A pair of psychologists and an economist at the University of Turku, in Finland, have found that because the average electric vehicle (EV) owner is wealthier than the average person, they still have a bigger than average carbon footprint.
Maybe EVs are not a comprehensive climate solution??
The argument is “rich people consume more”. Which is true, and their emissions are higher because of it. Driving electric is still better than gas though.
Electric cars are better than gas, but the extensive car infrastructure needed to sustain cars remains the same. The real solution is having viable alternatives to driving to reduce the need for car use altogether.
It’s not an instant solution, obviously. I have been cooking and heating electric at home for years. For most of the first year, that was coal powered electricity.
A friend of mine made that same argument as you. “But our power is coal, you’re just throwing away money”. Well, a year later, we have green power and gas is hella expensive.
Before reading, I’m expecting:
After reading:
focussing only on the production emissionsThe argument is “rich people consume more”. Which is true, and their emissions are higher because of it. Driving electric is still better than gas though.
Electric cars are better than gas, but the extensive car infrastructure needed to sustain cars remains the same. The real solution is having viable alternatives to driving to reduce the need for car use altogether.
It’s not an instant solution, obviously. I have been cooking and heating electric at home for years. For most of the first year, that was coal powered electricity.
A friend of mine made that same argument as you. “But our power is coal, you’re just throwing away money”. Well, a year later, we have green power and gas is hella expensive.
Now he’s complaining about gas prices.
Don’t be him, think more than one step ahead.