MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 22, 2024
Full adoption of electric autos is worth single digits to the climate “crisis,” if — and only if — the grid is 100% green. The U.S. grid is 17% green. While we like to claim Maine’s grid is 70% green, one can debate the meaningfulness of that claim while connected to a national system that is 17% green. The change to electric vehicles is decades premature and harmful to the environment until the grid is 100% green. Add to that the damage to multiple Third World countries while we extract rare elements and, worse yet, using labor practices we would not tolerate in Western countries. Add to that the fact that electric vehicles cost much more, especially buses. Add to that EVs sell only with large subsidies while the U.S. is $34 trillion in debt. This makes no sense. ~ Brian Jones, Gorham