EVs Aren’t The Solution To ‘Climate Change’ Or Something

Well, this is a quick change from the hardcore members of the Cult of Climastrology

Wheeler: Electric cars are not the solution to climate change

Electric vehicles are all the craze these days, representing a conscious shift in the consumer away from the dirty, polluting, archaic past of gas-driven cars. However, this transition is more lateral than progressive. Electric cars are the automobile industry trying to maintain its dominance by selling an environmentally friendly product. The problem is not what drives on our roads, but the roads themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, relative to traditional combustion engine vehicles, electric cars are almost objectively better –– especially so in Eugene, as 80% of our electricity comes from renewable sources. We’ve all heard the statistics that electric cars in the short term contribute to carbon emissions, which is true. Production of batteries for EVs requires rare Earth metals like cobalt and lithium that are environmentally devastating and dangerous to mine. Not to mention they only last for 10-20 years. Also, barring the Pacific Northwest, the vast majority of EVs will be charged with electricity still being generated by non-renewable means.

Marc Schlossberg, a professor in the school of Planning, Public Policy and Management, is not against EVs but does not buy their marketing as an environmental savior.

“Even if we have EVs, the land consumption, the disruption of urban space is still problematic,” Schlossberg said. “Replacing one form of car dependency with another does not address the economic and ecological issues that are critical for our survival.”

Well, that’s a bummer. It also shows that this is really not about climate, but, politics.

Schlossberg is right. EVs are maginalty better, but their adoption is just an obfuscation from the root causes of our warming world. The way our society is physically built, our infrastructure, is incompatible with combating climate change. Our cities are low density spawls of wide roads and single-unit housing. These unwalkable communities coerce the population into car dependency and discriminate against those who cannot operate or own a car.

Notice a pattern? Climate cultists do not like giving people the freedom to live where they want, to have freedom of movement. The “discriminate against those who cannot operate and own a car” is new one.

The new electric Ford F-150 has a battery capacity of 98 kWh, whereas the average electric bike has a capacity of 300 Wh, meaning that one electric truck battery is equivalent to approximately 325 electric bikes. Coupled with the fact that 60% of all vehicles trips are less than 6 miles, and the average occupancy of a car being only 1.5 people displays how inefficient car dependency is. Electric bikes could transport hundreds more people for a fraction of the resources and infrastructure.

Plus, add the bill for the charging infrastructure for electric cars to the list of decaying highways and bridges that are required for car dependency. Instead of, y’know, the charging infrastructure for ebikes — which is a wall outlet that already exists just about everywhere.

Oh, cool, force Everyone Else to use an ebike! Not exactly convenient when going to the grocery store.

We don’t need individual electric vehicles that operate in a tunnel beneath the city. The solutions already exist and just need more investment: trains and buses that come frequently enough that you don’t need to check a schedule and cities built for the biker and pedestrian. We can not leave our future up to the whims of CEOs operating on behalf of profit margins. Elon Musk didn’t buy the title of“founder” for the already existing Tesla company because he cares about the environment, but because he doesn’t want to be around “a bunch of random strangers.”

And, how are you going to achieve this? Legislation forcing people? Good luck with that.

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21 Responses to “EVs Aren’t The Solution To ‘Climate Change’ Or Something”

  1. Animal says:

    If they think they’re going to drag me off my rural Alaska home and into some damn crowded city, well, they’d better come a-shootin’.

    • Elwood P. Dowd says:

      They’re unlikely to move you to some damn crowded city, but may make you have a baby.

  2. Our freedom of speech guarantees that even people like Porter Wheeler, the author of the article cited by our distinguished host, have the right to advocate that people use electric bikes and public transportation rather than personally-owned plug-in electric vehicles. The problem arises when some of these idiots fine gentlemen gain some governing power and try to force others to do things their way, rather than allow free choice by individuals.

    • Elwood P. Dowd says:

      Anyone who believes bicycles will replace autos in the U.S. is smoking some good dope. It’s a niche.

      Public transportation is more acceptable and works in many large cities around the world. Trains, planes, buses are already in use and can expand with political will and money.

      10,000 commuters taking the train downtown is more efficient than 10,000 autos. In St. Louis, over 40,000 folks patronize 81 Cardinals games a year and the MetroLink light-rail is packed on game days.

  3. Est1950 says:

    There is something quite easily explained at play here by the left in the latest chapter of their global playbook.

    The Lockdowns, Supply Chain Shortages, Millions of workers now sitting idly at home, and The encouragement of Biden to help Ukraine by sending billions in military weaponry leading to severe economic chaos in the world. This chaos has created the disruption of oil and gasoline and targeted riots all have something much more deeply rooted in the core values of the left.

    Gluttony is driven by a fear of Global warming and overpopulation. They will never be able to achieve their desired goal of removing America and the West’s voracious appetite for material things until they replace this craving with reeducation which comes from a perpetual lack of going to the store to buy anything their hearts crave at any time.

    AGW has always been a means to attempt to scare people into action. The directed action by the left is giving up material goods in exchange for guaranteed safety. AGW continues to pound the table for the death and destruction of the world if we do not end fossil fuels. Ending fossil fuels will most definitely end consumerism which will in turn very obviously end man’s desire to procreate because of a lack of the ability to support children in a world of wantonness.

    Make no mistake the Left has a playbook that they are following very closely.

    Build back better is nothing more than the reduction of expenditures by the west and the shifting of these exact amounts of expenditures to countries that suffer from severe poverty that want and need help in many ways.

    The rich and mega-corporations continue to get richer under the new world order. But what changes is that the western world grows exponentially poorer while the third world countries which I do advocate for grow exponentially richer. The reason? This opens up 3 billion new consumers while reducing 1 billion consumers from the west.

    There is a plan. The right in the west has finally started to “get it”. The question is have they gotten it too late?

    • Model 870 P. Dowd says:

      America is on a path hacked out in the 1980s: tax cuts for the wealthy, deficits, decimation of labor unions, uncoupling of wages from productivity, overvaluing capital while undervaluing labor, ever widening gap between rich and poor, gutting the social safety net, gutting public health, “government is the problem”, endless wars… we reap what we sow. Our plutocracy has become even more plutocratic – Musk, Bezos, tRump, Gates, Waltons, Kochs, Zuckerberg, Murdochs, Dorsey, Soros and their minions rule America now.

      And now the unthinkable is on the horizon. America has been groomed for an authoritarian takeover. Media empires are controlled by a few. As intended, confidence in American institutions and the American government(s) has been weakened.

      When hit with a global pandemic the U.S. was already deeply in debt and hadn’t the financial or social resources (or the political will) to respond. In 2016, America was one Donald tRump away from Armageddon. And here we are.

      • L.G.Brandon!, L.G.Brandon! says:

        Yes, and here we are. Everything Donald Trump did is undone. We have zero energy independence, in fact energy shortages and skyrocketing energy inflation caused by the leftist desire to kill fossil fuels and never, never build another nuclear power plant.

        And here we are. Food shortages and fertilizer shortages, both related to the New Democrat War with Russia. They hated Trump and because her talked to Putin he is labeled Putins Pal. I guess it will take vaporizing a few cities for leftists to realize Trump wasn’t Putin pal, just the guy who kept Putin in check.

        And here we are. The left is once again (or is it still?) out of their minds about another this or that which they demand to control. Now it’s abortion AGAIN. They can’t seem to understand the constitution when it says “left ot the states and people respectively”. Abortion, whether by judicial fiat or Congressional legislation is only the purview of the states. So both are unconstitutional. But the left throws a little girl fit and starts this shit:

        https://twitter.com/i/status/1522979963439357953

        Your typical pro baby killer.

        And here we are. After two years of constant lies about Covid, lockdowns, masking, closed businesses, schools and churches the truth comes out that neither masks nor that fake vaccine are effective yet all the leftists are silent. And the dead and injused can’t even sue cause the left is in bed with the perps.

        And here we are. The anti-war left (hahaha) now rallying around some Nazi loving Uke who supports Nazi battalions and who was “elected democratically” the same way Hitler was. And as the incontinent and incompetent FJB illegal unelected but selected junta moves us closer to nuclear Armageddon the left ejaculates on itself in glee that more Americans will die.

        Meanwhile, this is their idea of a patriot:

        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/796c9d4249af869d36f45bfcd4e325718d7f5b3b9b7baeb349a2f5765d2a3f4a.jpg?w=600&h=503

        FJB and all his revolting minions.

  4. UnkleC says:

    Just damn, Elwood found another truffle. We missed [had stolen] a 2nd Trump term, and look we’re heading into Armageddon. The first term righted the ship and got it on course, but…
    By the way, since the “rich” pay taxes, then they get the cuts. First you have to pay taxes to get taxes cut, simple.
    https://www.thepiratescove.us/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_cool.gif

  5. UnkleC says:

    On to the topic. This richard doesn’t know very much about municipal transit. First it’s rather inefficient [money / cost is a viable measure of efficiency], it’s very expensive per passenger mile, particularly rail, it’s slow and usually doesn’t go where you want to go, it’s tedious for things like grocery shopping, and on and on. Typical lefty planner pie in the sky thinking.
    Next, ride a damn electric scooter. That is a nut-burger idea for moving people if I ever heard one. Yes, I’ve seen them in China and they are a cheap way for low level workers to avoid public transit. Wait ’till it rains, or up north, winter comes. I ride a motorcycle [not a scooter] and I do use it for errands when appropriate, not as principal transportation.
    EV’s have a place, but I don’t think they are ready for prime time. There simply is not the infrastructure in place to support a major shift to EV’s. Brandon is already planning the electrical outages caused by the too rapid shift to renewable electricity. You folks up north with electric heat and cooking, enjoy your winter.
    For a closer, the coming shortage of diesel [and heating oil and jet fuel] will do wonders for the food situation. EV tractors and harvesters are still in the developmental stages as are EV heavy trucks. Baby formula is just the beginning.
    My 2 cents worth.
    https://www.thepiratescove.us/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_cool.gif

  6. JimS says:

    I really like the Arcimoto, a 3-wheeled electric 2-passenger vehicle. It’s certainly useful for fetching groceries. It’s kind of expensive, but it’s a lot cheaper than a Tesla. Ebikes can be used for groceries, with appropriate panniers or a trailer. Problem is whether or not it will still be there when you’re done. They have a high theft rate.
    For being called “progressives”, too many seem to suffer from malignant nostalgia. They wish back to a time when people lived in villages and small towns where everything was downtown. I ran into people like that who were more interested in reviving downtown for it’s own sake rather than for the people.

    • L.G.Brandon!, L.G.Brandon! says:

      Get an electric golf cart like the other old folks down here in Tampa. They’re cheaper. Basically that’s all EV’s are anyway. Real cars go varooom not weeeeee.

      • JimS says:

        Well, the Arcimoto is street legal everywhere, unlike a golf cart. It can hit 80mph… I do like the idea of electrics, when sane and unmandated.

    • UnkleC says:

      The Arcimoto is an interesting vehicle and one could easily envision several practical applications. However, $17,500 starting for a 2 seater before tag, tax, and insurance ain’t that cheap. A Chevy Spark bases at about $14,395, and has doors.
      https://www.thepiratescove.us/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_smile.gif

      • JimS says:

        Yeah, I know it’s not cheap at this point. They were shooting at a lower price, but haven’t made it. Maybe when they ramp up production like they plan. Also, it’s considered a motorcycle in most states, so insurance should be cheaper… I’m assuming. A Spark or a used Leaf might make more sense.. but sometimes you just want to go for the cool. 🙂

    • UnkleC says:

      Jim, I’ve been giving thought to your 2nd paragraph, we lived in a neighborhood in Atlanta that was what some of these ‘progressives’ appear to want. A variety of restaurants, shopping, grocery stores, etc. within about a 1 mile walk of our home. However, this was an older neighborhood and developed organically, not planned or ‘revived’. It was a great place to live and raise our family. We have seen a few areas that are similar as we travel around the country and many attempts at trying to develop it. Usually, the development falls short due to ‘planning’, zoning, modern codes and regulations, as well as the developer’s profit motivation. The absolute worst are the government driven ‘renewal’ programs.
      I agree with your statement about the ‘progressives’.
      https://www.thepiratescove.us/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_smile.gif

      • Elwood P. Dowd says:

        When I was a kid in a medium sized town in Missouri, my school was 4 blocks away, we had a grocery store one block north and another 2 blocks south. Our Baptist Church was less than a block. My school principal lived 3 houses down. We had two baseball teams worth of friends within blocks. We had a public library branch a couple blocks away. A city park with a fishing lake a bike ride away. We didn’t even have house keys or bike locks.

        What happened? Supermarkets and superstores killed the corner grocery store. School consolidations killed neighborhood schools. Suburbs, interstate highways cutting through towns, marketing of greed, shopping malls, TV, chain restaurants, rewarding capital over labor, international markets, freeways carried suburbanites to concerts and ballgames and carried them back out again, bookstores – Amazon said buh-bye, subsidized gasoline made travel cheap… all for harvesting dollars and concentrating it in a few hands!

        • L.G.Brandon!, L.G.Brandon! says:

          Frankly, I don’t think many here would disagree with you on most things you pointed out. I for one agree with you on almost all. The difference is we look for solutions that enable individual freedom and broaden societal liberty while all your solutions seem to surround the idea of giving up personal freedom and concentrating more and more power in a few in Washington. (Is it still called Washington or is that racist?). Right down to the Ministry of Propaganda, denying states rights, packing the Supreme Court, censorship and doxxing of rivals and even stealing their bank accounts and having them lose their jobs. That ain’t the doins’ of a constitutionalist nor a “freedom” fighter.

          FJB

        • JimS says:

          It’s typical of the left to blame things on external factors rather than accepting responsibility for their own actions. If people wanted to shop at the mom&pop, they could have. But they voted with their feet and went to the supermarket to save money… People want to live in the burbs with some grass & trees. There was no secret cabal forcing people out there.

      • JimS says:

        All too often, government plans are more ideological than practical. The example that I always think of is from Flint, MI where I used to live.
        They wanted to revive downtown, so they set up this plan… first to build a theme park downtown… then an upscale hotel for visitors, and a “Festival Marketplace” (a mall with eateries, fancy boutiques and even an ice rink. But the plan was backed by the Mott Foundation, so the theme park had to be somewhat educational. (Autoworld). Too bad they had to tear down one of the actual successful downtown venues to build it.
        Well, Autoworld died, because no one was interested. Without that, no one visited the hotel and it closed and was eventually sold to a religious group as a retreat. The Marketplace stayed around longest, because people actually working downtown used the eateries.
        But eventually, it closed too, and the whole thing was given to the University. They use it as office space, and the student book store. Kind of a Student Union. The rest was torn down for dorms and classrooms.

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