Electric vehicles: Wait, EVs get their power from where?

Talking with a friend the other day, he referenced an electric vehicle and said, "Yeah, that coal-powered car isn't super reliable."

I asked him if he meant electric-powered car and his reply was short, but accurate.

"They run on electricity, but where do you think the electricity comes from?"

"Well, the plug at a charging station or in your house," I said.

"Which comes from the power company," he said. "Which gets most of its power from a coal-powered plant."

He's right. And once again the uber-fanatic left has us duped, and it's right under our noses.

Let me start by saying that I love Tesla cars. I rented one in San Diego a few years ago and it was a blast to drive. It handled well, was very quiet (disconcertingly so at times) and looked very cool.

I told my wife that someday I'd like to own one, at least after they figure out how to have a much longer range on their batteries.

And that is perfectly fine.

If you want to own a Tesla or any other electric vehicle because it's fast, or cool-looking or fun to drive, go for it! Own it for the same reason someone buys a Corvette or a Mercedes convertible.

But if you think for one minute, you're helping save the planet by driving an electric car, well, you've got another thing coming.

In St. George, Utah, an EV has many choices to charge up. There are charging stations on Bluff, the Boulevard, River Road, Brigham Road and in most of the towns throughout the county, including Ivins, Washington, Hurricane and LaVerkin.

Each station offers the owner the chance to charge up his battery, which takes an hour or more (bring a book). It's currently cheaper than putting gas in a vehicle, but takes much longer.

But, like gas, the electricity runs out after a two- or three-hundred miles and it's time to "fill up" again.

And where, again, does that electricity come from?

Currently, coal-powered power plants (more than 65 percent) produce most of our electricity. There is a call for more renewable energy, but realistically trying to plan a future of EVs around wind farms and solar is ludicrous at best.

Even if you buy into the "man-made climate emergency" (I don't), turning solely to electric vehicles as a solution is a stretch that only the most diehard and dense would make.

"EVs emit less carbon dioxide," they say.

OK, how about the coal burned to electrify your EV?

"We've got to stop relying on gas," is one claim.

OK, what would you like to do when the power goes out? Or when the temperature drops and the range of your EV decreases by 1/4th? And what would you propose when it's 100 degrees and you're in a traffic jam with your battery dying? Oh, and there are rolling blackouts/brownouts in your area.

With this heat we've been having in the Western USA, California announced a state of emergency. Governor Gavin Newsom begged citizens to conserve electricity while also relaxing rules aimed at curbing air pollution and global warming gases.

The incredibly liberal governor insisted that man-made climate change was the cause of the hot temperatures, the taxing of the electrical grid and the surge in power needs.

The irony, nearly dripping with that California sweat, is that his idea to phase out gas-powered cars in his state will create even more stress on the electrical system there.

He's even asked his citizens not to plug in their cars between the hours of five and nine at night.

Are electric vehicles the answer? Cleary, no, unless the question is, "What kind of car can I drive that shows people I am woke, and rich?"

They're expensive, unreliable and run on dirty coal. They take forever to charge and can be a life-threatening hazard if in extreme cold or hot situations. They catch fire easily, have bad track records when it comes to "problems" (one study shows they have nearly triple the engine problems gas-powered cars have).

Oh, and when that battery starts to die (usually at about the 10-year mark), an EV owner can expect to pay about $10,000 to replace it.

Perhaps the funniest photo I've seen online in awhile is a snap of a diesel-powered truck pulling a gas-powered generator helping an electric-powered car charge up.