We had our carpets cleaned the other day, and when the cleaner guy found out what I did, the very first thing he said was, “I was going to get an electric car.” Then he looked at me almost apologetically. “But I heard they’re actually worse for the environment.”

It’s not the first time I’ve heard it. The media loves these stories. They’re counterintuitive, surprising, and best of all, show that those silly greens, with their idealistic yadda yadda, don’t know how to do math.

They’re also wrong, as a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists conclusively demonstrates. The two-year study digs into the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of battery electric vehicles and gasoline cars, from materials to manufacturing to operation to disposal.

The four cars used in the comparison were a midsize and a full-size gasoline car, a midsize battery electric vehicle (based on the Nissan Leaf), and a full-size BEV (based on the Tesla S).

Long story short: Electric cars really are cleaner.

Read more: Vox