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All electric cars are not the environmental panacea they are often made out to be – that’s the shock conclusion of a major new report from the Environmental Transport Association (ETA). And indeed, it calls for some introspection to find out about the expectations from electric cars and the unintended consequences of completely moving over to electric cars.

Well, ask yourself, if everyone was to drive an electric car, it is going to increase the requirement of electricity. And with an all time increase in electricity requirement, the generation of electricity will not only be a challenge but you will need to clearly think of the increased raw material requirement for electricity. Where are the raw materials and how will you produce electricity that can sustain an electric car revolution?

The report dubs the idea that electric cars automatically cut CO2 pollution a myth, and claims the current system of emissions and energy regulation needs root and branch reforming to effectively address global pollution. In hindsight, you are looking at only controlling CO2 emissions, while efforts need to be made to ensure that pollution levels fall globally, be it in terms of Co2 or the increased electricity usage of electric cars. While, there is no need to discount the electric cars because they afford us an opportunity to broaden the fuel replacement alternatives, we have to look at strategy to ensure that a mere change of fuel to electric cars do not end up compounding the environement woes.

Andrew Davies, ETA Director, has opined that the electric cars should not be considered as a panacea for global pollution. Without causing any intended dampening of enthusiasm for electric cars, he goes on to say or suggest that we need to make changes in the way we produce and tax power. And he seems to be logical in his thinking because we need to understand and address the increased demand of electricity. If we do so, we can gain long term environmental benefits for everyone.

In essence, electric cars are a good alternative to current situation; however, we need to analyze the complete impact on the environment by considering the increased need of electricity and we need to define the steps that will be needed to meet the increased demand of electricity. It is as good as asking yourself 2 questions – a) Who will produce the increased levels of electricity? b) How will the electricity be produced? And if you are able to answer these effectively, do not forget that you need to calculate the compounding effect of increased electricity generation on the natual resources and green environment.

Hybrid cars may just be the right option to conserve the green environment.

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