Switching to electric cars will not improve the environment, despite

Electric cars --> no emission, but needs electricity supply from traditional power plants
Electric car introduction into the market ---> other non-electric cars will be replaced --> less demand for fuel at gas stations.

But, (decrease in demand of fuel at gas stations) is far less than the ( resulting increase in energy produced from traditional power plants to supply power to these electric cars).

So, the conclusion is: switching to electric cars will NOT IMPROVE the environment.

We have been asked to weaken this conclusion. [b]So, we need to look for an answer choice that introduces some sort of benefit (or advantage) that the environment will experience, by using electric cars. [/b]

Let's try to find out which among these 5 answer choices introduces such a benefit.

A. The nation’s power grid would need a massive restructuring if it is to generate the energy needed to power vehicles that run on electricity. - In the context of this passage, we are interested in analyzing the impact of certain options on the environment. (A) talks about restructuring the power grid. would the restructure result in more emissions? or less emissions? this point is not made clear and hence (A) does nothing to weaken the conclusion. Hence, eliminate (A)

B. Electric vehicles are significantly more energy-efficient than their gasoline powered counterparts. - electric cars depend on power generated from fossil fuel powered power plants; non-electric cars depend directly on gasoline fuel, which is derived from fossils. Hence, both electric and non-electric cars depend on fossil fuels, one way or an other.

What (B) tells us is that electric vehicles are more energy efficient than gasoline powered counterparts. Better energy efficiency means that the electric car is able to produce more output (drive more distance) or drive for longer duration on a single recharge than what a gasoline car would be able to after a single refueling session. electric cars would therefore have to be "refueled" less often as compared to the gasoline powered cars; this means that the generation of the energy supplied to electric cars has less of an impact (because of lower frequency of supply) on the environment than that caused by the energy supplied to the gasoline cars (for comparable distances driven). Hence, electric cars have less of a negative impact on the environment than do gasoline powered cars. For this reason, I think that (B) is the correct answer.


C. Coal is a far less environmentally-friendly way to generate energy than is natural gas. - this is literally a coal v/s natural gas comparison, a comparison that has no bearing on the consequence of using electric cars. Hence, (C) is eliminated.

D. Studies indicate that most drivers would be reluctant to switch from gasoline –powered to electric vehicles. - even if drivers may not end up purchasing electric cars, the truth of this fact does nothing to weaken the idea that "Electric cars wont have any benefit (improvement) on the environment". For this reason, (D) is eliminated.

E. Hybrid vehicles offer a more practical short-term alternative than do vehicles that run solely on electricity. - irrelevant since the passage is not concerned with hybrid vehicles. Hence, (E) is eliminated.