Can The Electric Car Really Save The Planet?

The Auto makers of the world are jumping all over themselves to be the first ones to come out with a viable electric car. An environmentally friendly, zero emissions, gonna save the planet electric car that the driving public will be able to run around town in without feeling any guilt about destroying the environment for future generations. Japanese auto maker Nissan announced this past May that it is working on such a vehicle and has already unveiled a prototype. It figures it will have it in mass production by sometime in 2010. U.S. auto makers are not standing put either. The much touted and highly anticipated Chevy Volt, which is a gas-electric hybrid car from GM, is set to be ready in about 2012.
The technology comes with a few drawbacks that have not yet been worked out however. The first one is cost. An electric car runs on a rechargeable lithium battery that can cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000 each. Another problem with them is that they cant take you very far on a charge which means your time on the road will have to be limited. It will only be useful for short trips. You will not be able to travel very far from home and get back before the battery dies on you.
Perhaps the biggest drawback is the increased harm that electric cars may do to the environment. In order to run electric cars there will have to be an increase in the amount of electricity that is produced nationwide. Most of the electricity that is generated in the United States still comes from the burning of coal primarily. The increase in demand for electricity from using electric cars will mean an increase in the amount of coal that will need to be burned to generate that added electric power and that may be the worst thing that can happen to the environment from a perspective of global warming, not to mention the added pollution it will bring and a reduction in the quality of the air people breathe and all the added health problems that also may bring. The electric car is a great idea on paper but in reality it may not be the savior we have all been waiting for. A better answer might lay in the way auto makers go about making cars. The average American car since 1985 has increased in weight by nearly 1000 lbs. The amount of horse power in the average engine has also increased by nearly 100% going from about 100 horse power to 200 in that same time. These changes all lead to greater usage of gasoline and further straining of the environment instead of moving in a more productive direction such as a car called the Mini cooper which comes out of Britain. It is a small compact car which has been around for decades and can run for nearly 40 miles on one gallon of gas. Lighter and more fuel efficient cars are a more impacting solution to the crisis of global warming in the immediate future.