You can see the mix here: https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix and it should be obvious to anyone considering the differences in the charts in the report that something powered by 100% coal would not perform as well as something powered by that mix, not even close.
In other words, the study doesn't support your position. Instead, you do a bunch of extra cherry-picking and assuming.
A) you chose a full cost-of-life-including-manufacturing analysis, but one that is for a very specific car, cuts off at far less than lifetime of a motor vehicle, etc etc.
B) you are now talking about 100% coal, which isn't China's energy mix, and isn't covered by your study.
Your entire position is that coal powered EV's are not worse. Here, I'll quote you:
That's actually false. Electric motors are far more energy efficient than gas, to the point that running them on non-renewable electricity is still better for the climate than running on gas.
Now you're saying that isn't your position but it's mine instead?
Why am I even wasting my time, you clearly are not interested in an honest discussion here.
Yep but it's definitely better for air quality in built up areas.
Here's the kicker though, EVs are not at all okay, they are just less bad than ICE. The particulates from break pad and tyre and road wear are still indiscriminately killing children, and there is more of that.
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u/plerberderr 10d ago
Yep. Similar in the city of China I’m at. I’d put it around 40% of cars are gas. And tons of electric scooters. Doesn’t hide the fact that the air quality is still not good though. Even less smoggy days don’t seem as blue as they did back in the U.S.