Happy Independence Day, everyone! Let's celebrate by discussing something that Japan is doing much better than the United States! Making Hybrid Electric and Electric Vehicles. But which is better? It's time to find out!
Electric Vehicles
I just want to remind everyone of the differences between Hybrids and Electric Vehicles. Hybrids run primarily on gasoline or diesel internal combustion engines but they also have electric motors that are charged while the car is running, typically while the car is breaking. Electric Vehicles are the cars that you plug in at night and can run for a certain number of miles before they need to switch over to a gas motor or just die on the side of the road. Get the difference? Sounds great, let's move on to the good stuff! First up is Electric Vehicles (EV).
Green Pride (18/20)
People looooooooove EVs. Most of the time, they're ridiculously expensive and gas would need to be something like $10 a gallon or you have to drive a couple hundred miles a day (beyond the range of the EV) for it to be financially worth it. So the people that buy these cars are usually very proud of how good they are for the environment. When you meet someone that has one of these cars and don't know what to talk about, bring up their car and you've got your conversation covered for that entire night. If you need to get out of that conversation, all you have to do is suddenly remember that you forgot to plug in your EV and you're off the hook.
Green Guilt (5/20)
People like to read about EV and the newest models that are coming out, but deep down, they know that they probably won't own one of those any time soon. The guilt would be a lot higher, except that everyone has an amazing way to overcome that guilt without making too much of a sacrifice. And I'll mention that amazing way in just one minute.
Reader Comments (0/10)
I couldn't decide either. Maybe next time!
Hybrid Vehicles
Green Pride (12/20)
That amazing way is for people to buy a Hybrid Vehicle. HVs are marginally better for the environment than regular cars and marginally more expensive. They're a great way for people who are eco-lazy to be eco-friendly without changing their lifestyles in a single tangible way. Even though they didn't do anything other than write a slightly bigger check when they were paying for their cars, they're really proud of their slightly smaller carbon footprint.
Green Guilt (12/20)
I'd say that out of every 20 people, at least 12 realize that they should spend the extra money upfront and do what's right for the environment. If they don't they'll be plagued with some eco-guilt every time their friends are bragging about their EVs.
Reader Comments (0/10)
They're worth double now, so make sure you comment!
Time to tally the scores!
Electric Vehicles: 23
Hybrid Vehicles: 24
I promise you that I don't know the scores ahead of time until I tally them at the end. I don't modify things so that they come out really close. I really am unbiased (except for some really rare cases) so these really close results are genuine. I hope you didn't have Electric Vehicles and forgot to comment, because that would have made all the difference!
Next time is (1) Wind Power vs. (5) Offshore Wind Power. What's up with all these really similar concepts going head to head?
Wind Power has to win. A bunch of wind turbines right next to a road is way cooler looking than a bunch of them in the middle of a lake or ocean.
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