this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2025
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Fuck Cars

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EVs are a small part of the better transportation system we all deserve (drawdown.org)
submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
5 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Good article about why plain switching to EVs isn’t the solution.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Indeed. The sting is in the quoted study:

electric vehicles (EVs) were found to be 24% heavier than equivalent internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). As a result, total PM10 emissions from EVs were found to be equal to those of modern ICEVs. PM2.5 emissions were only 1–3% lower for EVs compared to modern ICEVs.

This is definitely pretty counter-intuitive and a bit of a bummer. Turns out a very large part of particulate emissions comes from tires and brakes. I thought the regenerative braking used by EVs would help, but apparently not much. The reduction is surely bigger than 3% when compared to diesels, but still.

That still leaves the non-particulate pollution, including carbon monoxide and NOx, EVs have none of that. And almost no noise pollution either, at least at low speeds.

I have been to Shanghai and I can tell you that a city full of EVs is just much, much more pleasant. The air quality, the silence, it's almost night and day. Replacing combustion cars with EVs is still a huge win, we should not lose sight of that.

But yes, it's not the solution. The solution is less cars.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

The solution is less cars.

And less car (singular/measurement). Weight and size are multipliers to problems (including cost).

Sure E-bikes are better (bikes are better than that, and walking is the best especially for mixed transit), but there should be incentives to drive the smallest cars. And the giant behemoths we have in the US are like 3-4 classes up, these are a problem all on their own.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

The solution is less cars.

amen

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

am i the only one who thinks getting rid of ice is irrelevant for the climate? its more practical and modern but thats about it? lithium extraction is still brutal for the people & climate.

make good subways for my commute and give me bullet trains like china and japan that are actually cheap and comfy for longer distances. leave cars and bikes for shorter leisure trips.

and then actually make durable repairable reusable goods instead of mass producing garbage.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

An EV has about 50% lifetime CO2 emissions as an ICE.

So it’s beneficial to switch for the few usecases that still need personal vehicles.

For the rest, we really should be using Ebikes, Trains, Metros, Trams etc.