Hey guys I felt this was an important video for us to make, and I'm really glad you guys like it. We've covered a lot of different cars on this channel and talked to a lot of owners, and the one thing that unites them all is the desire for MO POWAH BABEH! So no matter how your car makes its power, you're welcome in the Donut community. - Nolan

dude really stood in front of a green screen just so they could make him stand in front of a blue one

"turning gas into noise. Im going to get that tattooed on me someday." may i recommend the lower back area?

No matter which is less damaging to the environment, a brand new EV or a brand new ICE car, I still firmly belive that the MOST enviromental thing you can do as a car owner and driver, is keep an old car running for as long as possible, the production of new cars is responsible for quite a large chunk of the emissions no matter how you spin it!

I'd like to see a part B with the end stage of the vehicles. The recycling of the batteries the recycling of the gas motor versiand just would be interesting

I just realised that my friends presentation for school is the exact same, word-for-word, as this video. Lol

Hey Nolan, make the hour long episode, we aren’t busy we’re locked in our houses...

Excellent breakdown of the pros and cons of EVs. One big issue I see with them is that they’re still not affordable enough for most people even with a tax credit. And on top of that a lot of people don’t have access to charging because they live in an apartment. Someday it’ll get there when the technology matures but not yet.

Watching this 2 years later and I have a few comments: I think you did a really good job looking at this from an unbiased perspective, however I think you missed out on a couple important points. 1. The batteries on EVs wear out. These batteries will need to get replaced multiple times throughout the life of an EV. Judging by the fact that the majority of EV emissions come from the battery manufacturing process, I feel like accounting for this would change the numbers a lot. These batteries don't last nearly as long as reliable gasoline engines, which can run for hundreds of thousands of miles with no issues. 2. The power grid concern you denoted as a myth actually has a lot of merit. There was a recent heatwave in California. Because of this,home owners tend to use more electricity on air conditioning. This alone was enough for the state of California to request their residents not to charge their EVs because they couldn't provide enough power to do so. They also requested residents to set their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher in order to conserve power. This is ridiculously hot and not at all a reasonable request.

Y’all at Donut need to get this guy a higher frame rate camera.

“ICE engine” Internal combustion engine engine.

Hoping Porsche is successful with their alternate fuel source so we can keep engines for longer

9:08 is plain out wrong or misleading. In 2020, a well renowned institute in my country did a complicated calculation for average CO2 emmision per kilometers. They found out that in my country, where 70% of our electricity depends on burning coal and gas, CO2 emission per mileage is only 5~10% better for EVs than Combustion engine cars. Making compensation for larger emission in manufacturing almost impossible (>25years) Where the maintenance for EVs at certain mileage are just over 3x more polluting, making EVs basicallya big ass lie in my country.

Remove both, use horses again

"I know you're busy" Busy being jobless and just watching youtube all day long.

Your math is wrong. The average EV breakeven point is more like 1.5 years for short range EV, and 5 years for long range EV. You also didn't take into account battery replacement especially for short range EVs, who will be far more affected by battery degradation. Battery warranties typically last for 8 to 10 years. 2nd hand EVs will need their batteries replaced sooner than later.

reality is humanity can emmit much less pollution by having affordable public transportation instead of arguing what car is better

Nolan: Ugh those frickin chargers James: MOW POWA BABEHH

Living in countryside: annoying rooster cuckling Living in city: Dodge chargers ramming the engine

Why did you calculate the cost of drilling oil but not the mining of coal for power plants or mining of aluminum for wind turbines or processing of silicone for solar panels?

I don’t hate EVs. I just hate the politicians that are forcing us into them.

0:02 damn it sounded like Nolan was about to spit some fire for a second there

Nolan: those freaking Chargers Also Nolan: nothing matches a V8 turning gas into noise 😂

A subject you did not cover in this video was the lifespan of an EV battery versus the lifespan of an internal combustion engine.

Well done. A couple of things to add...companies like Redwood Materials are recyling over 90% of battery materials today. Also, LPF chemistry batteries are becoming more popular. They use lithium but not cobalt, which addresses the concern about child labor for at least that metal.

Nolan: “that’s if they drive the national average of 11,800 miles per year.” Me: laughs and cries in 30k plus a year...

People: Co2 emissions; Carbon footprintm child labour Cars: V10 go brrrtrtrttt Nyaaaaooooommmm

Having owned an EV for a while now, the inconvenience of having to drive somewhere else and stand outside and wait for my car to refuel seems pretty ridiculous to me. How many of you would put up with a cell phone that you had to take into a store once a week to change its batteries?

Consider this. Anti-freeze coolant, engine and transmission oil, gasoline and oil companies drilling and spilling oil on the ground and in the oceans. Please remember all the super tanker and off shore oil spills and clean up. EV batteries are constantly updated and soon will be made of sodium. And last over 500 miles on a single charge

Day 1: Asking donut media to do an up to speed for Toyota Century.

Nolan: I know you're busy *100k views in 2 hours Everyone: Yeah not really that busy

Great video man! One thing we have to consider here is that EV production technology is still in it's infancy. The process will get more efficient as the economy of scale gets larger. Also, our power grid is something that will get better over time also. On the other hand, you can't just take oil out of the air and put it back in the ground. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it's stuck in the carbon cycle.

What about all the mining it takes to build solar panels and windmills and all the wildlife those kill. Also, the child slave labor for the EV is way worse than the environmental stuff

Can we give this man props for how he explains things. He makes it so easy to understand what he’s talking about!

Nolan: "I know you're busy---" Me: I clicked on this video because the opposite is the case

Loved the video and the detail. Would prefer citations from your sources in the video (just a visual reference or in the bio would be good). Thanks for the content

Lots of pretty good info. I seemed to have missed if you added the impact of the oil extraction and refining to the ICE cars (over all or per gallon). From what I have read, that adds about another 5ish pounds of CO2 per gallon that is burned,... or another 2500 lbs a year. (haven't addressed any oils, or other fluids in ICE or their disposal or production either :))

8:39 that's a nuclear power plant and the gas coming off the top is just steam. Nuclear reactors are incredibly clean energy.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED IM DOING A SCHOOL PROJECCT MO POWAAHH BABEYY edit: holy crap thanks for the likes !

“As time goes on the environmental impact of production will go down…I hope”… I can say the same thing about gas engines.

The problem is in the global deforestation. If people planted more trees they would not need to buy ev's.

We need sail cars.Sail cars are the future. No powah baby!!!! 😂😂😂

Finally, something educational and entertaining to do for school

"When you press the accelerator to the floor, tens of thousands of parts in the car come to life, yes, just for you. They play a beautiful symphony under the command of the internal combustion engine, like a harmonious orchestra. The roar of the engine is the crescendo of this concert, incomparable to the electromagnetic sound of electric cars. I don't like the quietness of electric cars, for quiet is meant for the dead. In the embrace of a gasoline car, life continues with each jump of the spark plug, pulsating like a heartbeat, powering your journey. Look at that driveshaft, a crystallization of human wisdom, transmitting power and taking you to unknown places. That spark plug, the heart of the internal combustion engine, each ignition is a leap of life, a crystallization of the engineer's wisdom. The entire internal combustion engine is like a sculpture at the pinnacle of industry, representing human creativity and indomitable spirit. Driving a gasoline car, we feel more than just the passion of dancing with machinery; we admire the engineering marvels, awestruck by the industrial peak represented by the internal combustion engine. Every press of the accelerator is an intimate contact with the greatness of technology and engineering, feeling the brilliance of human intelligence. Therefore, a gasoline car is not just a means of transport; it is a masterpiece of human industrial art, a symbol of passion and power. Let us cherish this wonderful mechanical world, feel the charm of the internal combustion engine, and make every drive a journey full of music and passion."

9:08 Without forgetting that you are comparing a very powerful electric car with a compact car. Imagine if you compared the Taycan with an Cayenne Turbo GT or this Mitsubishi with a BMW i3 or BYD Seagull

When do we get nuclear-powered muscle cars

Day 113 of asking James to do an Up to speed on his Dad

"The power grid cannot handle the growing number of EVs. FALSE!" Is that why California asked residents not to charge their EVs? Oh, and California has the highest percentage of renewable energy in the country by state. So...yeah...that's not exactly a myth.

Funny thing about your electric grid point. Overall the US might be fine but some localities will have issues. CA recently was telling people to refrain from charging their cars to prevent blackouts.

EV: I get instant torque, I'm better for the environment and cheaper on fuel GV: haha me go brap stu stu stu

Geologist here! Both lithium and cobalt mining are EXTREMELY archaic, and even if technology improves it still will require huge amounts of water to first dissolve the lithium and cobalts salts to extract them from the ground. In the same vein that the infamous fracking, lithium mining is very bad for the environment (not everything is CO2 emmisions), specially if done poorly. And unless we get REALLY good at recycling all the elements in a battery (specially rare earths), i don't see it as a long term solution for all transportation. It's a nice stopgap and more healthy than gas but nowhere near as "clean" as hidrogen cells could be. Why those aren't being researched more even if today they are far away from profitability is anybody's guess.

People who have a progressbar on their sponsorships should have a guaranteed place in heaven

I saw Top Gear’s Richard Hammond wreck an electric supercar, they say the damn thing’s batteries kept spontaneously combusting FOR FIVE DAYS after he crashed it, no way in hell im getting in one of those things

Imagine this was the first Donut video someone ever watched and saw a shirtless guy saying ‘mow pawa babhe’ they would have no idea 😂

At the end of the day we are all car guys and we can all agree on one simple fact Nobody likes Honda Ridgelines

Don’t forget that wind turbines break a lot and never can break down in several lifetimes of humans, same with solar panels.

I'm a little skeptical about electric car battery's been recyclable considering how little things like plastic bottles and drinks cans end up just dumped in some poor country

Nolan: *damn charger* Me when I see a charger: *REV IT*

"such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric" BOO free my boy nuclear power!

Whilst looking into this have you looked at the comparison of the impact of a new EV produced this year versus keeping a 10 or 15 year old ICE on the road - I would imagine (but don't have the figures) keeping a well maintained existing ICE car on the road is far better then the production of a new car

I like it when people are honoust, even if you dont like EVs, you can still keep to the facts and the truth that EVs are better for the environment in the long run. Myself, I own a PHEV. Using almost only the PHEV on battery. For me this is the best alternative for the environment. It has a smaller battery and is easier to produce, still I almost only use the car on electricity.

6:15 props to the editors for making the music perfectly sync with the video it was a satisfying detail lol

Nice video. I just wanted to add a couple notes for clarification. I work in the utility industry. There are two issues with the power generation and supply for EVs. One is simply we don't have the capacity. I know you said this was incorrect in the video, but the US power grid only has roughly a 10% surplus during peak load. And that surplus is not tangible across the entire grid at any one given time. While it would support a sudden spike in EVs, the grid would be in stretched pretty thin in some areas with high population densities and those areas could experience "brown" or "dirty" power outages. These already occur on occasions when the system is stressed by unusual weather conditions such as those seen in California and New York in the past. There is another related issue. Coal fired or liquefaction plants converted to natural gas are dependent on volume and that volume delivery is directly associated with environmental events. In the middle of the winter, during a severe cold snap, a generation plant my need to dip into the reserve to feed the electrical system, but is unable to because they are not able to get the volume due to the residential customers, high volume and distribution operators drawing down the gas supply before it reaches the power plant. This occurred in the midwest in 2021. The volume of gas available was not enough to supply the demand and the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and parts of Texas had to cycle scheduled blackouts to get the grid back into a stable state. The generation company was forced to mass purchase natural gas that was in storage in order to meet demand at a much higher cost per mmcf. (We knew some folks in OKC that recieved power bills between $3k and $5k for a single month of power, but luckily president Trump issued a state of emergency that allowed the government to subsidize the cost.) Secondly, your recap didn't take into account the infrastructure itself. Transporting the amount of power needed to supply the move to electrical power has been discussed for years, and no one has a sure fire bullet as to what will be needed, and upgrading the current infrastructure could in itself take decades. It's also not economically feasable to upgrade the grid in one step even if you have a good understanding of the future demand because the cost to meet expected demand far exceeds the amount of money the vast majority of operators are capable to generate. I'm not saying that it is an impossible endeavor, just a lot of guys hacking at calculators in a closet trying to get a decent idea as to how much load they will be expecting, and a heck of a lot of money for infrastructure upgrades. Honestly the current EV infrastructure is not much more than those gravity hand gas pumps you find in third world countries at the moment. Imagine what the electrical grid would be required to handle if every gas station you know of only had charging ports. We're talking in the trillions for infrastructure upgrades when we can't even keep our bridges maintained properly. Then there's the lack of taxes for road use ... Third note. Most of the oil that comes into the country is from Brazil. The reason we import is because Brazil has what we call heavy crude. The crude found in Texas, Oklahoma and even Alaska is a lighter grade that takes less refinement, but doesn't have the value of Brazilian crude which is more suitable for producing a broader range of products per volume. I also found your figures a little high there, but I'm only familiar with onshore wells. Most wells, even frack wells can produce for years with hardly any emissions. More emissions are generated off the coast of California and Florida daily in naturally occurring releases. Things decompose, gas and oil are created. It's a natural process regardless of what the environmentalists want to say. I'm not saying that our dependance is a good thing, but I find a lot of times that these numbers are heavily skewed, or in the case of power generation, white lies to draw new avenues for revenue generation. Clarkson did some research on the creation, processing and shipping of lithium batteries used in the Prius. His findings were that the shipping and environmental impact of creating, shipping and assembly in conjunction with use and eventual disposal, generated an equivalent or higher level of emissions over the life of the vehicle then an equivalent gas powered low emission car. I know this was specific to a certain car, but it's also something that should be considered. Does a battery that's shipped 9k miles by a diesel ship create less pollution than a gas powered VW beetle? I can't answer that question honestly. Forth note. Have you ever looked into how we deal with pollution created from creating solar cells and the disposal of wind turbine blades? It should also be considered, especially turbine blades, since well, we can't recycle them in any way and they are piling up. Hydro power, while the cleanest, really causes numerous other issues with the environment. There is no sure fire way to generate electricity today with minimal environmental impact. Those wave generators are interesting though. Just remember, Newton was right ;) Thinking about combustion engines and electrical cars. A plain old metal oil burner can pretty much be recycled from top to bottom. Many of these new EVs are using exotic materials that can't be simply ground down and remelted. We simply don't have a way to deal with the materials currently. Would going to EVs truly solve our problem? Who creates more emissions, a person that buys a fairly low emission oil burner and drives it 200k miles, or a person that buys a new EV every couple of years? If you want to lesson the impact on the environment then there would need to be a stipulation on how long you would be required to retain that EV or have a buyback program to ensure the vehicle remained in service long enough to meet some desired degree of acceptable pollution. We would also need to formally tax, and tax heavily, the power utilized in the charging process to pay for emergency services, roads and infrastructure. There are also other things that people don't consider what about possible electrical shock for police, fire and EMTs? What about training firefighters to deal with the battery cells and the special equipment they will need. If a battery cell is ruptured it could set off a chain reaction that can't be extinguished for days. Top Gear's Richard Hammonds wreck with the Rimnac is a good example. It burned, self reignited and was extinguished continuously for 5 days. An EV fire is a scary thing and currently there are not enough fire departments with the training and equipment to deal with resin, exotic material and large scale lithium battery fires. At any rate, I think that the video was well put together and thought out. I definitely can't fault you for missed points because this is a massive undertaking that we are forcing into motion. I imagine I'll be long gone before everything is sorted out, but I have found the whole thing intriguing to watch. A good friend once said to me "we are all in it together". As I get older I realize just how correct he was when he said it.

All right. Now let’s electrify the real polluters: airplanes, massive cargo ships, massive diesel electric trains. Do not tell me I pollute with my tiny little car.

I am a residential electrician. I cant comment on the grid, but there are definitely houses that aren't ready for a car charging circuit without a service upgrade or second service. That is 5-20K depending on local code requirements plus an additional 500-2k for the car charger plug and circuit. It could be a hell of a lot more depending on the distance from the panel. For a big apartment building or condo to get a bunch of car chargers could be an incredibly massive project. I am 100% for EVs, just saying.

Here in California our power grid can’t keep up with our air conditioners.

You forgot to mention the whole new infrastructure that needs to be built like: 1. Factories for making ev's 2. Charging stations 3. Extra power plants because of high increase in elektricity demand 4. Old battery storages

Good video, but with the recent requests from the government not to charge electric cars during heat waves due to concerns about grid stability in some areas, I think your conclusion in that area is incorrect, at least for the time being.

“ I know you’re busy and ya ain’t got time for that” Thicc boi we all at home rn

“The average car in the US goes through about 500 gallons of gas per year” *Laughs in 5.7 hemi*

Let's see...My batteries must have a recharge. I am waiting in line for the charger and I am ten cars back. Each charge takes about 10 hours. So one hundred hours later I may have a recharge. During the wait time it was either hot or cold and I had no heater or air conditioner. Can't wait to get a battery car!!!

California grid couldn't handle the demand in the summer of 2022 when they told people not to charge there cars during peak hours. What about the mining of lithium to make the batteries.

This video explains CLEARLY and more satisfying to watch than any other videos that I've watched so far related to this matter! Kudos!

* depressed Hemi noises*

i know one thing that can save combustion engines, Biofuels, these are way cleaner to make than regular gas and has nearly no impact on poweroutput, and there is stuff out there that can be mixed with fuel to further make combustion more efficient

Agreed with Donut Media

I am literally writing a term paper on this right now.

"this could've been an hour long video" -me, and everybody else on Coronacation: yeah. Thanks for cheaping out

Even if not better for the envirment , they can't do not have monopoly on the price of the "fuel" that goes in it, and thats also inportant.

Great explanations. However, at 8:42 in the video, what you showed as emissions from an electric power plant was actually steam from the cooling towers of a nuclear power plant. This steam is no radioactive, but rather it is isolated from any radiation. A lot of people mistakenly show cooling tower steam as scary "smoke" when in fact it is quite the opposite, as nuclear power plants emit very low CO2. They are the type of power plant we should want more of until this nuclear fusion power is figured out.

I’m curious where hybrid or diesel cars sit in all of this.

How about that electric car batteries need replacing every 5-7 years

people who drive electric cars and think its good for the environment are the same people that buy the fabric bags at grocery stores.

Conclusion: they are if you drive them.

"i know you're busy" yeah. busy searching for videos to watch on youtube

Wow, things have really changed over the three years since this video was made.

i would like to see the impact of the dead battery's through out the life of an EV like how many you will replace in your life and the recycling / disposing of them

Solid State batteries...that should revolutionize energy storage for years to come.

Emissions. Shows video clip of a nuclear power plant, releasing literally only water vapor, which precipitates out of the atmosphere.

Hey bro, I really like what you guys on this channel.. that being said, you left out some very important things. Price/ price of maintenance, in the long run, being at the mercy of electric companies, cost of tires, cost of insurance, price of road damage repairs ( that will increase ) pollution from said repairs , recycling EV batteries ? .. What happens when a natural disaster happens? AKA No electric for days. Americans should not have this shoved on us. Their are more reasons..if you want to find, you don't have to make them up.. keep up the good work.

EV’s have a larger footprint in the manufacturing process, and that’s the only part that matters. CO2 emissions during operations aren’t relevant. We have these things called trees. They take CO2 and turn them into oxygen. It’s the environmental damage during manufacturing that is harder to deal with.

Seriously loved this video, glad we can finally put this argument to rest.

Man, this is the best video at the best time. Im actually doing a school project about this exact topic. Thx for clearance😂

Something a lot of people overlook is tires. EVs weigh a LOT more and wear out tires 20-30% faster than an ICE vehicle. But no one ever considers them. Worn tires make a fairly large amount of waste. They do not decompose and sit in landfills in stacks. Releasing harmful chemicals into our environment that have a lot of lasting effects.

The misleading problem of EVs, is that people compare them to combustion cars, instead of comparing EV to not having a car. When you buy EV, you not replacing combustion car with it, you replace lack of car with EV. And that can not possibly be good thing to environment.

8:08 RAMCHARGERS!!!

Great video! One quibble: please try not to show nuclear cooling towers when you talk about emissions. All that’s coming out of there is water vapor….

We can totally disregard the creation of gas because what do the plants mining lithium run on? Gas, so that evens it out a little.

I work at dams in the pacific northwest. Saw a tesla plugged into a welding receptacle on the down stream side. Doesn't get cleaner than that haha

I can see it now, a bunch of guys circled around an EV drinking beer and one guy asks “so what kind of battery ya got in this baby?”