“There is an anti-EV story in the papers almost every day. Sometimes there are many stories, almost all of which are based on misconceptions and mistruths, unfortunately.”
“There is an anti-EV story in the papers almost every day. Sometimes there are many stories, almost all of which are based on misconceptions and mistruths, unfortunately.”
EVs solve very little problems related to cars. Replacing every car with an EV but doing nothing to address the impacts of car dependancy and car centric urban planning changes very little in the grand sense of economic and environmental sustainability.
Particulate pollution and NOx/CO/CO² emissions for starters.
No, heavier electric cars don’t mean more brake wear and particulates, because regen braking means brakes last longer. A lot longer.
No, you’re not just moving emissions to a power plant, because the UK grid is only 35% powered by fossil fuels (natural gas). Even if it was, not polluting outside someone’s home or a school is a good thing.
No, emissions aren’t worse building new EVs than keeping the old cars because in less than 4 years the EV is in credit Vs just the fuel burnt in a petrol car. They last a lot longer than that.
Urban planning is what happens when you avoid car dependency. People need to move to work, and unless your plan is that we regress to a largely agrarian culture, that means public or personal transport. Public transport only works with a high enough density of people to make it worthwhile. i.e. urban centres. Outside of urban centres people need personal transport, so let’s have a cleaner form than most of us currently do.
Right, but it’s still progress.
Personally I don’t think we’ll ever be a point where we significantly reduce car dependence.
Other nations have done it, North America could too, and it would do a whole lot more for the environment than everyone driving EVs.
Which nations have significantly reduced car dependency?