Electric cars worse than diesel power, says prof

These are trying times for saving the world. Dr Ozzie Zehner, a professor in California, has just written a book trashing electric cars by claiming studies show that if you take the total cost of building the cars, the engines and the batteries, and add the cost of running them they produce more CO2 than diesel cars. This is at odds with a recent (2011) study by the Swiss, who found that even now electric cars are the most atmosphere-friendly, at least until petrol cars average 70 miles per gallon.

His thesis is debatable and has taken a kicking from the Huffington Post, an online left-of-centre (by US standards) "newspaper". Professor Zehner defended himself by claiming he was aiming at the way all energy sources should be considered. He emphasised that the world needs to reassess its energy usage and its whole lifestyle.

More available energy will decrease its price and result in more wastage and profligate use of it, including more use of climate-damaging energy forms. He claims he was not picking on electric cars especially. This is a bit rich; he called his book The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism. A man who really knows how to tap-dance.

He believes that the world shouldn't rely on a "big fix" of new technology to make everything right. All new technology comes with downsides, and should be approached with caution.

However, his major argument is that "investing in electric vehicle development, which is really simply subsidising our addiction to the car culture, might not be the wisest use of a nation's limited resources, particularly if the immediate benefits are marginal".

Zehner suggests that more attention to traffic patterns, traffic flows and urban development is needed, and with walking and bicycling encouraged. However, these are long-term solutions and the real danger is right now, as climate change appears to be accelerating, and possibly is at or near the point of no return. The world desperately needs to reduce its carbon dioxide and methane pollution.

On an international level, it is interesting to read that Mr Romney and his Republican Party have announced that the US, under Republican rule, would be self-sufficient in gas, oil and coal by 2020, and that no environmental checks will be tolerated.

Concurrently, there was an announcement of a "game-changing" new electric car battery design. It will be made of less expensive metals which are less polluting and lighter. It will also give more mileage. It is undergoing trials now in the US.

Good news, but don't forget that pinch of salt.

Ian Sutherland is a retired pathologist with a lifelong interest in natural history and concern for the environment.