What about convert the old cars to electric?
this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2023
508 points (71.8% liked)
Memes
45746 readers
1590 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
The main issue in the push for electric cars, is that we're pretending that we can fix things with no lifestyle changes.
And for the richer people, that's probably true. But there's a big chunk of people for whom the electric car revolution means no more personal transport.
I accept that, but we need to invest in public transport exponentially more than we are doing. It needs subsidising up the wazoo so people outside the inner-city bubble can still get around. By just pretending that electric cars will reach affordable levels for the poorest, we're inviting trouble further down the line when they can't use their petrol cars any more.
Well, transportation is the biggest emitter. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions#:~:text=Transportation%20(28%25%20of%202021%20greenhouse,ships%2C%20trains%2C%20and%20planes.
And personal cars as well as trucks are the largest emitters among those. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58861
I do agree that there should be done a lot more to make this go faster. One of the most obvious things is immediately outlaw the production of gasoline suvs. They‘re inefficient and rather pricey so you wont hit anyone who‘s life depends on it. Then outlaw the production of any gasoline sportscars.
Obviously the expansion of public transport is still important but selling new v8 suvs demoralizes anyone trying to do the right thing.
The used market is going to be full of gas cars for a longtime. Look there of you need gas otherwise go electric if you can.
God damn these comments
Which ones?
Honestly didn't take too long to find a lot of people taking this take in the least generous way possible.
And who can forget the "I commute 50 miles each way I can't use any alternatives" folks as well who seem to think that the better future means absolutely no cars.
It means better alternatives to everyone having to own a car and take a car everywhere.
It's an interesting one, a lot of people really do seem to be arguing cars shouldn't exist which is absolutely insane, likewise there are people who have the equally hairbrained idea that cars are the only option for any journey.
There is no doubt at all that fleet managed self-driving electric cars are at some point going to be a vital part of all transport networks, the efficiency and utility is far higher than any other potential option. Lithium batteries can be recycled endlessly and the construction process can be powered from renewables so long term we're going to get to a point where the ecological impact is negligible.
Of course we should be using other options where appropriate but we don't have a magic wand so we need the utility of small personal transport, if we're going to start switching off oil production systems then we're going to need those vehicles to run on electric - the more we shift to electric the better the support and industrial infrastructure gets and the more refined the technology becomes.
load more comments
(5 replies)
Just some points that I have not seen discussed-
- Time to refuel / practical vehicle range 1a. The cost involved in having charging installed on your property
- Weather. Snow. Effect of cold on batteries. I know everyone hates those evil SUV's, bit when there's 14" of snow on the ground your tesla/volt/insert your favorite EV ain't gonna cut it
- To the "just put in mass transit" crowd, do you feel that eminent domain is justified to take property from someone to fulfill this need?
Honestly not trying to troll, these are real questions that should be answered
And for the record, my vehicle is a compact sedan, getting on average 34-37mpg, so I'm not in that dick-size contest over who's truck has the bigger lift kit
load more comments
(7 replies)