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this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2023
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Your talking to one of the extremely few people in my county who have managed to offset the majority of their carbon emissions via renewable resources.
Despite my utility and local government making that process a complete pain in my ass.
And Despite my utility and local government essentially ruining any hopes of an ROI by exorting me with extra fees. (To offset me not buying their energy)
My suv which has practical purposes here is not the problem.
Willing to be your average lawnmower pollutes more...
Don't get me wrong: I seriously applaud your efforts. Like you say, we all need to do more like you.
But push comes to shove, you also need to change your SUV for an EV. All SUVs need to go. Especially since station wagons have the same utility, and are generally safer on the road.
Lots of people use specific types of vehicles for specific types of work.
There's no one vehicle that will work for everyone.
I'm not the guy you were conversing with but in my line of work I need to haul lots of items often, and sometimes for long distances. That means I need cargo space, so either an SUV or a Truck.
I need to deliver those items or transfer those items across long distances, If I need to stop and recharge an electric vehicle 2-3 times that means my one day trip all of a sudden turns into an overnight stay in a hotel. I can't get my work done if all of a sudden a one day job turns into a two day job.
I can't afford to buy a new car. Public transportation in the US basically doesn't exist, and riding a bike is a death sentence here. Buy me an EV and I'll gladly drive it though :)
Edit: Also, I'd have nowhere to plug in the vehicle charger since I don't have a garage where I live :/
This is not what this article is about though. They targeted huge cars in one of the most affluent areas in one of the biggest cities in Germany. We have very reliable public transport and about two days of snow per year. It is totally unnecessary to drive an SUV here. I do understand some people needing a big car for work but ferrying your kids around is easily managed using public transport here.
You're right that this post is not about the US and is specifically about Hamburg, but many of the comments here seem to imply that this is a wider reaching sentiment. The reality is that many people can't afford to change their vehicle, either due to financial reasons (their SUV or other vehicle is old and not going to get much from an exchange) or due to their lack of time. Going after random people in one city in Germany is not going to have the effect that they're hoping for. It will cause outrage, which might be the goal, but the target will be the activists, not the car manufacturers.
What is generating the power for that EV. What about the materials mined to make that EV? What happens to the battery once it can no longer hold a sufficient charge?
EVs are not green until the at the very least the energy being produced to power them is green. Which in almost all cases it is not. IMO it's much more productive to focus on transforming our energy grid to renewables than to worry about SUVs.
From MIT:
Also this says "on average gasoline cars" now I'd have to look at the data to be sure but an "average" gas powered car is generally going to be a lot bigger (SUVs, pickup trucks) and less fuel efficient than the smaller cars that most EVs are.
So we're comparing larger vehicles most likely, to smaller ones, and still EVs producer greater than 50% of the CO2 emissions that ICE cars do.
This blame the consumer game is old. It's been the same playbook for decades. Shift the responsibility to the consumer instead of regulating corporations.
We need to stop falling for the bait and switch and instead of demanding that people stop buying fuel inefficient vehicles, maybe we should just regulate them out? (And in many ways the world already is with the MPG and other requirements for new vehicles.)
That's a very selective quote .. https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/are-electric-vehicles-definitely-better-climate-gas-powered-cars
In fact, the article only really talks about Lithium Ion batteries too, and new technologies are rapidly being released (such as the CATL batteries)
In fact, many regions in other countries literally are 100% renewable now (Tasmania in Australia as an example). And, most EV owners here in Australia likely own solar panels. The MIT article is literally mainly focused on US (and if the republican's stay out of power, things will likely only swing further in the green direction).
Same thing happened in Australia. We had an idiot as a Prime Minister, but voted him out, and things have rapidly changed now.
Don't get me wrong: I seriously applaud your efforts. Like you say, we all need to do more like you.
But push comes to shove, you also need to change your SUV for an EV. All SUVs need to go. Especially since station wagons have the same utility, and are generally safer on the road.
Oh, I would love an EV.
Don't get me wrong. But, for a EV with the room I need for the activities we perform, it's extremely cost prohibitive.
Just now, the wife hauled two dog kennels with dogs. German Shepards. Those aren't going to fit in a car... unless wagons make a comeback.
Also, Lithium batteries (process of obtaining Lithium) is pretty bad for the environment, and generally involves slave labor. As well, size, capacity, and cycle durability aren't the best.
Lots of alternatives and prototypes are being worked on, and when that problem is solved by replacing Lithium with a cheap, affordable, durable replacement with enough energy density- EVs will be everywhere.
As is though, replacing the 30,000$ battery pack every decade or so is no Bueno.
Until then though, our daily driver is a small car. Suv is used to haul stuff and kids.