In Norway, 82.4% of vehicles sold in 2023 were fully electric. So much for the idea that electric vehicles are falling out of favor and don’t work in cold climates. (The short answer about driving electric in cold weather: charge before you go.)

The top-selling cars there last year were the Tesla Model Y, the Volkswagen ID.4, the Skoda Enyaq, the Toyota bZ4X, the Volvo XC40, and the Ford Mustang Mach-E. All of these battery-powered fully electric cars, except the Skoda, are available here in the United States.

With so many fully electric vehicles (EVs) to choose from — and many more affordable models on the way — American car buyers are now starting to ask important questions as they shop for their next ride. Transportation experts and policymakers have done careful scientific studies and concluded that battery electric vehicles are better for our environment and society. That’s why our federal government has enacted laws to provide $7,500 rebates, and many states provide additional incentives, to encourage consumers to drive electric.

Everyone understands and agrees that fully electric vehicles emit no tailpipe emissions, unlike hybrids and fuel-powered vehicles. That prevents pollution where it really matters — in our driveways and neighborhood streets where our families breathe. However, some people wonder about emissions at remote power plants that generate the electricity used to charge EVs.

The good news is that households are installing solar on their garages, carports, home roofs, or in their yards to generate the electricity to charge their EVs. But even grid power is getting cleaner: in 2023, the United States nationally generated 4,178 terawatt hours of electricity, 16% from coal, and 21% from renewables (hydro, wind, and solar). The share of coal-powered electricity is heading toward zero as a lot more solar is scheduled to come online in the next decade.

People also wonder about the environmental impact of manufacturing batteries, especially the materials in battery electrodes. Car starter batteries, which have been manufactured since the early 1900s, use electrodes made from lead, an extremely heavy and toxic material. We have minimized the environmental impact of that dubious material choice by carefully recycling lead.

Many different kinds of battery electrodes are being commercialized for EVs to provide faster charging and longer ranges. Some electrode recipes use lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt oxides, but cobalt is expensive. It’s more affordable to use lithium-iron-phosphate electrodes that contain no cobalt. Chinese cars are now using cheaper sodium electrodes that don’t contain any lithium.

The bottom line is that battery technology is evolving very quickly. Many companies are ready to recycle lithium batteries if they continue to be produced in large quantities. If long-lasting sodium batteries become the new standard, it might be better for the environment just to collect more sodium from seawater and other sources rather than try to recycle it from old batteries.

Another idea people have is that holding onto an old car that burns gas might be better for the environment than buying a new EV. Here are some facts to help you do the sustainability math on that. One gallon of gasoline weighs about six pounds. When burned, carbon and hydrogen in fuel combine with oxygen in the air to produce 20 pounds of carbon dioxide and 8 pounds of water. A little more than two gallons of crude oil and over 6,000 watt-hours of energy are required to create a gallon of gasoline. As existing crude oil reserves are depleted, more extreme methods, such as offshore drilling and fracking, are required to exploit new reserves.

Over its lifetime, a 3,000-pound gas-powered car will burn around 50,000 pounds of gasoline, which requires more than 100,000 pounds of crude oil and 50,000 kWh of energy to refine and will emit over 160,000 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution. Every study of the full lifecycle cost of a gas-powered versus a battery-powered car reaches the same conclusion: operating an existing gas-powered car does more harm to the environment than manufacturing and operating a new EV charged with solar electricity.

The deeper you dig into the sustainability story of electrified transportation, the more compelling it becomes. As battery-powered fully electric vehicles become more affordable and practical, the United States’ market share of EVs sold might soon catch up to Norway’s.

Fred Horch is principal adviser of Sustainable Practice. To receive expert action guides to help your household and organizations become superbly sustainable, visit SustainablePractice.Life and subscribe to “One Step This Week.”

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