{"id":21194,"date":"2021-04-07T10:46:33","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T15:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=21194"},"modified":"2021-04-07T10:46:33","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T15:46:33","slug":"the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/joenomias-2512814\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;amp;utm_content=3117778&quot;&gt;(Joenomias) Menno de Jong&lt;\/a&gt; from &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;amp;utm_content=3117778&quot;&gt;Pixabay&lt;\/a&gt;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-21201 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-1024x611.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-768x458.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-1536x917.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/graphics\/are-electric-cars-really-better-for-the-environment\/\">Wall Street Journal article<\/a> answers definitively YES to the question\u202fof whether\u202felectric vehicles\u202fare\u202freally better\u00a0for the environment.\u202fBut\u00a0even\u202fthis\u202fstrong endorsement\u00a0of\u00a0electric\u00a0vehicles\u00a0underestimates just how good these cars,\u00a0trucks\u00a0and buses\u202fwill be\u202ffor our climate and air.<\/p>\n<p>The\u202farticle\u202freports findings from researchers at the University of Toronto. The researchers compared vehicle\u00a0emissions\u00a0for\u202fa\u00a02021 Toyota RAV4 and a Tesla Model 3.\u202fThe study\u202fis\u202fclear that operations are cleaner\u00a0for\u00a0electric vehicles.\u202f With\u202feach mile driven, the electric vehicles\u2019\u00a0environmental performance outpaced gasoline-powered cars, quickly wiping out the slightly higher\u00a0production\u00a0emissions for electric vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Even with a relatively\u202fdirty\u202ffossil-fuel-based\u202felectricity generation mix and metal-intensive battery materials, this study \u2013 which looked only at a snapshot of technology as it is today \u2013 found that electric vehicles break even with gasoline-powered cars at about 20,000 miles of\u202flifetime usage. And that break-even point is getting lower quickly, as electric vehicle technology accelerates faster than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polestar.com\/us\/polestar-2\/performance\/\">a Polestar<\/a> with a tailwind.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/graphics\/are-electric-cars-really-better-for-the-environment\/\">Wall Street Journal article<\/a> finds that\u202fgasoline\u00a0vehicle emissions are 77% higher than\u202fan electric vehicle powered by a national average generation mix\u202fat the\u202f100,000 mile\u202fusage mark.\u202fIt\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0explain, though,\u00a0that\u00a0the average car\u00a0in the United\u00a0States\u00a0will be driven\u00a0about\u00a011,100\u00a0miles per year for\u202f9.5 years \u2013 totaling\u202fmore than\u00a0105,000 miles. It also doesn\u2019t explain that light, medium and\u00a0heavy duty\u00a0trucks are\u00a0driven much more than cars, meaning even more emissions benefits.\u202fThe article also compares greenhouse gas pollution, ignoring the significant health and environmental benefits of\u00a0eliminating\u00a0cancer-causing\u00a0exhaust from our children\u2019s school grounds and crowded urban\u00a0areas.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding the University of Toronto study, in addition to a myopic view of emissions\u00a0and static representation of quickly evolving electric vehicle production methods,\u00a0there are several assumptions that merit more\u202fsophisticated representation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Electricity\u00a0will keep getting cleaner.<\/strong> It\u2019s not appropriate to assume that today\u2019s national average generation mix will stay the same in the future. For example,\u00a0the U.S. Energy Information Administration\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/outlooks\/aeo\/electricity\/sub-topic-02.php\">Annual Energy Outlook for 2021<\/a> reference case includes a\u00a0decline of coal power,\u00a0and\u00a0forecasts renewable generation will be 60% of\u00a0the one\u00a0terawatt of cumulative capacity added\u00a0thru\u00a02050.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/EIA-graphic.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-21196 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/EIA-graphic-1024x511.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/EIA-graphic-1024x511.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/EIA-graphic-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/EIA-graphic-768x383.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/EIA-graphic.png 1350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Electric vehicles will have\u00a0\u201ctime of use\u201d electricity pricing plans<\/strong>, which mean they\u2019ll have economic\u00a0incentive to charge up\u00a0when\u00a0electricity\u00a0is cheaper.\u00a0As more renewable solar and wind generation becomes available, the cheaper electricity will also be the cleanest.\u00a0 We see this already in California,\u00a0Hawaii\u00a0and Texas where renewable generation is a small part of total capacity but has a large influence on wholesale energy prices, in part because it is hard to store.\u00a0Already many areas, like <a href=\"https:\/\/rtoinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019-State-of-the-Market-Report.pdf\">Texas<\/a>and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.caiso.com\/informed\/Pages\/ManagingOversupply.aspx\">California<\/a>, are\u00a0curtailing\u00a0excess renewable generation because it doesn\u2019t\u00a0line up with demand. Electric vehicles are poised to\u00a0store up\u00a0that\u00a0low-cost, clean power.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Battery production <\/strong>does have a concerning\u00a0environmental footprint, but\u00a0future\u00a0battery raw materials\u00a0will\u00a0change\u00a0and manufacturing methods will improve in terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/rmi.org\/insight\/breakthrough-batteries\/\">efficiency<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/resourcegovernance.org\/analysis-tools\/publications\/sustainable-drive-electric-vehicle-battery-supply-chain\">sustainability, and worker and human rights<\/a>. Industry leaders are committing to supply-chain reforms\u00a0related to both environmental footprints and worker rights. For example,\u00a0Tesla has committed to exploring how to reuse materials,\u00a0yet today only\u00a05% of li-ion batteries are recycled.\u00a0Several other efforts are also underway, including\u00a0OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas,\u00a0the Responsible Minerals Assurance process, the Extractive Industries transparency Initiative, and the Cobalt Industry Responsible Assessment\u00a0Framework.\u00a0A variety of battery technologies are in play, with a\u00a0shift away from high amounts of nickel and cobalt towards\u00a0lithium iron phosphate\u00a0and lithium-air\u00a0or other\u00a0chemistries\u00a0that\u00a0could dramatically reduce raw material demand\u00a0and\u00a0battery\u00a0supply chain\u00a0impacts. The International Council for Clean Transportation estimates\u00a0the potentials in the chart below to reduce the emission footprint of EV production.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21199\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/chart.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"502\" height=\"201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/chart.jpg 502w, https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/chart-300x120.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 502px) 100vw, 502px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The\u00a02021 production snapshot is missing other trends<\/strong>, such\u202fas\u202fdeclining\u00a0manufacturing costs, increasingly clean electricity,\u00a0and\u00a0increasing efficiency costs of internal combustion vehicles as they meet NOx and greenhouse gas standards.\u202f\u202fWhen\u202fforecasting\u202fscenarios to 2050, 29 years into the future, these\u202ftrends really\u202fbegin to\u202fmatter. For example,\u00a0if the emissions impact of electric vehicle production were to be mitigated by\u00a02.5% per year,\u00a0the 2050 impact will be half of the 2021 value.\u00a0Innovation breakthroughs are also likely within this\u00a0three-decade time\u00a0frame given\u00a0the enormous private investment,\u00a0scaling, and\u00a0public\u00a0policy commitment we\u2019re now seeing for electric vehicles.\u00a0For example, on April 1, 2021, the Biden administration proposed\u00a0the American Jobs Plan that, among other investments in\u00a0infrastructure, will make a $174 billion investment to win the electric vehicle market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These additional considerations make it even more likely that electric vehicles will\u202fprovide significant environmental benefits, even when viewed through a narrow lens of climate change pollution.<\/p>\n<p>There are\u00a0many\u00a0additional\u00a0reasons\u00a0electric vehicles\u202fbeat\u00a0gasoline vehicles.\u00a0While the article makes no attempt to\u00a0conduct a full assessment of costs and benefits, considering\u00a0only carbon dioxide pollution\u00a0in the decision to go electric is woefully incomplete.\u00a0From a public health perspective,\u00a0vehicles are significant sources of local air pollution.\u202fFor example,\u00a0diesel fuel powers 99% of US\u00a0heavy-duty\u00a0trucks and buses. Though\u00a0less than 5% of vehicle miles travelled, those diesel trucks and buses are the source\u00a0of\u00a0roughly\u00a0half of\u00a0on-road NOx and direct PM2.5 emissions. In\u00a02015, they caused an estimated\u00a09,500 premature deaths.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also notable that the comparison is a snapshot of production and\u202ftechnology today, not the electric vehicles of the future powered by a zero-emissions grid.\u202fThe trajectory for improving\u00a0gasoline\u00a0engine performance, after\u202f125 years of effort, is flat \u2013 whereas electric vehicles are\u00a0improving significantly\u00a0with each new production\u00a0cycle\u202f.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/graphics\/are-electric-cars-really-better-for-the-environment\/\">Wall Street Journal article\u2019s<\/a> authors\u202fdo a good job of making clear the dramatic benefits of electric vehicles, but\u202fthey miss\u202fan\u202fopportunity to\u202fclarify\u202fthe simple steps needed to maximize those benefits. Policymakers\u202fshould\u202ffocus on the\u202ffactors that will matter\u202fmost \u2013\u202fclean electricity, better batteries\u202fsourced with sustainable raw materials, and\u202fthe need to think now about end-of-life components recycling and reuse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent Wall Street Journal article answers definitively YES to the question\u202fof whether\u202felectric vehicles\u202fare\u202freally better\u00a0for the environment.\u202fBut\u00a0even\u202fthis\u202fstrong endorsement\u00a0of\u00a0electric\u00a0vehicles\u00a0underestimates just how good these cars,\u00a0trucks\u00a0and buses\u202fwill be\u202ffor our climate and air. The\u202farticle\u202freports findings from researchers at the University of Toronto. The researchers compared vehicle\u00a0emissions\u00a0for\u202fa\u00a02021 Toyota RAV4 and a Tesla Model 3.\u202fThe study\u202fis\u202fclear that operations are cleaner\u00a0for\u00a0electric vehicles.\u202f &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3455,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4020,43,116,202,8,20],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-21194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cars","category-economics","category-energy-technologies","category-greenhouse-gas-emissions","category-health","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much - Climate 411<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much - Climate 411\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A recent Wall Street Journal article answers definitively YES to the question\u202fof whether\u202felectric vehicles\u202fare\u202freally better\u00a0for the environment.\u202fBut\u00a0even\u202fthis\u202fstrong endorsement\u00a0of\u00a0electric\u00a0vehicles\u00a0underestimates just how good these cars,\u00a0trucks\u00a0and buses\u202fwill be\u202ffor our climate and air. The\u202farticle\u202freports findings from researchers at the University of Toronto. The researchers compared vehicle\u00a0emissions\u00a0for\u202fa\u00a02021 Toyota RAV4 and a Tesla Model 3.\u202fThe study\u202fis\u202fclear that operations are cleaner\u00a0for\u00a0electric vehicles.\u202f ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Climate 411\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-07T15:46:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Fine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Fine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jamie Fine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7facc818fe89d6717932643b1723dc59\"},\"headline\":\"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-07T15:46:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1014,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/7\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Cars and Pollution\",\"Economics\",\"Energy\",\"Greenhouse Gas Emissions\",\"Health\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much - Climate 411\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/7\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-07T15:46:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7facc818fe89d6717932643b1723dc59\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/7\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/7\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/07\\\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/\",\"name\":\"Climate 411\",\"description\":\"Blogging the science and policy of global warming\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7facc818fe89d6717932643b1723dc59\",\"name\":\"Jamie Fine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2bcb53a3334ff9fe045e477f846302bbc942550c11913abb967ab84b2707699b?s=96&d=mm&r=gbdcd1fcbb6b1a2103fe6c1fe7f3ea489\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2bcb53a3334ff9fe045e477f846302bbc942550c11913abb967ab84b2707699b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2bcb53a3334ff9fe045e477f846302bbc942550c11913abb967ab84b2707699b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jamie Fine\"},\"description\":\"Senior Economist As Senior Economist, Jamie Fine works to reduce the impacts of energy systems used to power buildings, transport and service people, and produce and move goods. Follow Jamie on Twitter \u00bb\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.edf.org\\\/people\\\/james-fine\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/author\\\/jfine\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much - Climate 411","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much - Climate 411","og_description":"A recent Wall Street Journal article answers definitively YES to the question\u202fof whether\u202felectric vehicles\u202fare\u202freally better\u00a0for the environment.\u202fBut\u00a0even\u202fthis\u202fstrong endorsement\u00a0of\u00a0electric\u00a0vehicles\u00a0underestimates just how good these cars,\u00a0trucks\u00a0and buses\u202fwill be\u202ffor our climate and air. The\u202farticle\u202freports findings from researchers at the University of Toronto. The researchers compared vehicle\u00a0emissions\u00a0for\u202fa\u00a02021 Toyota RAV4 and a Tesla Model 3.\u202fThe study\u202fis\u202fclear that operations are cleaner\u00a0for\u00a0electric vehicles.\u202f ...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/","og_site_name":"Climate 411","article_published_time":"2021-04-07T15:46:33+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Jamie Fine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jamie Fine","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/"},"author":{"name":"Jamie Fine","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#\/schema\/person\/7facc818fe89d6717932643b1723dc59"},"headline":"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much","datePublished":"2021-04-07T15:46:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/"},"wordCount":1014,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg","articleSection":["Cars and Pollution","Economics","Energy","Greenhouse Gas Emissions","Health","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/","name":"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much - Climate 411","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg","datePublished":"2021-04-07T15:46:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#\/schema\/person\/7facc818fe89d6717932643b1723dc59"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/7\/files\/2021\/04\/car-3117778_1920-1-300x179.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2021\/04\/07\/the-wall-street-journal-says-electric-vehicles-are-better-but-underestimates-how-much\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Wall Street Journal says electric vehicles are better \u2013 but underestimates how much"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/","name":"Climate 411","description":"Blogging the science and policy of global warming","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#\/schema\/person\/7facc818fe89d6717932643b1723dc59","name":"Jamie Fine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bcb53a3334ff9fe045e477f846302bbc942550c11913abb967ab84b2707699b?s=96&d=mm&r=gbdcd1fcbb6b1a2103fe6c1fe7f3ea489","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bcb53a3334ff9fe045e477f846302bbc942550c11913abb967ab84b2707699b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2bcb53a3334ff9fe045e477f846302bbc942550c11913abb967ab84b2707699b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jamie Fine"},"description":"Senior Economist As Senior Economist, Jamie Fine works to reduce the impacts of energy systems used to power buildings, transport and service people, and produce and move goods. Follow Jamie on Twitter \u00bb","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.edf.org\/people\/james-fine"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/author\/jfine\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21194"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=21194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}