The electric vehicle->ke1030 revolution – if you can call it that – has been long in the making. Actually, the EV predates the internal combustion engine, but unstable power grids and dangerous charging stations effectively rendered it a deadly venture. It then saw a brief revival in the late 1990s with the colossal failure that was the EV1, which cost GM $1 billion dollars to research, build, market, and sell 1,117 models at a deflated price of $33,000 each.

Now in 2012, we have a plethora of full electric vehicles from the big automakers – Ford Focus Electric, Nissan Leaf->ke3484, Chevy Spark, Honda Fit EV – and even a full-line EV builder in Tesla->ke1842. There are some people that are completely against EVs, because they are driving up the cost of cars and power, but then there are the ones that are 100 percent for EVs. Other than those two groups, you get all of us folks in the middle.

We middle-ground buyers will ultimately be the ones that make or break the EV revolution and we need to know truly what impact the EV has on the world and our Eco system. We have managed to get an infographic that really puts into perspective exactly how the EV will affect the world over time.

A key point on this graphic is the actual environmental saving. On a dirty grid – coal or oil-powered – you’ll see that the CO2 footprint is still pretty high, as you are creating CO2 indirectly while charging the vehicle. For clean grids – dare we say “nuclear” power – the environmental savings are significantly higher. The big task at hand on the clean-grid side is finding a safer alternative to nuclear, which scientists are working on every day.

So open up your mind a little, regardless of where you stand on EVs and have a look at the actual impact it will have. It may ultimately change your stance or reaffirm where you stand right now. Either way, you have become a more educated EV buyer.

Hit the jump for the full infographic!