WSJ commentator on EVs: 'For 9 in 10 of electric-vehicle-owning households, it’s only a second car'

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As of July, only 2% of Americans own electric vehicles (EVs). | Michael Fousert/Unsplash

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Biden's green energy agenda continues to push for a transition toward electric vehicles, a move most critics say isn't practical or reliable as EVs are expensive and not all that much cleaner than their alternatives. Statistics show that only one in 10 electric vehicle owners use their EV as their primary car, and instead largely rely on a gas-powered vehicle. When compared to EV owners nationwide, the number of individuals who use them as their primary mode of transportation is largely in the minority.

As of July, only 2% of Americans own electric vehicles (EVs), according to Kelley Blue Book reports. If 90% of EV owners also have a gas-powered car that they drive more often than their EV, as stated in Bjorn Lomborg's recent commentary piece in the Wall Street Journal, then .002% of Americans solely drive electric vehicles. In places like California, which is attempting to "ban gasoline-powered cars," this poses a major issue.

"In reality, electric cars are driven less than half as much, which means they’re much costlier per mile," Lomborg wrote. "In part this is because electric cars are often a luxury item. Two-thirds of the households in the U.S. that own one have incomes exceeding $100,000 a year. For 9 in 10 electric-vehicle-owning households, it’s only a second car. They also have a gasoline-powered car—usually a bigger one, such as an SUV, pickup truck or minivan—that they use for long trips, given its longer range."

Electric vehicles are only sometimes and somewhat better than gas-powered vehicles, according to Lomborg. Not only are they much costlier, but during their lifetime, EVs emit a little less than half as much CO2 as their alternative, estimates from the International Energy Agency said.

In calling the climate effects of EV efforts "trivial," Lomborg says that "if every country achieved its stated ambitious electric-vehicle targets by 2030, the world would save 231 million tons of CO2 emissions. Plugging these savings into the standard United Nations Climate Panel model, that comes to a reduction of 0.0002-degree Fahrenheit by the end of the century."

In a WSJ letter, Rae Rosen points out that during hotter months, California residents are asked to reduce their electrical usage during certain hours of the day in addition to being constantly asked to reduce their electrical usage. Meanwhile, the state is urging its residents to buy an electric vehicle, which begs the question, "How will [they] charge all these electric cars with such a massive increase in demand for electricity?"

Lomborg points out that politicians across the country are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into EV efforts, keeping consumers from purchasing the cars they desire "for virtually no climate benefit" He says EVs will take over the market in the event that further innovation actually makes them better and cheaper than gasoline-powered cars.

As part of a broader effort to become emission-free economy-wide by the year 2050, Biden has set the goal of 50% electric vehicle sales by 2030, reported The Guardian.

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