Electric Cars

In his Dec. 12 letter, David Anderson falsely states that “electric cars can reduce air pollution only if their energy comes from new nonpolluting power sources.” Regulators and environmentalists report that the vast majority of automotive air pollution is created by the millions of vehicles that do not meet emissions standards. It is a Herculean if not impossible task to enforce compliance on such an unwieldy number of polluters.

Anderson correctly states that most electrical energy comes from power plants that run on fossil fuels. However, ensuring the environmental compliance of a handful of rural power plants is easier, more effective and less costly than tracking millions of mobile polluters through heavily populated areas. Anderson’s suggestion that electric cars do not reduce pollution is wrong.

JOHN CAMPBELL III

President

Saturn of Orange County