Evil old Anthony Watts, doubter of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) and the blogging brains behind Watts Up With That?, has greened his ride and is now driving a NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) to and from work every day, to lunch, as well as on errands in town. Watts posts that in the first week he put 100 miles on, but that energy efficiency is nothing new to him since he put solar on his home and on a local school.  Watt snarks:

It would be interesting to see what some other pro-AGW folks drive. I see Jim Hansen has a 85 mile each way commute from his house in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania to Columbia University in NYC.

Hold your horse-power, Anthony, Hansen commutes “about once a week—less in winter,” according to NPR, so please lighten up on the prestidigitation leveraging the connotation of the word commute as generally indicting a daily  undertaking. Especially when this toss-away comment  follows an explanation of your own habit of  using a vehicle “every day.”  A wee bit misleading.  Furthermore, a comparison of GHG emissions from the adoption of a new vehicle (green or otherwise, taking manufacture and use into account) versus holding onto a clunker has the little auto that could as the standout winner for those who do happen to subscribe to AGW. So, no contradiction by way of Hansen’s driving habits.

Anyhoo, all that said, Watts’ electric auto is awesome! It’s a 2002 Ford “Think” which is no longer in production since California dropped the ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicle) mandate in 2003. It is one of the rare “pickup truck” models and gets about 25-30 miles of range with a top speed of 25MPH. However,  the vehicle can be re-outfitted to reach up to 39MPH.  Watts breaks down the cost-savings benefits and writes in flinty fashion “So, my mission here is simple; I’m not saving the planet, I’m saving money.”  Harumpf.

Watts Up With That? » What I’ve been up to: electrifying my ride