[FROM CLEANTECHNICA] The US Department of Energy has put to rest the myth that EVs are worse for the environment than vehicles that use diesel or gas engines. This is something like the 107th time that a reputable organization has concluded this.
Sure, regular CleanTechnica readers know that EVs are better, but as with those believing in the flat earth theory, there are some who cling to the idea that EVs are worse for the environment than ICE vehicles — and that number is surely bigger than the membership of the Flat Earth Society.
USA Today posted a fact-checking article that reflected this debate. A post on Facebook claimed that electric vehicle batteries weigh around 1,000 pounds and require more than 500,000 pounds in raw materials to make. The meme stated that “driving an electric car won’t save the planet.”
Yes, it is true that EV batteries weigh around 1,000 pounds and that creating one requires digging up, moving, and processing tons of raw materials. However, you have to dig up raw materials to make your laptops, smartphones, and other electronic gadgets. And you have to do much more to build and operate gasoline cars.
Another variation of this bit of misinformation was given life by a study that claimed that a Tesla Model 3 produced more CO2 emissions than a Mercedes C-Class with a diesel engine. That study, published in 2019 in Germany, had also been recently proven false in a new study that explained in detail that EVs last longer than expected and are much cleaner than fossil-fueled cars. “A Tesla Model 3 currently emits 65% less CO2 than a Mercedes C-Class,” Auke Hoekstra, co-author of the study, wrote.
