this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2023
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Switching to electric cars will save the planet. Not when they increase tire pollutants at higher rates and still rely on fossil fuels and fracking to charge their batteries.
Also for the US specifically that we can't afford universal healthcare.
“Save the planet” is too broad. Electric cars can help with global warming. But may be worse in other areas.
Thing is, global warming is by far and away the largest environmental threat today. So it’s likely very much beneficial to lessen the burden there, while other areas suffer.
But you’re very much right in that it won’t do shit as long as we’re producing electricity through fossil fuel among others.
“Save the planet” is too broad. Electric cars can help with global warming. But may be worse in other areas.
Thing is, global warming is by far and away the largest environmental threat today. So it’s likely very much beneficial to lessen the burden there, while other areas suffer.
But you’re very much right in that it won’t do shit as long as we’re producing electricity through fossil fuel among others. With that said, the same people pushing for electric cars are also pushing for green energy.
ICE rely on 100% carbon fuels. There is no other option.
EVs don't have to. If the grid is decarbonised, they could run on 100% renewable energy. Even if there are fossil fuels powering the grid, the centralisation of the combustion should make it an easier target to scrub/capture pollution from.
Tire pollution is pretty bad tho.
While EVs aren't going to save the planet, hopefully the battery tech and infrastructure investments will help pave the way to better solutions.
To get anywhere close to the grid being considered decarbonised (I'm ignoring carbon capture here because that's not going to happen at any meaningful scale unless we geoengineer shit) all of the materials, all of the manufacturing and all of the building and maintenance would have to be run on renewable energy. Like from the mines of Australia over to all of the plants in china to assembly, for every component.
And to have it make any difference at all, you have to do it within the next 30 or so years. And then there's still the tyres, also you gotta do the entire shit again for the very climate friendly processing of building roads that withstand cars for give or take a season, extra challenge mode due to the increased weight of EVs. And also then there's still the tyres.
We've already got those, it's called trains and bicycles, former have been EVs for like a century
While I understand that, you've also described the supply chain of building an ICE vehicle, extracting and refining fuel, transporting fuel etc.
Even if the EV suppli chain is currently terrible, that's because regulations haven't caught up yet. It was the same with oil extraction, "why pipe it when you can just have a river of crude oil" mentality. And hopefully regulations are faster to be enforced.
Anyway, if the end result of a given supply chain is something that goes on to produce less pollution, then that is progress.
And yes, public transport is always going to be better. Especially if they aren't ICE.
Even EV mopeds are great. And the amount of electric bicycles I've seen going around is encouraging.
I agree EVs aren't going to save the planet. But they are progress, and you can't convince me that we should continue using fossil fuels for personal transport.
I'm not arguing pro ICE cars over EV cars, I'm arguing against cars, be they EV or ICE
A purely fossil fuelled electric car (as in, fossil grid) is already more efficient than an ICE.