Siry: Why electric cars are cool even if global warming isn't

During the past several years, this blogger has frequently made the case that regardless of what you might think of the concept of human caused global warming, it still makes sense to move to more efficient technologies. Aside from climate change, there is the issue of national security that results from relying on energy from countries that are politically unstable. There are also perfectly legitimate economic reasons to want to use less energy, especially in a time of financial problems. Finally, independent of whether the emissions from burning fossil fuels cause the atmosphere to warm up, we know pollution causes problems.

Our old friend Darryl Siry thinks the same way, and explains over at Wired why electric vehicles should still be considered a desirable thing in spite of the recent controversy over the possible manipulation of scientific data on climate change. Siry did not come into the EV business as an environmentalist. He was (and is) a car junkie looking for a gig in California when he hooked up with Tesla. It just so happens that the characteristics of electric drive can make them very desirable to enthusiasts as well to the granola types (yours truly happens to fall into both categories). BEVs may not be (OK, probably aren't) the ultimate solution to all of our transportation problems – other technologies aren't either – but they certainly have a place in the overall pantheon. Let's not get distracted by political squabbling and keep moving forward with gasoline alternatives.

[Source: Wired]