Electric Hybrids Aren’t THAT Green…

I know there’s been a lot of hype about electric hybrids lately. After all, when these cars are on the road they’re practically a zero-emission vehicle. And, they get great gas mileage.

So what’s not to love?

Well, there are some aspects to these cars that make them less eco-friendly than car manufacturers would like you to believe.

We’re talking about what happens to the car at night. You know, when it’s sucking down electricity in your garage.

Scientific American just put out an amazing interactive web feature titled “The Dirty Truth About Plug-In Hybrids”.  This in-depth tool gives us a close look at hybrids, and why they’re not as green as we think.

What we learn is that the “greeness” of your electric car or hybrid depends on where you live.

Think about it: when you plug in your hybrid at night, you’re sucking power from your local power plant in order to “fuel” your car.

Well, if you live in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana or several other states, then you’re probably getting your power from a coal-fired plant. In this case, a 100% electric car will actually be 27% more polluting than a hybrid.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest (OR, WA, NV, MT, etc.) then you’re golden. 84% of the power plants out here use natural gas, which is much cleaner than coal. So, you can drive your electric or hybrid with confidence, knowing that your power is much cleaner than your friends on the east coast.

The feature, which you can see here, is a real eye opener. If you’re interested in seeing the dirty truth of YOUR power, then I highly recommend it. It just might make you think twice before buying a hybrid.