They only really make sense in journeys under 100km, otherwise we’re just perpetuating many of the same problems ICE cars cause. Even then a lot of those shorter journeys can be replaced with light rail and urban redesign.
Yes, but the time and resource scale to complete light rail and urban redesign is far larger than supplementing with EVs. I’d love to phase out personal cars in the long run, working to gradually expand light rail, HSR, and urban redesign, but between right now and the future where the aforementioned redesign is dominant, EVs help lower emissions and promote electrification over fossil fuel usage, reducing noise pollution and climate pollution at the same time.
Not really no. If the capital that has been invested into EVs over the last 10/15 years had gone into those things we’d be in a much better position than we are now. The choice to go with EVs over rail was always one driven by capital interests and political will particularly in the west were the automotive firms have a firm hold on governments and where the infrastructure money goes. The right now solution is to stop going along a poor path that at its best is a halfhearted fix and move efforts to an industry that can actually meaningfully reduce humanity’s overall impact on climate change.
China isn’t going for EVs because of the interests of capital, but because building rail takes time. In the western, capitalist countries, it’s indeed a consequence of commodification of transit and trying to sell more cars. China is full-throttle on both rail and EVs.
Public transit needs to be the priority, I agree, but EVs can supplement it. That’s my position.
They only really make sense in journeys under 100km, otherwise we’re just perpetuating many of the same problems ICE cars cause. Even then a lot of those shorter journeys can be replaced with light rail and urban redesign.
Yes, but the time and resource scale to complete light rail and urban redesign is far larger than supplementing with EVs. I’d love to phase out personal cars in the long run, working to gradually expand light rail, HSR, and urban redesign, but between right now and the future where the aforementioned redesign is dominant, EVs help lower emissions and promote electrification over fossil fuel usage, reducing noise pollution and climate pollution at the same time.
Not really no. If the capital that has been invested into EVs over the last 10/15 years had gone into those things we’d be in a much better position than we are now. The choice to go with EVs over rail was always one driven by capital interests and political will particularly in the west were the automotive firms have a firm hold on governments and where the infrastructure money goes. The right now solution is to stop going along a poor path that at its best is a halfhearted fix and move efforts to an industry that can actually meaningfully reduce humanity’s overall impact on climate change.
China isn’t going for EVs because of the interests of capital, but because building rail takes time. In the western, capitalist countries, it’s indeed a consequence of commodification of transit and trying to sell more cars. China is full-throttle on both rail and EVs.