But the president’s focus on some of the biggest vehicles around — the Hummer EV, the Ford F-150 Lightning — has raised some eyebrows.

And for good reason. For right now, these huge electric vehicles pollute the planet more than small gas-powered cars.

The new Hummer EV weighs 9,000 pounds; its battery alone weighs about 3,000 pounds, or almost as much as an entire Honda Civic. The Ford F-150 Lightning clocks in at about 6,000 pounds. That weight means not only that gigantic EVs pose a threat to pedestrians (in general, the heavier the vehicle, the more fatalities it creates on the road), but also that it takes a lot of energy to drag around the car on city or country streets.

And more energy means more carbon emissions.

[It goes well beyond this calculation, though. The manufacture of the batteries for these cars necessitates destructive mining, which impacts the environment enormously, not to mention the carbon and environmental costs of the disposal of batteries at end-of-life. Plus, the electricity used to charge these cars still comes primarily from coal-powered plants, which are less efficient than internal combustion engines, and the demand from more and more EVs makes coal more and more critical for supplying energy to the grid. — Ed]