Richard de Neufville et al.

In the following viewpoint, Richard de Neufville, Stephen R. Connors, Frank R. Field III, David Marks, Donald R. Sadoway, and Richard D. Tabors argue that requiring car manufacturers to build electric vehicles instead of conventional automobiles to reduce air pollution will be costly and ineffective. De Neufville and his colleagues maintain that the electricity produced to power electric vehicles also creates pollution; therefore, electric vehicles do not reduce air pollution but merely move the emissions to another location. Due to continuing improvements in reducing emissions in conventional vehicles, electric vehicles will have a negligible effect on reducing air pollution, they assert. Instead of mandating electric vehicles as a means of reducing air pollution, the authors recommend more research and development of alternative vehicles. The authors are all based at the Massachusetts...