There are many benefits of operating electric vehicles. First, there is no fuel odor as the vehicles operate on batteries; not on gasoline, diesel, or some other type of combustible fuel. Electric vehicles are quiet...the ride is virtually silent. By correctly using regenerative braking, electric vehicles achieve greater brake life as well as create energy through kinetic energy. By using high-tech composite technology, electric vehicles can be much lighter than an ICE counterpart which also helps reduce brake wear along with road wear.

Electric vehicles are much more energy efficient. Electric motors convert virtually all of their fuel energy into usable power. The internal combustion engine (ICE) is less than 20% efficient.

Maintenance cost, including fuel cost, is much lower with an electric vehicle. There are no tune ups or oil changes necessary. By eliminating everything on a vehicle maintenance checklist that pertains to the ICE, it becomes a pretty short list. And, by charging at night, the "fuel" for an electric vehicles is reduced up to one-fourth the cost of gasoline or diesel.

Electric vehicles, especially electric buses, provide great public relations benefits. The public and media alike love riding in and talking about zero-emission electric vehicles.

There are, however, two primary benefits of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles. Electric and hybrid-electric vehicles can help reduce our nation's use of foreign oil as well as reduce pollution that negatively impacts health and well-being.

Reduction in Use of Foreign Oil

By reducing the amount of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, we also reduce our dependence on the unstable Middle East for the tremendous amount of oil we currently import and consume. The US economy continues to maintain a staggering trade imbalance. The importation of foreign crude oil is responsible for a large part of that imbalance. The use of alternative fuels, specifically electricity, allows more dollars to remain in our economy. Oil imports represented about 43% of total U.S. oil consumption in 1993 and have increased to around 46% today while still rapidly rising. Given current policies and trends, U.S. oil imports are projected to cost over $100 billion per year within ten years, considering only direct purchase costs. Oil imports cost the United States significantly more when indirect costs such as foregone jobs, loss of GDP, national defense, and environmental damage are taken into account. The United States could greatly reduce its oil imports during the next twenty years by increasing energy efficiency and accelerating the introduction of fuels derived from renewable energy sources, particularly in the transport sector. The graph shown below illustrates the continual rise in U.S. oil importation over the last 25 years.

With world oil prices low and expected to stay that way for some time, the outlook for the United States is for continuing increases in demand for petroleum products and decreases in crude oil production. Oil provides about 40% of all U.S. energy. Imports of crude oil and petroleum products (about 8 million barrels per day, bpd) supply about 46% of U.S. oil consumption of about 18.8 million bpd. Some 65% of oil consumption (about 11 million bpd) goes to products used in the transportation sector (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel); the sector is about 95% dependent on oil products. In 1994, gasoline consumption was about 7.6 million bpd (117 billion gallons), about two-thirds of the total petroleum fuel consumption. Of the 7.6 million bpd of gasoline consumption, two-thirds, or about 5 million barrels per day, were burned by automobiles (most of the rest was consumed by light trucks). About 21 billion gallons (1.4 million bpd) of diesel fuel for highway use was consumed, and about 23 billion gallons (1.5 million bpd) of jet fuel was used.

Gasoline consumption is just about equal to crude oil imports today (7.6 million bpd vs. 7.0 million bpd). Although it is not physically the case that oil imports go directly to auto and truck travel (about 65% of the oil going into a refinery comes out as gasoline and diesel fuel), from an overall material balance perspective, just about every barrel of oil imported can be thought of as going directly into gasoline for automobile and truck driving.

Energy cost is another area where it is possible to reap economic benefits by utilizing electric vehicles. The fuel cost of driving an electric vehicle depends on the cost of electricity per kWh and the efficiency of the vehicle. To determine the cost per mile of an electric vehicle using the graph below, select the location on the left axis (Electricity Cost per kWh) at 7 cents in the graph below. Draw a horizontal line to the right until you bisect the EV 3 mi/kWh line. Next draw a vertical line down until you intersect the bottom axis(Energy Cost per mile). This indicates that the fuel for an electric vehicle with an energy efficiency of 3 mi/kWh cost about 2.3 cents per mile when electricity cost 7 cents per kWh.

Currently, the national average cost for electricity is about 6.8 cents per kWh, while the average residential rate is around 8.5 cents per kWh. Some electric utility companies have special rates in place that are cheaper at night when the demand for electricity is low. These rates can be as low as 3 cents per kWh. Older electric vehicles in commercial fleets have energy efficiencies of about 2 mi/kWh while new electric vehicles such as GM's EV1 have energy efficiencies of over 6 miles per kWh. Heavy duty vehicles such as trucks and buses average about 1 mile per kWh.

To determine the energy cost per mile of a gasoline vehicle, pick the location on the right axis(Gasoline Cost per gallon) and $1.35. Draw a horizontal line to the left until you intersect the Gas 18 mi/gal line. Now draw a vertical line down until you intersect the bottom axis(Energy Cost per mile). This indicates the the fuel for a gasoline vehicle with an energy efficiency of 18 mi/gal costs around 7.5 cents per mile when gasoline costs $1.35 per gallon.

This indicates that even an older less energy efficient electric vehicle(2 mi/kWh) at the national average of 7 cents per kWh, is cheaper to operate at 4 cents per mile than the more efficient(Gas 22 mi/gal) vehicle operating with the national average of $1.25 per gallon at over 7 cents per mile.

Reduction in Pollution

Emissions from an individual car are generally low, relative to the smokestack image many people associate with air pollution. But in numerous cities across the country, the personal automobile is the single greatest polluter, as emissions from millions of vehicles on the road add up. Driving a private car is probably a typical citizen's most "polluting" daily activity.

The power to move a car comes from burning fuel in an engine. Pollution from cars comes from by-products of this combustion process (exhaust) and from evaporation of the fuel itself.

Gasoline and diesel fuels are mixtures of hydrocarbons, compounds which contain hydrogen and carbon atoms. In a "perfect" engine, oxygen in the air would convert all the hydrogen in the fuel to water and all the carbon in the fuel to carbon dioxide. Nitrogen in the air would remain unaffected. In reality, the combustion process cannot be "perfect," and automotive engines emit several types of pollutants.

The most damaging exhaust pollutants (which are created during the combustion process) include:

• HYDROCARBONS: Hydrocarbon emissions result when fuel molecules in the engine do not burn or burn only partially. Hydrocarbons react in the presence of nitrogen oxides and sunlight to form ground-level ozone, a major component of smog. Ozone irritates the eyes, damages the lungs, and aggravates respiratory problems. It is our most widespread and intractable urban air pollution problem. A number of exhaust hydrocarbons are also toxic, with the potential to cause cancer.
  
• NITROGEN OXIDES (NOx): Under the high pressure and temperature conditions in an engine, nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the air react to form various nitrogen oxides, collectively known as NOx. Nitrogen oxides, like hydrocarbons, are precursors to the formation of ozone. They also contribute to the formation of acid rain.
  
• CARBON MONOXIDE: Carbon monoxide (CO) is a product of incomplete combustion and occurs when carbon in the fuel is partially oxidized rather than fully oxidized to carbon dioxide (CO ). Carbon monoxide reduces the flow of oxygen in the bloodstream and is particularly dangerous to persons with heart disease.
  
• CARBON DIOXIDE: In recent years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started to view carbon dioxide, a product of "perfect" combustion, as a pollution concern. Carbon dioxide does not directly impair human health, but it is a "greenhouse gas" that traps the earth's heat and contributes to the potential for global warming
  

In addition to pollutants normally associated with exhaust, ICE's further harm our environment with evaporative emissions (which are emissions that are caused by using a liquid fuel) which include fuel in the fuel tank, the fuel lines and unburned fuel from the combustion process. We all have had personal contact with evaporative emissions whenever we fuel our automobile or truck at a gas station.

Hydrocarbon pollutants escape into the air through fuel evaporation. With today's efficient exhaust emission controls and gasoline formulations, evaporative losses can account for a majority of the total hydrocarbon pollution from current model cars on hot days when ozone levels are highest. Evaporative emissions occur several ways:

• DIURNAL: Gasoline evaporation increases as the temperature rises during the day, heating the fuel tank and venting gasoline vapors.
  
• RUNNING LOSSES: The hot engine and exhaust system can vaporize gasoline when the car is running.
  
• HOT SOAK: The engine remains hot for a period of time after the car is turned off, and gasoline evaporation continues when the car is parked.
  
• REFUELING: Gasoline vapors are always present in fuel tanks. These vapors are forced out when the tank is filled with liquid fuel.

As indicated by the chart above, EV's still produce lower emissions in most categories than do conventional internal combustion engines even when the power plant emissions are accounted for.