by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The proponents of the electric car are trying to convince us that if we could but replace all vehicles with internal combustion engines with electric vehicles that everything would be fantastic. But is that really so?
In order to understand and compare environmental impacts we much look at the full system. Something that, all too often, is not being done.
It is when we do that, however, that we discover surprising things like that natural gas electricity production from shale gas is not necessarily any better for the climate, and in the end the Planet, than coal power.
The best strategy, as with so many things, is to use less.
Replacing ICE vehicles with electric ones is NOT the answer (and the same goes for replacing gas engine power tools with electric and especially battery-powered ones). The answer is not needing to use so many cars and trucks in the first place.
Yes, this does mean a new and different approach to (personal) transportation to that which we have become accustomed to over the last five or so decades and a return to more human-powered transportation (machines and tools) and, also, animal-powered transportation.
The electric car is NOT the savior of the Planet that it is being made out to be especially as for the making of the battery alone, which will need replacing after a couple of years, rare earths and rare metals are required the extraction of which takes a great toll on the environment.
Neither the powers-that-be nor car makers – and even some green groups – are willing and prepared to tell the people the truth as to EVs and such and that we really will have to rethink how we travel.
One group – the first – fears a backlash from the people who have become so used to personal motoring and have been led to believe that that motoring is their (human) right and the second group fears for profits.
As far as some of the green groups are concerned who are reluctant to speak the truth about the electric car one can but guess as to the reasons for this; vested interest in EVs could, obviously, be one.
The time of personal motoring, as I have said before, is well and truly over and the sooner we all got used to it the better, and that includes the electric car. The latter is as unsustainable as the one with the internal combustion engine, and are no better either, despite what is being suggested to us.
© 2013
