Monday, September 05, 2016

Electric cars are no magic bullet

(This letter was published in the September 2016 issue of 'Alberta Views' magazine)

I don’t understand why so many environmentalists are in love with the electric car. Does it solve the problem of traffic accidents? No. Of roadkill? Of paving paradise to build roads and parking lots? Of ugly suburban development? Of better access to efficient transportation to the economically disadvantaged? It doesn’t even solve the problem of burning fossil fuels because even if we could achieve 100% renewable energy production for today’s needs, the hundreds of thousands of electric cars added onto the grid would move the yardstick out of reach again, and, batteries, tires and the manufacturing of the vehicle will have a significant environmental impact that is usually ignored. It seems to me that it is a painless way for the upper middle classes to claim the green high road with no impact on their lifestyle, ignoring the fact that there will be far fewer benefits than claimed, and maybe none. Driving a kilometer in an electric car still doesn’t make the shared environment better. It car is greenwashing of the elites by the elites. True improvements in our transportation system will come from improving pedestrian and cycling facilities, from more public transportation, and from devoting fewer resources, less energy, less space and fewer lives to the cult of the automobile, no matter how it is powered.