I have worked in the automotive business for over 30 years in R&D. This may be a shock to many, but diesel is the only way to go right now. It is the most efficient power source we have at this time. Now with the advent of algae based fuels, diesels make more sense than ever for transportation. Algae can be grown in polluted waste water and produce a very clean burning fuel that is actually better than petroleum based fuels. It also cleans up the water that it is grown in. That along with the fact that we will no longer need to be dependent on foreign crude makes it really attractive. We have the technology on the road today to get over 70 mpg with only minor changes. 100 mpg is right around the corner. Problem is the oil companies don't want them. VW has a fantastic diesel powerplant but the general public is ignorant to diesels. They will kick the crap out of a gas or hybrid vehicle across the board. A good friend of mine who has friends at JPL says that a battery that suits our needs for a quick charge electric vehicle with decent range at a low cost is 20 years away. Diesel is ready now and a small home farm can grow corn to make enough bio fuel to be totally independent.

Ian Uber's EV - uses 210 Wh per km, that would be - like saying 21kW if it were at a steady state, how does that compare? My own EV - an Electrically converted Pontiac Firefly weighs in at 2,000 lbs, and on the highway - gets by with approximately 75 Volts x 185 Amps, or about 13,700 Watts for a highway speed of an actual (in traffic) 100 Kmh, or per km - that's about 137 Wh/Km (Watt Hours per Kilometer). True - it is a little car, but also note - it is powered by Lead-Acid Flooded 12V Batteries - just about the worst choice for an EV. An Australian, with a little Sport Ute, running at 144 Volts (Mine is nominal 96V), has reported his Energy use here - http://www.ev-power.com.au/-TECHNICAL-ARTICLES-.html - and shows that lead acid uses 40% More energy to get the km driven, than the heaviest Lithium Batteries - Lithium Iron Phosphate! (LEAD ACID - 421.18 Whr/mile vs. LITHIUM ION - 301.98 Whr/mile) And that is the actual wall plug energy supplied, as measured at recharging. This is with DC Motors - No Regneration delivered - just raw energy used! So - the question comes on the assumption of the energy use per average speed. If I am coasting - I am using Zero Energy - and may be traveling still at 100 kmh, and a car that gets some 28 miles per gallon is already using Gasoline PLUS Electricity - even while coasting - since it took Electricity in the Refinery to crack the Crude, run the lights, power the Computers, pumps, Heating for both the process and the office, Air conditioning / Cooling for the office and the processes, Security Gate Motors, Stop Lights, and marker lights, Hazard Beacons (For Aircraft - on the Towers), and whateve else is powered by electricity at the refineray - alone! Then there is the energy used to deliver the Refined fuels (Gas, Diesel, and farm gas) to a Tank Farm, and the energy to again move it from the tank farm to the various 'Gas Stations', where - yet more electricity is used to pump the fuel back up from the underground tanks, keep the pumps lighted at night - light the store or booth for the staff, Light the Price Per Litre or Per Gallon Tower Sign, Power the lights for the Pump Awning - pump bay cover / Roof, power the slurpy machine, Pop Coolers, microwave, lotto machine, hot-dog warmer, light the washroom, power the hand dryer, etc. All this electricity so you can get you Gallon of Very energy Packed Gasoline, (Which Energy Might simply have come mostly from the Electricity put into all the processes to get it to your car!) to put in your Car and heat up you Internal combustion Engine (ICE, from - ICE-Age), throw out most of the heat into water, exhaust, pipes, etc., and use a little bit of the energy to move your car forward. However - a 28 mpg car (Is that US Gallons or Canadian?), would unlikely use 20 kWh per hour at an average speed of 30 mph, but might well use 20 Kilowatts per hour - traveling at a steady 60 mph! Now - I have referenced two sources for my calculations for energy used in EV's, and I see none referenced as to where you got your data on Coal - Energy Produced, Emmisions - Which Coal Plant - Which Law Suits Stating Exessive Emmisions, Etc.! In other words - unless yo have your own empirical Evidence - Like myself and the Australian, and Ian have provided, please reference your sources. OK? Deal?

That's some good info, however I think the importance of electric cars is that we start to make a change. So initially we all switch to electric cars, we've solved the emissions from cars problem. Then we can start to focus on how to reduce the emissions from power plants, or look at alternative energy sources. I also think you should look at where the emissions are, it is going to be a lot easier to control CO2 from a few smokestacks than from millions of individual cars.