The diesel vs. electric vehicle syndicated editorial cartoon (Nov. 27) gives the false impression that emissions attributable to the production of electricity to power electric vehicles are comparable to emissions from burning diesel (or gasoline) in conventional vehicles. This is simply inaccurate. Switching to an electric vehicle is one of the most effective ways a consumer can fight climate change and reduce air pollution. An electric vehicle produces no direct emissions and operates more efficiently than a gas-powered vehicle.

In upstate New York, which has the cleanest electricity grid in the nation, the power plant-derived carbon dioxide emissions associated with operating an electric vehicle are 85 percent less than emissions from a typical gasoline-powered vehicle. Emissions associated with electric vehicles will decline even further as New York implements its nation-leading renewable energy program and the state's two remaining coal-fired plants cease operations by 2020. In addition, because power plant emissions are capped by New York's participation in the multi-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the operation of electric vehicles actually produces no net carbon dioxide emissions. Even in states where the electricity to power electric vehicles is being produced almost entirely from the burning of coal, electric vehicles produce lower emissions than those powered by petroleum fuels.